Chinese calligraphy: Figure iceskating on 4 fingers

Equipped with brush, paper, ink and a lot of motivation I had yesterday my first Chinese calligraphy lesson. As any other Chinese (traditional) activity or art expression, this has always seemed to me an easy and relaxing activity. Well, after the first trial I have to admit that writing hanzi (the Chinese name for ideograms) with the brush is everything but easy and that after the first 60 minutes I was mentally exhausted.

In calligrahpy every stroke has to be executed with defined movements, with a defined startin and an ending point for each single stroke that has to be found in one of the 4 parts of the stroke square. Mind, hand, brush and paper must become a unit during the execution of every stroke.

All this remembered me the learning of the hedges of the blades in figure ice skating. As in figure ice skating also in calligraphy the slowliness and the stability of the movement expresses the performer's skills. It took me years to learn the basic lines and movements of the blades on the ice. I suppose that calligraphy will require the same time and dedication. Let's see how far I am able to go. 

***In the picture my name: 米凯拉 (Micaela)