Pruning/Shaping help needed for a young Japanese Maple

[kellyeb1981]

Help!! I got a young Japanese Maple 2 years ago, so I'm guessing it's about 4 years old now, and it only has 1 long branch that is getting longer and longer, and is starting to grow more sideways than up, and there is a clear bend in that branch as you can see in the pictures. All the new growth seems to be below that bend, but the vast majority of the leaves are above the bend. Is it okay to slowly remove that branch (removing a couple inches each year) to encourage the new growth at the bottom and eventually take that branch down to where it bends off the main trunk? What's the best thing to do here?
First picture is the whole tree so you can see the shape and length of the main branch, second is a close up of the bend with the main branch highlighted in yellow and the bend circled in red.

 

[Hack Yeah!]

Welcome to the site! Please add your location to your profile, it'll help in the future knowing what zone you are in. What are your goals for this maple? Bonsai?

 

[coltranem]

Maples, particularly young ones like this, will bud back at nodes when cut back hard at the right time of year. Usuaslly you don't want to do that until you have a plan for the final size of the tree.

However it looks like the lower growth is different than the top. It is possible this is grafted. In that case if you cut back too far you will just leaves from the root stock. Not necessarily bad but just worth knowing. The leaves from the different sections will always be different.

 

[Shibui]

All trees will try to grow longer and taller. It is our job, as bonsai growers, to convince the tree to grow small. That's where pruning comes in.
Looks like there's new growth both above and below the bend you mention (which is why the top keeps getting longer and longer) but that's beside the point. Japanese maples are quite good at budding after pruning so we can often just chop the trunk and wait for the new shoots to grow. That's how many bonsai are started. This tree does have some branches lower which makes it even easier and safer to chop.
There's no need to reduce slowly. You can just cut a whole lot off in one go and the tree will just put its resources into whatever is left and start growing again.
Bonsai activities, such as pruning, are tied to the seasons. Without your location we can't advise when would be appropriate to chop this tree.

I agree that this maple appears to be grafted and it looks like there's a shoot growing from the root stock section. Best to remove those different shoots as they tend to grow faster than the grafted cultivar and can compete enough to kill off the top section if allowed to grow too big. Even if it doesn't kill the grafted section your tree will look odd with 2 different leaf shapes and colours on the same tree.

 

[zita]

it only has 1 long branch that is getting longer and longer, and is starting to grow more sideways than up, and there is a clear bend in that branch

it took me decades to style my bonsais that way. Who are you kelly Master fallen from the sky...

You could wire that long branch and bend it it even more...shape that to a new leader. Thats what i woul do.
Is that an acer SHAINA?