Most students of the Japanese language want to improve their writing, and shodou is the traditional way to practice writing kanji. It really isn't as complex as some people make it! Let's look at a few of the different subjects and writing styles.
Many shodo books start with a lesson on how to write the kanji character "ei." This character has most of the basic strokes used in shodo. Mastering the strokes in this one character alone will be useful in writing most all the other kanji.
The study of shodo is mostly the study of the components of kanji: radicals. These diagrams show the proportions of how kanji radicals work with other components.
It is important to pay attention the the overall shape of the kanji, and how the radicals work together. There are dozens of these little tricks to keep your kanji looking properly proportioned.
