In August we had Steve as our guest for the first time. After Yoko and I had been working towards this for almost two years, the time had finally come for Steve to visit us in Switzerland and finally bring the famous Osada workshops directly to us.
At the Juku we were able to accommodate him and this is also where the one-on-one lessons took place. Yoko and I supported the lessons by taking photos for the learners and videos if requested, so that the learners and their models could fully concentrate on the lessons.
In terms of content, the focus was on the interaction between the captivator and the model. Subtlety, restraint and the understanding of his counterpart were the important contents. Mostly they were tied on the floor, with only two to three ropes, and numerous techniques were inspired by Yukimura-ryû.
It was a great honor for me not only to have Steve with us for so long, but also to witness how the learners engaged in these challenges full of curiosity and openness.
Osada workshops are a great opportunity to get familiar with the style in a small group. In addition, ide group dynamics play a big role in these workshops, so that the experience is even more intense.
It also allows us to give access to Osada-Ryû to more people than if we only organize individual lessons.
In addition to the individual lessons, we also had the workshops, of course. We were able to offer two one-day workshops and one two-day workshop, so that there were enough opportunities for our Swiss friends and acquaintances as well as for our friends abroad to learn from Steve.
In addition to the workshops at the Juku, Steve also taught two day workshops at Secret56 on a third weekend. We have been close friends with the makers of the Secret for a long time, and when we had the confirmation in early 2018 that Steve would come, we of course immediately sought contact. By networking, we were able to offer an even larger group the opportunity to learn directly from Steve without having to go to Japan.
The workshops at Secret were designed for larger groups than at Juku, so that during the two days, in addition to Yoko and myself, Vinciens and Kenyade from Vienna were invited as co-instructors. In this way we were able to maintain the high quality of care and ensure that all participants were ideally looked after.
We all learned a lot in these three, almost four, very intense weeks. It was the biggest project of the Juku so far, and even if we had to improvise a little here and there, everything went very well. In any case, we are already excited about what the still young year 2019 will bring us!
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