I want you to understand what it actually means to write with your arm, how it is different from writing with your fingers, and the pros/cons of each method of writing.
Lesson Summary
- Almost every person writes with their fingers. There’s nothing wrong with writing with your fingers, but it has advantages and disadvantages.
- Writing with the arm means that your hand and fingers are staying relatively still while your arm moves the pen.
- If you are writing with your arm completely off the table (or at a whiteboard), it is called “whole arm” movement. Unless writing at a large size or on a high-friction surface, it is very difficult to control the pen with whole arm movement.
- To improve control of the pen, place your forearm muscle on the edge of your desk. This restricts the motion of your arm and makes it much easier to control the pen with arm movement (although it still isn’t easy). This is called “muscular movement” or Palmer Method.
- Writing with your arm allows you to write for long periods of time without pain or fatigue. You can also create crisp, graceful lines with arm movement. It takes time to learn to write with your arm.
- Finger writing is painful and tiring after a few minutes. You have much more control with your fingers and can write at a very small size. Finger writing comes naturally.
Exercise
Grab a pen and paper and try to feel the difference between finger writing and arm writing. Finger writing should feel completely natural to you while arm writing should feel uncomfortable. If you feel like you have any control, you are probably reverting back to finger writing.