Esinem & Nina Russ – The Maksim Kalahari Collection: Part I

Description Of The Maksim Kalahari’s old-style kinbaku

Maksim Kalahari, one of the Russian riggers who we most admire. His tying is very much influenced by old-style techniques. You will notice one quite distinct characteristic is that he rarely joins ropes with a lark’s head. Instead, he starts a new rope by tying onto the existing ropework. There is a very obvious neatness and precision in his work.

• Floor work (newaza0 session demonstrating a gote and leg tie
• Arms in from tie which can be used to for floor work in its simplest one-rope version or, a rope can be added for greater restriction or, even, suspension
• A variation on the iconic teppo shibari(rifle-carry) which helps avoid the issue of the upper arm dropping, with some optional additions
• An advanced suspension using agura shibari with a transition into an inversion. The base tie is also suitable for floor work

What You’ll Learn In The Maksim Kalahari Collection: Part I

Course Curriculum

• Introduction
• Newaza (floor work) (13:24)
• Arms in front tie (7:09)
• Teppo shibari (13:12)
• Agura suspension (16:44)
• Q&A forum: ‘Ask Bruce and Nina’

About Esinem & Nina Russ

About Esinem

Esinem is a shibari artist who has regularly appeared at UK and international events such as Pride, Torture Garden, Erotica, Rubber Ball, Wasteland, Boundcon, Nuit Demonia and recently represented the UK at Japan’s first international kinbaku event, Toubaku. He is also known for his teaching both in the UK and internationally and was co-organiser of the London Festival of the Art of Japanese Bondage and BOUND, Europe’s premier monthly shibari event.

Over the last few years, he has been improving his skills in Japan with the help some of their best known and respected kinbakushi, Arisue Go, Osada Steve, Kinoko Hajime, Kazami Ranki and, grand master of newaza, Yukimura Haruki. Whilst drawing from classical methods, his style is distinctive and epitomizes the art of communicating with rope, often departing from the typical serenity of shibari shows and flying in the face of tradition to produce some striking and unusual performances.

In addition, he has worked on various videos, e.g. Primal Scream’s 2013, artistic collaborations and photo shoots both on and off camera. He has been involved in projects providing inspiration for Tom Ford’s 2013 collection and, Raqib Shaw, an acclaimed artist who has exhibited at the Tate, Metropolitan and White Cube galleries.

He contributed to Rope, Bondage & Power, edited by Lee Harrington and is currently involved with a number of documentaries on kinbaku. He is also author of the first English language tutorial DVDs: ‘Japanese Rope Bondage: Tying people, not parcels’.

About Nina Russ

Nina Russ is a London based, shibari performer, rope artist and educator. She became student of Esinem in 2011 and their collaboration gave birth to BOUND shibari night (2012) and ShibariClasses (2015). She had also the fortune to participate at workshops with different Japanese shibari masters, like: Kazami Ranki, Yukimura Haruki, Kinoko Hajime.

She has performed internationally, most notably at the London Festival of the Art of Japanese Rope Bondage and RopeFest in St.Petersburg. In addition, she participates in numerous artistic, fashion collaborations and local performances. Her passion for rope has lead her on a route of discovery of concepts, philosophy, aesthetics and benefits behind this Japanese discipline.

She sees shibari as an art form which creates deep connection between the participants and also aids personal development. Due to its martial arts roots, it brings self-discipline, efficiency, effectiveness and, thus, growth in confidence and awareness. She believes these skills allow a greater focus on the most important aspects: you, your partner and your shared experience.

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