Vik & Gala - Progression in Semenawa Vol.2

Progressions in Semenawa Vol. 2 is a two-day workshop dedicated to continuing the exploration of Kinbaku from a perspective of Semenawa. Avoiding the dogma, as we see bondage as an open practice with a free and personal interpretation, we will continue encouraging all participants to explore their own way, to gather tools to adapt their ropes to their partners and to take inspiration from them. We will use ropes to create a deeper impact in our partners, taking care not only of the technique but also of how we can use it to go further into emotions and feelings.

Vol. 2 does not indicate a higher level of difficulty, but a continuation with new material. Attendance at the previous workshop is not required. For those who attended Vol. 1, the majority of the syllabus will be new (all but two of the sequences), offering fresh progressions and technical challenges. As always, the level will adapt to the group, ensuring the work remains responsive and appropriately demanding.

In this workshop, we will continue studying the Takate Kote (TK) and other structures in depth and how they can work across a variety of situations. Each participant will be able to work with the structural upper body harness that feels most secure for their partner, allowing the study to remain adaptive and personal. Over the weekend, we will move through different types of exercises, from floor work to semi-suspensions and suspensions, predicaments, and transitions, according to the level and composition of the group.

We will combine technical skill with aesthetic awareness, focusing on the efficiency of rope handling, line management, and the nuances of verbal and non-verbal communication that are essential for sustaining intense experiences.

Class Content

Over the course of the workshop, participants will work through multi-level, structured exercises that will give every participant the opportunity to stop whenever they feel it is the right moment, as the learning in this workshop is not about reaching the end but about tracing the path. We will begin by exploring how structures and harness’ behave under strain, learning how small adjustments can drastically alter the whole experience. Each progression will highlight how Semenawa is less about elaborate patterns and more about using the simplest structures to evoke powerful sensations of torment, anticipation, and surrender.

Those tying will learn to refine their technical control while cultivating a space where endurance can be explored safely. Those being tied will be guided toward conscious and active bottoming, learning how to navigate discomfort, give feedback, and deepen their own knowledge of their body and mind.

Pre-requisites

• Stable and solid Tk or upper body structure that can be suspended from the back

• Knowledge of basics (single column, double column, reverse tension, friction, etc)

• Suspension lines management and ties off

• Set of 8-10 ropes minimum

• Knowledge of the safety basics (injuries, self body knowledge, hand checks, etc)

Vik & Gala Bio.

Vik and Gala are a couple from Barcelona. They have done ropes together for more than 4 years. Vik started exploring both roles in ropes before finding his preference for the rigger side, while Gala started bottoming until she discovered her curiosity for tying both others and herself. Both have learned from local and international teachers. For them, rope is a tool to explore, discover and express their feelings and highlight them. They found simplicity and intricacy in a style that enhances the beauty of the body and emotions, simple in appearance but with a great purpose, intention, complexity and intensity. Through their way of tying, they both exemplify a mixture of darkness, strength, delicacy, eroticism, closeness, power and more primal instincts. They have had the opportunity to do performances or, as they prefer to call them, live sessions with an audience, both locally and internationally, as well as professional photo and video shoots. They have also been invited to Milan to participate in the Kinbaku Lab research group and, both as riggers, created the Kinbaku Lab Barcelona along with other riggers and bottoms. For several years now, they have been focused on sharing Kinbaku professionally, both in international workshops and at the studio they are running together, Shizen Studio Barcelona.