小６お書初め特訓 Day 1 「夢の実現」。

　今年も、恒例の「お書初め」の季節がやってきました。私の小６の姪は、３年生から私の猛特訓を受けています。特別講師として参加する妹の助けもあり、毎年金賞を獲得。昨年は学年１位となり満足げでした！　書道を習う子が減っている現代、猛特訓は金賞への確かな道だと考えています。そして、小学校生活最後の今年は、小１からの金賞コンプリートを狙っています。

　授業での初挑戦で「ことちゃんうまいね！」との声が飛び交ったようですが、「どうしよう、Aちゃんも、Cちゃんもうまくて、今年は大変かも…」と、プレッシャーが一層増しているようです。

　今回のお題は、「夢の現実」。手始めに「夢」という文字を書いてもらいましたが、筆の入れ方や持ち方が少々おぼつかない様子。姪は書道を習っていないので、やはり振出しに戻っていました。本人も筆の持ち方が違うことに、戸惑いを隠しきれない様子でした。

　正しい筆の持ち方を改めて教えて、何度も、書道の基本である入り方と止め方の練習をさせました。書道は細部に宿る芸術ですから、持ち方一つで全てが変わるのです。

　徐々に筆の入り方や止め方が改善されて行きました。きれいに決まると気持ちが良いものです。

　次に、YouTubeの書道解説動画を視聴。静寂の中で流れる穏やかな先生の声に、彼女は少し眠気を感じたようでした。休憩を挟み、再び「夢」に取り組みますが、なかなか次のステップに進めません。「金賞取りたいんだよね」と確認すると、彼女は小さく頷きました。私は妥協せずに見守ります。

　夕食後、現状把握として、書き初め用紙を使って書くことにしました。疲労困憊の中、緊張感を持って取り組めていました。緊張することは、集中、瞑想状態を生じさせ、とても大事なことのように思います。

　ひとつひとつの文字が悪くはありませんが、全体のバランスをこれから意識していく必要があります。難しい書き初めの世界ですが、初日の成果に期待を感じることができました。　次回の特訓は1月4日。どんな成長を見せてくれるのでしょうか！

　ちなみに小４の甥は、好き嫌いがはっきりしているタイプで、書き初めにフォーカスするつもりはないようです。(笑)　

Grade 6 Calligraphy Training Day 1 

The season for the annual New Year's calligraphy has come once again. My niece, who is in the sixth grade, has been undergoing intense training with me since she was in the third grade. With the help of my sister, who joins as a special instructor, she has won the gold prize every year. Last year, she was the top in her grade and looked very pleased! In today's world where fewer children are learning calligraphy, I believe that intense training is the sure way to the gold prize. And this year, her last in elementary school, we are aiming to complete a streak of gold prizes starting from first grade.

It seems she was praised for her skill during her first attempt in class, but she's feeling increased pressure thinking, 'What should I do, both A-chan and C-chan are good too, this year might be tough...'

The theme this time is 'The Reality of Dreams'. To start, I had her write the character for 'dream', but her brush strokes and grip were a bit unsteady. Since my niece hasn't learned calligraphy, it was like starting from square one. She was visibly confused by the different way of holding the brush.

I taught her the correct way to hold the brush again and had her practice the basics of calligraphy – the entry and stopping of strokes – over and over. Calligraphy is an art that resides in the details, and everything changes with just the way you hold the brush.

Gradually, her way of entering and stopping the brush strokes improved. It feels good when it turns out beautifully.

Next, we watched a calligraphy tutorial video on YouTube. In the midst of silence, she seemed a bit sleepy listening to the calm voice of the teacher. After a break, we went back to working on 'dream', but it was difficult to move to the next step. When I confirmed, 'You want to win the gold prize, right?' she nodded slightly. I continue to watch over her without compromise.

After dinner, for a current assessment, we decided to use calligraphy paper for practice. Despite her exhaustion, she tackled it with a sense of tension. Feeling tense seems to be very important as it leads to concentration and a meditative state.

While each character isn't bad, we need to be more conscious of the overall balance going forward. It's a challenging world of calligraphy, but I felt hopeful about the results of the first day. The next training session is on January 4th. I wonder what kind of growth she will show!

By the way, my nephew in the fourth grade has clear likes and dislikes and doesn't seem interested in focusing on calligraphy. (laughs)"