Beyond Shapes: Enriching the Path to Creation. A Weekend with Naoko.

It is always an honor to welcome Naoko back to VoxBody, this time on her fourth visit to the studio!

We hope you can join us for a Friday evening performance session, an advanced weekend workshop and/or Tuesday evening floor-based class!

June 14 & 15: Beyond Shapes: Enriching the Path to Creation

Have you ever felt restricted by the end shape or bogged down by a specific sequence?

Have you experienced frustration or felt like you failed during a technical sequence?

Have you sensed that something is missing in the tying, even though it's executed well?

Join Naoko and her models for this 2-day workshop on the extensive use of nawajiri for conversation in technical suspensions.

This workshop emphasizes the importance of the emotional journey over the end shape, encouraging students to appreciate the power of process, find meaning in each detail, and enrich their own paths to creation.

Content

Throughout the weekend, we will focus on one iconic or classic shape in each exercise, but our primary goal will be to dive deep into the process.

Topics will include:

1. Communication: Develop the ability to read your partner’s energy through non-verbal cues, responding to their desires and reactions
2. Flow: How to start a session, pace the experience, add intensity, and close the session
3. Intention: Discover and explore your desires—from eroticism to seme
4. Use of Nawajiri: Learn how to use the rope tail to converse and play even in technical suspensions
5. Body Movement & Body Handling: learn how to use rope to guide and move your partner into different positions, applying concepts such as balance and imbalance, timing and resistance

Naoko will adapt her teaching to the students. Exercises may involve floor ties or suspensions depending on their level, progression, and interest. Forms / shapes may include:

1. Agura shibari
2. M shape
3. Gyakuebi
4. Kata ashi
5. Kani shibari

Through discussion, demonstrations, exercises and improvised play, you will be guided to tie with meticulous attention to different aspects of Shibari - both the hard skills and the soft skills, the physical and the emotional.

This workshop offers a balanced approach, giving equal attention to both roles—the person tying (top) and the person being tied (bottom). Shibari is an intimate partnership, and it’s crucial to understand the perspectives of both sides, as well as what we can do within our roles to participate in this shared experience.

Pre-requisites:

For the ones tying:

1. Basic understanding of Naka Style of gote (in any interpretation)
2. Experience in floor ties and suspensions
3. Good understanding of suspension line management
4. Good understanding of safety in Shibari (which includes the physical and psychological aspects)
5. Ready to engage in discussions on traditional Japanese concepts

For the ones getting tied:

1. Feel comfortable being tied and suspended in the Naka Style of gote (in any interpretation)
2. Experience in floor ties and suspensions
3. Open to expressing and communicating vulnerabilities in rope
4. Good understanding of safety in Shibari (which includes the physical and the psychological aspects), especially the difference between nerve compression and blood circulation loss
5. Ready to engage in discussions on traditional Japanese concepts

What do I need to bring?

1. Jute ropes (at least 10-12 ropes), of varying lengths.
2. Safety shears or any other suitable cutting tools (communal shears will also be available at the studio).
3. A notepad and pen (We request a phone-free environment. If phone-based note-taking is necessary for accessibility, please let us know in advance so we can accommodate your needs).
4. Comfortable clothing.
5. Snacks and drinks.
6. Aftercare items.
7. Respect, kindness, and an open mind.

About Naoko (she/her)

Born and raised in Hong Kong, Naoko is a Shibari artist, performer, and educator based in London. She founded Studio Yukari (London, 2022) and Kokoro Studio (Hong Kong, 2015). She is part of Nawa Naka Kai 縄奈加会 and was recognized as the third deshi of Naka Akira 奈加あきら sensei in 2023.

Around 2011, Naoko was introduced to Shibari as a Shibari model. Deeply fascinated by its aesthetics, eroticism, and emotions, she began studying the art of Japanese rope bondage in Japan. Being drawn to the raw expression of vulnerability in semenawa 責め縄, Naoko found her teacher, Naka Akira sensei, and has been formally studying with him since.

Naoko's semenawa style is described as "feminine and inclusive." She draws great inspiration from her short encounter with Yukimura Haruki in 2014. The heart of her Shibari style is using rope to engage in an empathic conversation. With extensive experience in multiple tying styles and vast exposure to different rope communities in Asia and the West, she has developed a unique, adaptive, and evolving approach to tying and teaching.

Naoko has taught and performed in over twenty cities and has had the honor of assisting Naka Sensei at his Nawa-kai, Satsuei-kai, and Kenkyuu-kai in Tokyo, as well as his international workshops in London, San Francisco, Helsinki and Copenhagen.

https://www.instagram.com/naoko_london/

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