Yagami-ryū
The school of Yagami Ren, a Tokyo rigger and aikidō practitioner, built on rope technique, body control and the study of key points, and on his own idea of sekibaku in place of semenawa.
Yagami-ryū is the school founded by Yagami Ren, a rigger based in Tokyo, to teach his personal approach to rope, which he calls sekibaku. Studio TIEY in Antwerp, an official dojo of the style, names him as its founder.
Background
Shibari Dojo traces Yagami’s path through the Tokyo scene of the 2000s. He first encountered rope at Succubus, the Ikebukuro bar run by Nawashi Kanna, made his professional debut at Theater POO in January 2011, and became Kanna’s deshi the same year. The apprenticeship ended in 2013 on difficult terms. Shibari Dojo dates the start of his own signature approach, sekibaku, to around 2014, and says that during a European tour in 2015 he founded dojos and certified instructors in several countries. The same site notes his long training in aikidō, and Julia Seifried describes the style as drawing on martial-arts ideas such as maai (distance) and kyūsho (vital points).
Sekibaku
Yagami prefers the word sekibaku to semenawa. The Studio TIEY translation of his own presentation explains the difference: semenawa usually means making the rope itself the source of suffering, while sekibaku describes a threat to tie that comes from the rigger’s presence, energy and bearing together with the rope.
Three elements
The same presentation divides the style into three parts:
- nawasuji, the techniques of binding the body with rope;
- taijutsu, the way both rigger and model use their bodies to control movement;
- kyūshogaku, a close study of key points, used to read and learn from the partner’s reactions.
Julia Seifried summarizes the result as efficient control of the body, with rope used as a means of immobilization, and notes the emphasis the style places on clear communication between partners. Shibari Dojo adds that the teaching rests on a core of fundamental techniques and principles (kihon).
Structure
According to Shibari Dojo, Yagami-ryū has two kinds of recognized members: instructors licensed directly by Yagami to teach, and certified students who are recognized for their understanding but may not teach. Shibari Dojo puts the school’s reach at more than ten countries in Europe and Asia; its instructor list names seven locations, among them Tokyo, Hong Kong, Belgium and Australia. Studio TIEY’s teacher became a certified instructor in 2020. The Studio TIEY site frames the goal of a style as a person’s own interpretation of what they learned rather than a copy of the teacher.
Characteristics
- Three elements, nawasuji, taijutsu and kyūshogaku
- Sekibaku, threat carried by the rigger's presence as much as by the rope
- Efficient body handling drawn from the martial arts
- Licensed instructors and official dojos