Kana seems like my strong suit, 4th kyu. But I’m stagnating these days, not seeing any progress. I’m sure I know what it is. I just practice once a week. And I only do kana one of the weeks in the month. Time to make a decision, double down or maybe more. Not just this once a month habit I have here.
Kanji has always been only OK for me, 6th kyu after 2 years. I figure I have done about everything I can with the limited investment I’m doing. I hear and read about deliberate practice, and how it is the way to progress. Seems like this is proof positive. Is shodo a passing hobby? Or is it a little bit more.
B.S. Donovan 
What kind of brush are you using for kanji?
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Hey Bofu, I use a #4 I got from my Sensei. Don’t know the make. Why do you ask?
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Added a pic of the brush
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Hey there,
I was just curious. I know practice is the absolute most important aspect of improvement, but another important factor – for me at least – was the tools I was using. For my first few months I was using the type of brush you’d get in a starter shodo set, you know the type, the thick stick with the brush on the end. I insisted that a poor workman blames their tools. And I was doing terrible. Then a musician friend of mine told me to splurge a tiny bit and get a better brush. She said, “If you were teaching your daughter to ride a bike, would you have her learn on an old rusty piece of crap? Of course she could learn, but it would be a lot smoother on a better bike.”
So I went out and got a brush that felt right for me and my work made huge strides. Not only was the brush a better fit, I felt more motivated to practice because it felt good to hold.
Anyway, it was just a thought I had about one thing that marked a big turning point for me (not that I don’t have a loooooong way to go, but I was even worse than I am now.)
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Thanks, I have a good brush, not awesome. I wish I could place more blame there, but the truth is that I only practice with Sensei once a week for 2 hours. I’m certain that I just have to put in more concerted effort.
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Yeah, I hear that, unfortunately. : (
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