[Information Overload] Efficient Handwriting Practice Method 9: Many Failures (Correct, Fast, Beautiful)

The worst thing is...
having too much 'speed' in basic handwriting practice...

In Kumon Penmanship,
the ultimate goal is to be able to write
correctly, quickly, and beautifully.

However,

that is only 'ultimately'.
U

l

ti

ma

te

ly

.

It is.

Until you reach the stage of refining individual characters and learning how to format sentences (especially in the Kaisho/block style),
you do not need 'speed' at all.

You don't need it.
Not at all.
You don't need it.
(Gyosho/cursive style requires rhythm—fluctuation—rather than speed.)

The idea is, 'If you can't write well while writing slowly,
there's no way you can write well while writing quickly.'

You will only end up writing sloppy, connected characters
that look like you're trying to hide your poor penmanship.

Of course,
since Kumon
aims to be 'useful in daily life' and 'practical',
you will eventually need 'speed' as well.

But,


if your goal
is to be able to write
the characters you use daily beautifully,

first, please discard 'speed' for a moment.
Next, please discard 'beauty'.



How can you 'break the mold' without even having a 'mold' to begin with?
How can you act 'unconventionally' without even knowing 'common sense'?

First, thoroughly memorize the 'mold'.
Until it becomes unconscious,
to the point where you can only write that way.

Don't try to write beautifully,
just write 'correctly' according to the principles.
Then,
'beauty' will naturally follow.


Truly at the very end... 'speed'.
Even now, when I write, I don't focus on 'speed'.
(Of course, I do write quickly depending on the situation.)

At first,
please write slowly
while looking at the model as much as possible.

Since you are moving your hand while looking at the model,
your characters might end up large, but
that is fine at the beginning.

If your characters get big,
or your lines shake,
that is fine.


The thought is, 'Wait... are you planning not to fail from the start?'


At first,
please fail a lot.
Please feel 'I can't write well' many times.
That is perfectly fine.

There is something I often say to adult learners.
It is, 'At first, it's fine if you can write it correctly once out of ten times, or one out of ten characters.'
You just need to gradually increase that.
You understand that the difference between 'being able to do it once out of ten times'
and 'not being able to do it even once out of ten times'

is enormous, right?

It becomes stressful because you think you have to get it right ten out of ten times.

If you can do it even once out of ten times,
that is proof that your hand was able to copy and reproduce it.
That one success
is a very big step.


Please fail a lot
and feel 'I can't do it' a lot.

You can even discard 'Correctness' along with 'Speed' and 'Beauty'.
At first, don't demand anything,

just
look closely at the model,
analyze and understand the model,
and just write it the same way.
What's important is not 'Correctness' but 'Adherence'.

'Adhering' to how to look at the model,

'Adhering' to the principles of character formation,
that is all.

I am truly looking forward to many failures.
I wholeheartedly welcome many failures.

It's not that 'it's better to fail',
but rather 'you must fail',
that is how important failing is.

'Nice, that's nice!'
'Good, that's good!'
When you fail, when you manage to fail,
I rejoice in a way that sounds like a perverted photographer: 'Ah, nice, that's nice!'
'Good, that's good!'
I really do say this often in class.

(Alright, from now on I will also include the 'perverted photographer' character setting. My default is the 'demon' setting.)

Ultimately, it is about 'Correctness, Speed, and Beauty'.
Clarify your purpose,
and let's properly determine what you need to do 'now' and proceed.
Taking it one step at a time is fine.

Since I am a demon who doesn't overlook even a 0.1mm error,
you might think I'd say something like 'Why can't you write it?'

It's the opposite.

'Why aren't you failing?'
'Why are you in such a hurry?'

Which would you rather be: 'someone whose writing becomes beautiful quickly but soon falls apart' or 'someone whose writing takes time but never falls apart for a lifetime'?

I can fulfill either request, but which one do you want?

Life is limited.
That is precisely why
I want you to take that 'one step' steadily
without rushing 'now'.
(Wait, what am I talking about?)


(I'm talking about the perverted photographer.)

(No, that's not it.)


How people who can do it
do it,
what kind of characters people who can do it write,
everything starts with 'imitation'.

'To do something unconventional,
you must first know the conventional.'
That is a famous quote by Ken Shimura.

If you want to 'break the mold',
you must first know the 'mold'.

(Oh, no...
it's going to be revealed that I'm actually a conventional person)

(Yes, I am a conventional perverted photographer.)



Because you discard,
because you let go,
because you put things out,
space is created there,
and things can enter, right?

Without discarding anything,
without letting go of anything,
what are you trying to gain?

There is no more room to pack things in.

In handwriting practice,
'Speed'—yes, it's okay to discard it.

You can get 'tips for beautiful writing'
from many places,
but don't become an intellectual snob.

More than such knowledge,
'practice is everything'.

It is meaningless if you don't practice.
It is meaningless if you don't write a lot
and fail a lot.

There really is just too much 'information'...
Right now... there really is just too much 'information'...

Beautiful writing is not created by 'knowledge'.
Beautiful writing is created by 'the habit of writing'.

If 'beautiful handwriting' is not something that can be achieved in a single day,
then the handwriting of people who write beautifully now
was created in an era without so much information.
That means...

right?

'Correct, Fast, Beautiful' or
technical jargon,
they sound cool in words, don't they?
I have never used them in my classroom at all.

I feel embarrassed that when I first opened the school, I posted slogans like 'Correct, Fast, Beautiful, Good, Maintain'...

Don't be misled by plausible,
cool-sounding words.
That is what I think.
Don't rely only on knowledge.
Don't just stuff yourself with knowledge. That is what I think.

What have people who are good at handwriting 'now' done?

That is the answer.
You just need to do that.

It might even be a way of life...

Whose, and what, will you 'imitate' now?

(Ah, I am
a serious and conventional

perverted photographer, and it's going to be exposed...)

'Yeah, that's good, that's good'
'That's good', 'That's good'

'That's fine'
'It's okay'
'It's okay to fail'