Toronto Kinbaku Salon
A dedicated rope school, founded in late 2013, that teaches Kazami-ryu. Its structured curriculum starts with an intro class and runs through four levels up to suspension transitions. It also hosts a weekly Friday rope social and occasional themed rope parties, all booked by RSVP.
The Toronto Kinbaku Salon opened at the end of September 2013, when its founder Osaka Dan (then known as Nawa-Kun) began holding sessions in a small apartment above The Hideout on Queen Street West, with four half-mats of tatami and two rope points. In March 2014 he brought Kazami Ranki to Toronto for a five-day intensive; Osaka Dan was then Kazami’s only non-Japanese deshi, and from that visit the salon developed into a Kazami-ryu school with the four levels it still teaches. Kazami’s later visits to Toronto grew out of this connection.
Teachers and venues
With Kazami’s approval, JD-66 and Cylr began helping to teach in 2014–2015 and kept classes and parties running after the founder left Canada in November 2015; AJ joined the teaching staff in 2016. JD and AJ became Kazami’s deshi in May 2017 and were made shihan in November 2018, when KJ became shihan-dai. The salon moved from Queen Street West to Spadina near Kensington Market (2016) and to Parliament Street (2017), spent a few Fridays at Birdhaus after that building was sold in late 2022, and settled on Dupont Street in March 2023. It marked its tenth anniversary in September 2023.
Curriculum
An Intro Class, recommended even for people with some experience, covers history, rope types, safety basics, the single and double column ties, a suspension demonstration and free practice; no partner is needed. Kazami-ryu Level 1 centers on the takate kote, with attention to tension and nerve paths, plus futomomo, and ends with a timed test of a suspension-ready three-rope chest harness. Level 2 adds kinbaku theory, partial suspension, hip harnesses, agura and ebi; Level 3 covers line management and suspensions such as yoko-zuri and gyaku ebi; Level 4 turns to transitions, customizing ties, performance and reading a partner. Levels 1–4 require a rope partner.
Socials
Open Salons (rope parties), Sunday Salons and Fun With Rope evenings offer practice time and a place to meet partners. Everything is by RSVP, attendees must be 19 or older, and loan rope and rope for sale are available.