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The day I realized I was gripping my pencil like a caveman for 30 years
I was at a coffee shop in Portland last spring sketching some notes, and a high school kid sitting nearby asked if my hand hurt. I told him it always ached after writing, and he just pointed out I was clenching the pencil with my whole fist, using way too much pressure. He showed me this relaxed grip his art teacher taught him, and I tried it for like 10 minutes, and suddenly my handwriting didn't look like a spider crawled across the page. Have you ever had some random person casually fix a bad habit you'd lived with forever?
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linda_reed3d ago
I mean, the death grip got me through three hours of exams without my hand cramping up, so maybe there's something to be said for doing what works for you even if it looks dumb.
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leewood3d ago
Totally agree, the death grip saved me during a long essay test too.
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cole_murphy3d agoRising Star
Right? It's like the ugliest thing ever but somehow the most clutch move when you're three hours deep and your hand is basically screaming at you (loudly). People see me doing it and probably think I'm about to snap my pen in half, but hey, no cramps means I can actually finish my train of thought. I swear, the death grip is one of those secrets nobody talks about because it looks so ridiculous. But if it works, it works. Can't argue with results, even if your knuckles go white and you look like a caveman holding a stick.
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