Handwriting
I have a question: does anyone know of good resources for adults to improve their handwriting? I don’t mean calligraphy, but everyday fluent handwriting. I used to have really neat handwriting when I was at school, but as I’ve used computers more it has gradually degraded to the scruffy, illegible scrawl I use today. When I look back at my old school books, and even my undergraduate notes, it’s hard to believe that it’s my handwriting. I’d really like to neaten it up again.
I think part of the problem is impatience. I’ve got used to typing very quickly, so when I try to hand-write at the same speed, I get frustrated and the result looks like a stoned spider with inky feet reeling across the page.
Martial arts
Reading The Fencing Master reminded me of what I miss about doing martial arts. I studied TaeKwon-Do for several years, and also had a brief bash (if that’s the right word) at fencing. I must be the world’s least sporty person, but I really enjoyed bothâperhaps because there was as much emphasis on just doing and enjoying them as on winning a competition or match.
The Fencing Master is full of wonderful descriptions of the experience of fencing, and of the curious mixture of analytical planning and instinct it requires. On the one hand, you need to react and act instinctively towards your opponent because the action is so fast that if you wait for your brain to catch up, you will already be beaten. On the other, there’s a lot of strategy involved. You need to feel out your opponents weak points (acute observational skills are useful here), and then exploit them by employing a feint which will make them react in a certain way and allow you to make a counter-attack.
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