heisig method in review

So as of today, I have gone through the whole RTK1 book! It took a lot of diligence to meet the deadline I set (to finish before Christmas) but it feels good now that the book is complete (although I know my study of kanji as a whole is far from complete). It's a strange feeling that I consider myself intermediate in writing/reading but still beginner in speaking. Hopefully it was the right choice to make for my circumstance. I am hoping that the spoken will be more intuitively learned by living in the country and being able to immerse myself much easier.

And now to make some more critiques on the method.

I agree that the Heisig method is one of the best out there for people who want to be fluent one day, or at least gain a HIGH comprehension of the written language but is not a good tool for those who just want the basics. Also, using "imaginative memory" has reduced my mixing up of similar kanji substantially (one of my greatest stumbling points in the past).

One of the most important things you should think about if you are considering starting this method is if you will be able to finish it. You do not need to do it at the pace that I did (actually I do not recommend that to anyone, I'm probably just a little too OCD for my own good). As I've said before, keeping interest levels and spirits high is probably more important than anything else in learning a language. Otherwise stated by Tim Ferriss:

"if sprinting uphill with bowling balls in each hand were the most effective way to lose body fat, how long would the average person adhere to such a program?"

The main reason that completion of the program is so important is that there are a lot of essential, high-use kanji that appear right at the end of the book. For example the kanji for "station" is kanji 1984 of 2042 on the list. So if you looking for practical use just using this book then covering all of them is key.

That being said, even if you don't finish the book a great advantage is just learning how to learn kanji. I should think getting through part one of the book should be sufficient for this and then you should read the prefaces to the rest of the lessons as there are good points scattered amongst them. That way even if you never learn something like "station" you can just pick it up later. Then you can use the heisig method to 1) memorize it and 2) help you with kanji similar to station you learn afterward, whether it be through intentional study or just immersion/exposure.

So not finishing will leave some important gaps, but you should have the tools needed to fill in the gaps later. And since I always seem to find a way to make diagram-metaphors here is one. The different methods of learning Japanese are like two ways of building a wall:
focusing on more important words is like building the wall by hand and no mortar; it will give you a full foundation which will be of the most use to you, but it is a harder and more tedious process. You will forget/mix up kanji and have to relearn them more often. As one blog I read stated "80% fluency can come from 250 kanji" (no comment on the accuracy of this statement from me).

unfinished heisig is leaves important gaps, but gives you tools and the bricks that are laid with mortar stay better (won't be mixed-up or need to be re-learned)

The only other comment about heisig is regarding the use of false "primitives". most of the time primitives aren't kanji, which is fine. They are just a tool. but there are two primitives that they just dump at the very end and tell you they are kanji. They are:

kanji 2033 屯 = barraks (which is already earthworm in my mind)
kanji 2034 且 = moreover (which is already been shelves in my mind)

I don't know why they couldn't just introduce both at the same time like they did with kanji 1909 番- turn but the primitive is dice. Still 1 guess 2 kanji to complain about out of 2042 is not bad at all.

Lastly for anyone that is interested in seeing my review schedule over the last while

I'm not very good at updates

sorry I have been neglecting this so much. I guess my mindset is if I have time to write blogs, I'd rather use it to study. As of now I've been very regimented on myself and have been trying to keep to 50 kanji per day and I've completely stopped doing smart.fm after item 600. It's been hard, and somewhat unpleasant at times. So I wouldn't recommend the load to anyone unless they're trying to meet some deadline or know they have the ability to keep their spirits high as it is very important to not hit a frustration wall that can turn a short break into a long break into losing sight of the goal altogether.

as of today I can write and identify at least one meaning of 1250 kanji! It's pretty cool that I know most of the kanji in stuff I see now. still a couple of steps away from actually understanding what is written, but a good start nonetheless. Keeping at my current pace I should be able to finish the RTK1 list in 16 days when I only have 32 before I leave!

For people who are interested I've been using anki which gives some nice graphs showing my progress. you can see things like fri/sat that have been skipped for more fun activities and Sundays where I have done extra cramming to make up for it. enjoy! note that I almost never click easy and that sometimes I'll leave anki open and forget about it, so a few of the review times as much greater than they actually were.