RopuNawa
Basel rope teacher who first saw shibari in 2008, began with the Osada Steve style taught in Switzerland and later drew on Naka Akira, Tifereth, Yoroi and Yagami Ren; he teaches at Tying With Friends and gives workshops abroad.
RopuNawa is a rope teacher and rigger who lives and teaches in Basel, Switzerland, and travels to give workshops elsewhere. His profile on the Basel studio Tying With Friends says he first encountered shibari and kinbaku in 2008 at a performance in Australia, and that he began his own rope practice after returning to Switzerland. A 2026 workshop listing at the studio credits him with almost two decades of kinbaku experience.
Influences
According to his profile, his foundation was the style of Osada Steve, which was the style being taught in Switzerland when he started, but he did not stay with a single school. He names Naka Akira as an early influence on his aesthetics who still accompanies him, Tifereth as a more recent inspiration, and Yoroi and Yagami Ren as the influences that pushed him toward space, simplicity and a “less is more” way of tying. A 2023 Anatomie Studio listing describes the same people as teachers who shaped his rope.
Approach
He says there is no single correct way to tie: he adapts his tying to the needs of each model, which he describes as being as varied as people are, and he puts weight on the non-verbal connection he builds with each partner. In a session, as he puts it, he aims to build up his partner’s emotions rather than break them down.
Teaching
At Tying With Friends he teaches one-day beginner workshops followed by a rope jam. The studio’s listing for an October 2026 session describes a day split between theory, covering the philosophy of tying, consent and the attitude toward one’s partner, and practice, covering a simple and stable first tie, moving a partner’s body on the floor, and safety for both the person tying and the person being tied, including anatomy and nerve sensitivity. The workshop is a prerequisite for the studio’s advanced courses.
Abroad, he has taught advanced workshops for experienced pairs. In November 2023 he and Anna Noctuelle taught Ropefusion at Anatomie Studio in London, a two-day workshop for riggers and models with suspension experience that looked at combining elements of different shibari styles into new ties, at minimalism and body mechanics, and at the emotional side of tying. In April 2025 he taught a two-day hashira workshop with Freya Hellesdîm at Daruma in Berlin, and in November 2026 Kinbaku Studio Vienna listed a Twisted Hashira workshop with him.