I started Shodo four years ago as a way to help my youngest on her kanji tests in school, never with the intention of pursuing it seriously. Something about how my Sensei teaches, and the regularity of studying together every week changed my attitude. Below is my official certificate that I reached shodan, first dan … More Shodan
The best part of the level up test is when you can write free hand. Normally, I have to copy as perfectly as possible. That can be fun but a little boring. Of course, Sensei always helps with composition, but I really do have a free hand. This time, the assignment was the following waka … More Kana Level-up Test
Some smart person in marketing must have figured out the low carb craze. Then they married zero carbs with Chu-hi, which is made of Shochu, a Korean cheap alcohol. Then they made it twice as strong as beer. Unsatisfied with just one flavor they started in on lychee and yes, mango. The result? A quick … More Japan is Awesome- Chu-hi
Tobikyu \ˈtō ˈbē ˈkyü\ Verb (used without object) 1) To tobu a kyu 2) No really, you tobu completely over a kyu to the next kyu 3) so tobu means to jump or fly, and kyu is a level, so it means jumping up more than one level at a time. Kind of like skipping … More Shodo – Tobikyu
April I feel pretty good about kana. I used to worry about where to move my brush and when. Now, it seems to just happen. I also used to bend my brush at a little bit of an angle. Now, I’m pretty much straight up and down. I’ts been a long time since I wrote … More April Shodo
Twice a year, we get to take a test to level up. Last year, I jumped two levels in kana, which kind of made me jump up and down for joy. It’s pretty damned hard to get a level when you just submit every month. Which kind of makes me wonder why you can level … More Kana Test – Part 2 (pt. 1 coming later)
Hey, it’s been forever since I’ve been able to show some progress, but in the March issue of Shodo Geijutsu, the magazine for my Shodo group, you can read that I made it to yukyu. This is up from 1 kyu. Check out the cover of the mag: My name has a big old circle … More Level Up – Kana
