Cue from Japanese calligraphy
A couple of days ago I came across a page that claims that in Japanese calligraphy,
There are a couple ways in which calligraphers hold their brush. In the Tankoho method, the brush is held like a pencil, using the thumb, index finger, and middle finger. In the Sokoho method, the artists adds their ring finger.[Note 1]
I was skeptical. I had always been taught that (in Chinese calligraphy) holding the brush like a pencil was wrong.
Since Anthy[Note 2] didn’t seem to know what to make of “tankoho” and “sokoho”, I turned to search for corroboration and was surprised to find another page with the same claim:
The brush may be held with the tankoho method — holding the brush like a pencil — or the sokoho style, adding the ring finger to the grip.[Note 3]
But to me, corroboration involves finding out how the terms are actually written in Japanese. Since I felt I wasn’t getting anywhere, I changed my search strategy: I entered the search term “書道の方” (techniques for calligraphy).
Then bingo! 単鉤法 (tankōhō; ˈdanˈŋɐuˉfat, ‘single grip method’) and 双鉤法 (sōkōhō; ˈsœŋˈŋɐuˉfat, ‘double grip method’).[Note 4]
I also found the two grips serve different purposes: the double grip (the way I was taught) for kanji or strong, bold strokes; the single grip for kana or delicate strokes.[Note 5]
Single grip for kana or delicate strokes.
This might be the key to how to do English with a brush.
I’m going to experiment. Notes