The correct posture for holding a brush is: press the inside of the first book of the thumb against the side of the penholder, with the thumb in a slightly horizontal position.
As for writing with a brush, many believe that the "five-character writing method" is the best way to hold a brush, and their interpretations are also different. Writing in calligraphy is mainly about how the calligrapher uses the brush. Writing can be divided into narrow writing method and broad writing method. In a narrow sense, the writing method only refers to the operation of the five fingers or the movement of the wrist together. It is mainly used for writing medium and small characters. It mainly adjusts the posture of the fingers and wrists when holding the pen, and involves very few parts of the body.
The generalized writing method refers to the cooperative movements of the entire body system such as fingers, palms, wrists, forearms, elbow joints, upper arms, and shoulder joints. To learn to write calligraphy, you must first learn the correct way to hold the pen. How to hold a pen correctly is the prerequisite for using the pen correctly and is an important part of writing well. Only when you hold the pen properly can you use it freely when writing. If you hold the pen improperly and develop incorrect habits, it will be difficult to correct and it will not be conducive to writing well.
Key points for holding the pen:
Firm fingers: The fingers should be pressed firmly on the pen barrel to hold the pen steadily. The palms of your hands are weak: Do not clench your palms tightly, relax them naturally, and have a certain amount of space in your palms so that you can freely move the pen. The back of the hand is rounded: This describes the way the back of the hand is naturally rounded and upright when holding a pen. Don’t be artificial. Palm erect: With the palm erect, the hand can hold the pen straight. The fingers must be strong to hold the pen, and the pen barrel must be firmly held. The four outer fingers should be close to each other, and the joints should be outward, dense but not loose.
Particular attention should be paid to making the middle joint of the inner thumb bulge outward, so that the tiger's mouth is as round as a stirrup shape. In this way, the five fingers work together, and the pen is strong and strong, and it is helpful for writing. The pen should be held with an appropriate amount of tightness. If it's too tight, it won't work well; if it's too loose, it won't work well. Only by pointing firmly can we achieve "no false hair, no ink spillage, focus on the heart, and stable writing." Palm upright means that the palm should be held up as much as possible when writing. Only when the palm is upright can it be straight, and when it is straight can the front be straight. If the front is straight, it will have full strength in all directions and move freely.
Otherwise, the pen barrel will be skewed, the pen edge will be incorrect, and the strokes will easily become skewed. The tube should be straight. When writing, try to keep the pen tube vertical on the paper, so that the strokes can be easily kept in the center. However, in the specific process of pen movement, the pen barrel sometimes has to pitch and tilt. What is important is that it is tilted but straight, and the center of gravity is stable.