AusBonsai

This elm is growing like the clappers. It's one of Ray Nesci’s strong variants, so I have been able to wire the new growth. All good, but now I want to trim it back. If it were a Chinese elm, I'd be hacking bits off left, right and centre, but this beast has me confused.
Here's the problem: Lovely, fishbone shaped branches with hundreds of tiny leaves - seriously cool bonsai material. But how do I prune?
If I simply chop off the end of the branch, surely it would just look blunt and ugly.
There seems to be very little about this species as bonsai on the web, and I have drawn a complete blank on pruning to preserve the shape of the tree.
Can anyone help?

Typically branch structure is made of 2x2x2.
At your stage this would mean to select where your first v (2) will start and the remove/chop the rest.
If you prune the ends of the v that you have selected this week usually force these ends to shoot buds and divide. This is where your next 2s will come from and so on.

However!
One must take into account the desired branch thickness first.
If the branch is not thick enough cutting selecting and pruning will slow this thickening.

A diagram would best help this discussion and I'm sure others will chime in.

Thanks, Boics,
I understand the basic principles of ramification, but I am confused about where to go with the close, fishbone structure of the hokkaido elm.
Anyone have experience with these?

It is a Chinese elm only with short internodes and smaller leaves. The structure is the same as any other Chinese elm just a bit closer together because of the shorter internodes. Prune as you would any other elm but you will just have to look a bit closer with this one.
So go ahead and hack bits off left, right and centre.
1. shorten the main branch.
2. shorten remaining side branches to match the pruned main branch. You may also need to remove some of the side shoots because they tend to be too close together.
Simples.....

Cheers, Shibui,
That's exactly what I needed!

Looks like next weekend's blocked out for me, then...

It isn't that big TT Half an hour should be more than enough

hacking bits off left, right and centre

You could do it like I did in the Chinese style (penjing) it is in training for 6 years

@Shibui I'm a plodder, me! I can easily spin this one out over a couple of days!
@Hailun that's gorgeous! Presumably all clip and grow...a beautiful tree! Youve given me something to think about there...
Thanks guys!

Not clip and grow to begin with some gentle wiring and the inevitable broken branch which I managed to mend, now is it clipping to maintain