67 Courses

Date: Monday 27th November Location: Studio A Time: 4pm Writer turned director Paul Schrader (Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, First Reformed) created a unique, avant-garde biopic about notorious Japanese author Yukio Mishima, who embraced Japan's traditions and fought against the gradual westernisation that became common following the end of World War Two. Using adaptations of sections of his novels, as well as traditional recounting of real-life events, this film sticks out as one of Schrader's best, and continues to inspire awe and heated discussion years later.

Temari Ball Making Workshop Beautiful, luxurious, and heartfelt. Temari are cherished gifts, symbolizing friendship and loyalty. The making of temari balls is a Japanese craft that originated in China and came to Japan around the 7th century A.D. Traditionally, temari were given as gifts symbolizing deep friendship and loyalty and evolved from a fairly basic form into exquisite works of art. Historically, temari were constructed from the remnants of old kimonos. As time passed, traditional temari became an art, with the functional stitching becoming more decorative and detailed, until the balls displayed intricate embroidery. This workshop is suitable for beginners and will introduce you to the art of the temari, using a basic herringbone stitch to create a traditional design. Your tutor will guide you through the making process. Using an array of colourful threads and a carefully designed pattern, you will create your very own temari ball. The workshop will run from 10.00am until 4.00pm. All the materials and tools will be supplied, including a workshop apron for you to wear during your day. There will be a pause for a ploughman-style lunch partway through the day, which is also provided. Additional ball-bases will be available to purchase on the day, should you wish to go on and make more temari gifts for your friends. This is a wonderful opportunity to create something beautiful, to gift or to treasure. Places on this workshop are limited to 8. Sunday 30th March 2025 10.00am - 4.00pm £80.00 (includes lunch and materials) Birlingham, Worcestershire

The three day course allows us to focus on the more refined shapes of a knife specifically designed for cooking, on this course we will forge a matched pair of knives, a small pairing knife and a larger kitchen knife both with a hidden tang and two part handle in the Wa style.  The extended length of the course allows students to focus on getting a clean shape and flowing lines as well as a thing and practical blade for cooking. Please note this course is only held once a year.  I run a strict cancellation policy. If you cannot attend the date you have booked please contact me within three weeks and I will rebook your course for free, If you contact me after this deadline you will lose your place. Refunds are not available. Courses dates can only be moved once. Courses valid for one year from date of purchase. No under 18s  If you have a physical gift voucher it must be presented on the first day of a course. Course dates must be determines in advance. Vouchers not exchangeable for monetary value. If the course cost is larger than the face value of the voucher(s) the difference must be made up in advance, if it is less no change is given. Vouchers cannot be replaced if lost, stolen or destroyed. *Gift vouchers are valid for one year from date of purchase

The Reiki Master Teacher training is usually undertaken by students for whom Reiki is now a way of life and who feel ready to become Reiki teachers themselves. This course revisits and deepens aspects of the Master Practitioner Course, and includes the learning and practice of Japanese empowerment, also teaching tips. You will learn how to organize and run Reiki training, manuals, and some essential business skills.

Give your team the opportunity to pause and reflect on what matters most to them about the work they do. The act of listening to each other creates relationship and strengthens trust and inclusion within the team – in creating a shared vision, groups of people build a sense of commitment together. Using the PATH or MAP processes of group facilitation and the creating of a large wall sized graphic we will provide a School Improvement Plan to be proud of!  Course Category Visioning and Problem Solving Person Centred Planning Strategic Work Team Building and Leadership Description There is an old Japanese proverb, “Vision without action is a daydream. Action without vision is a nightmare” “There is no power for change greater than a community discovering what it cares about” MARGARET WHEATLEY – ‘TURNING TO ONE ANOTHER’ (2002) Give your team the opportunity to pause and reflect on what matters most to them about the work they do. The act of listening to each other creates relationship and strengthens trust and inclusion within the team – in creating a shared vision, groups of people build a sense of commitment together. They develop images of ‘the future we want to create together’, along with the values that will be important in getting there and the goals they want to see achieved along the way. Unfortunately, many people still think ’vision’ is the top leader’s job. In schools, the ‘vision task’ usually falls to the Headteacher and/or the governors or it comes in a glossy document from the local authority or the DfES. But visions based on authority are not sustainable. Drawing on the planning tools MAPS and PATH (Pearpoint, Forest and O’Brien 1997) and other facilitation sources we use both process and graphic facilitation to enable the group to build their picture of what they would love to see happening within their organisation/community in the future and we encourage this to be a positive naming, not just a list of the things they want to avoid. ??Let us join you to explore your vision and the ‘roadblocks’ to your vision. Testimonials “Thank you so much for the work you did with us yesterday – I have since been in 2 schools today and have spoken to an number of other colleagues who were present – all were totally overwhelmed by the session – they loved it.” “I was totally blown away, so nice to reflect and realise what a long way we have come” “That was so powerful and motivational” “Our Primary is now an OFSTED rated ‘Outstanding School’ – we were in Special Measures – the Visioning and Planning using the PATH process for 3 years has seriously contributed to this”. Learning Objectives To create a far reaching and shared vision of the future for the school team/group you are working with and ensure that each person present contributes to this To create a visual representation (a graphic) of the vision and use this to plan future actions and to inform school improvement and development plans To facilitate the group in thinking through what some of the barriers to achieving their vision are and to begin work on how these can be removed To build a sense of commitment, common purpose and trust within the team/group Who Is It For ? Headteachers School managers EIP Managers Whole staff – including everyone Course Content The facilitation of a shared vision can be delivered as a full or a half day but, unlike our other training days this day depends on your and your team’s needs and the time you have available The course will cover: Creating the vision The Story So Far Headline Themes Naming the Nightmare A Year from Now Naming Roadblocks and Barriers Building strength Who will we need to take with us on the journey towards the vision Who are we? – Gifts, Strengths and Talents Charting Specific Actions

Learn how to make your own palm moss ball Kokedama and find out about the history of this beautiful Japanese art form.

Guitar Building Course The Aim The aim of this electric guitar building course is teach you how to assemble a Stratocaster, Telecaster or Jazzmaster style bolt-on-neck design electric guitar to a very high standard as well as gain understanding and knowledge in not only the assembly but also a good understanding of its inner workings and overall function. What to Expect In this electric guitar building course you’ll focus on making the most successful electric guitar of all time: the bolt-on-neck design. In almost any music store, these guitars outnumber others five-to-one. The course will cover Body & Neck assembly, Pickup Installation & Installation of all Electronics and the Professional Setting up of an Electric Guitar The course will commence daily at 09:30 with lectures & discussions on topics relating to each part of the guitar construction and then followed by the practical application of these topics under supervision, finishing at 17:30. The course and workshop located in Cross in Hand, East Sussex, designed for a maximum of 4 people per course enabling a very close learning experience. All Lutherie tools needed to complete the course are supplied. NO Experience necessary! Upon Completion Upon completion of the build your own guitar course you will leave with a great Custom made Guitar! The end product will be a Custom Tele, Strat or Jazzmaster that You will have made and one that will give many standard models a run for their money in tone and feel. Personal attention The course does have a set agenda but we often meander around topics and are happy to do so, most of us have had many different guitars and they nearly always have some curious tales and they are always good to discuss. Break down of guitar course topics by day DAY 1 Body & Neck Wood choice and body design play a large part in the tone of an electric guitar. If you were to play several solid body guitars unamplified you’ll notice distinct differences between various wood types. A solid body that sounds good acoustically generally will sound good amplified. We’ll discuss the different woods used to make electric guitars and the effect of different body styles on tone and sustain. Just as wood affects the body, when making a neck you have to pay attention to wood choice in order to have a good sounding guitar. The hardware that goes into making a great guitar also plays a large role, not only the quality in the parts but also their fitting. You will be instructed on how best to fit all the component parts with skill and accuracy enabling you to create a great custom made guitar.. Topics covered: Body & Neck styles Wood choices Neck joints Adjustable Truss Rods Fitting neck to body Scale lengths Tremolo Bridge placement (Incl Claw & Springs) Fretboard radius Machine head installation Preparing the Nut Slot Making & Cutting a Bone Nut (Requires working with the belt sander) All the hardware fitted to the guitar will be quality Japanese Gotoh vintage parts, these are particularly well made; tuners hold tune well and the Gotoh bridge is of very good quality, all of this goes together to make a great custom built guitar. DAY 2 Electronics & Fret Dressing Once you’ve learnt why and how a great guitar goes together as well as practically applying the previous topics, you now learn to install the best pickups and wiring. For these custom built guitars we will be using Bare Knuckle Boot Camp pickups: very high quality pickups designed to suit our specifications of wood choice and body style. These pickups are hand wound in the UK and are widely regarded as the best pickups on the market today. Choose between Old Guard, True Grit or Brute Force. The key to having a great sounding electric is not just down to the Pickups but also the choice of components that go with it, often overlooked with most mass manufactured guitars, the guitar you make will have highest quality components and will subsequently sound great and work extremely well. Custom CTS Pots, Sprague Capacitor and a CRL (USA) switch as well as vintage cloth wiring all go together to make a very well appointed loaded scratchplate! Topics covered: Schematics Pickup installation Wiring volume & tone pots Wiring 5 way selector switch Wiring output jack Bridge and string grounding Fret Dressing both Theory & Practise DAY 3 Final Assembly The guitar will now be ready for final assembly. Today you will learn how to fully assemble and set up your electric guitar to a professional standard. The topics covered will be very useful for your regular maintenance of the guitar you have made as well as any others that you may have. Topics covered: Professional Setups Theory Fitting and filing the Bone Nut Pickguard placement Installing strap buttons Installing Decals (Personalised custom Decals) Final Setting and fitting the neck Stringing up String tree placement Bridge set up Action height adjustment and setting Pick up height Intonation Customising Your Guitar Build inclusive from £999 We are more than happy to work with you in order to get the custom build you want, so please contact us if you have a specific body colour scheme or neck choice, which Bare Knuckle pickups you want as well as hardware and we will try help achieve exactly that. If you’re unsure what works best, just get in touch and we will advise where we can. All custom options are subject to availability and it is always best to have a 1st & 2nd choice, there are some colours/parts etc that may incur additional cost. Tweed hard cases are available for an additional £75, £90 for the Jazzmaster. (Soft gig bag included) Some additional charges can apply for custom colours or specs or if you would like specific made to order Bare Knuckle Pickups

In this fun and creative course, you'll learn how to use sashiko mending techniques to patch your jeans with elegance. You will learn the fundamentals of visible mending jeans, which uses simple stitches to create stunning patterns and designs on the cloth. A step-by-step demonstration and guidance on how to execute sashiko stitching on jeans will be provided. You must bring your own ripped jeans or work on the sampler provided by us. Join us for this enjoyable and relaxing course to experience the delight of visible mending jeans!

Learn how to paint using traditional Japanese Painting materials.

What is a Japanese Head spa? Japanese head spa is another term for scalp treatment. Generally, you can expect some variation of treatment to detoxify the scalp, and massage to stimulate circulation and relieve tension. Course Content: History of Japanese head spa culture and theory Importance of scalp health including anatomy of the scalp Benefits of head spa Head spa techniques Products and Tools Acupressure points and massage techniques for relaxation- Consultation forms Contraindications and precautions Aftercare Hair and scalp conditions Hair types Essential Oils Scalp analysis Microcurrent, high frequency and oxygen treatment(only if the scalp analysis machine is purchased from us) Cancer patients, scalp conditions Step-by-step on how to offer Japanese head spa treatment Tools: scalp oil, brush, scalp brush, guasha tools, tunning fork, scalp claw, guasha comb, shampoo, conditioner, aromatherapy... Head spa sink and scalp analyser: please visit our "Shop product section" for details. Certificate You will receive an accredited end-of-course completion certificate. How does in-person training work? Once you place your order, you can access your course content online. We will message you with some training dates to arrange your practical day. We teach Monday to Saturday so we always have many dates to choose from. You will have access to training material online and have to study the content and complete the theoretical part of training before your practical assignment. You will then come to our venue in Leyton E10 6RA where we will spend 2-4 hours learning and practising the Japanese head spa. Training Options: Training Course only: Home study + 2-3 hours practical assignment Training Course + sink: Home study + 3-4 hours practical assignment Training Course +sink+skin analysis machine: Home study +3-4 hours practical assignment Will I require a model? Yes, usually you will be required to bring 1 model. Is it a group course? Our Japanese Head spa Training is 1:1 course, however, if you have more friends, family member or employes that want to join on the same day that is absolutely possible. Are there video tutorials? Yes, you will have links to YouTube and training videos to watch the treatment being performed so you can refer back to it after the course. Are there any pre requisites? The course is available for complete begginers and advanced professionals.