If you practice writing with a pen, it will help both ballpoint pens and gel pens, but if you are used to the friction of pens, gel pens will feel too smooth and uncontrollable, and writing will be worse than using pens. On the other hand, if you practice writing with a gel pen and write with a pen, you will feel greater friction resistance and the writing speed will be affected, but the strokes and glyphs will be consistent with the practice. In other words, it is slightly more difficult for gel pens to practice calligraphy than pens.
It doesn't matter what pen you use. It is important that the method of practicing calligraphy is correct, that is, "accurate copying". Elbow pens, soft-headed pens and excessively thick pens are not recommended for beginners. Some friends like to write with elbow pens and soft-headed pens, thinking that the strokes written are rich in changes and easy to produce results. In fact, beginners write with elbow pen, which is easy to cause the disease of flat pen.