Studying Japanese Calligraphy

  Over the last few weeks, I've been enjoying a Japanese calligraphy (shodo) course taught by Ms. Denri Takai.  The course covers the materials and methods to write with a brush and ink.  Readers of my blog know that I've had a long fascination with Japan so this is something that I'm very interested in from both a cultural and aesthetic point of view.
  Like many things, it looks so simple on the outside.  And my teacher makes it look effortless (she has been doing it since childhood and is the descendant of Dengo Takai who is a calligrapher from the 1860s).  Trying it myself, I can say the challenges seem endless.  The movement and shape of the brush, the consistency of the ink, the spacing of the strokes and characters are all separate challenges.
  Other factors come into place also such as posture and my mental state.  There's no going back once the brush touches the paper so it can be intimidating.  I'm still a total novice at this, but I've already realized the depth of these challenges.  After class, I feel pretty tired because of the concentration required.  But it's still a lot of fun and the course integrates other aspects of Japanese culture and language.
  Many of these principles also apply to watercolor painting so I've been thinking about how watercolor and shodo correlate.  Brush control is really the ultimate goal for any form of painting, but the only way to achieve that is with lots of practice.  The confidence that my teacher has is a result of training and practice, practice, practice.  I feel like students sometimes try to bypass this fact by asking, "what is the secret?"
  I'm learning a lot with this course and I'll keep studying it on my own after the course.  It's really a never-ending journey and the spiritual and artistic crossover is fascinating to me.