Many people in the western world are a little bit reticent about learning to eat with chopsticks, although this fear is unfounded.  The reality is that eating this way is a skill that can be learned in fairly short order, provided the person stays reasonably consistent in their practice.  The result will be a refined eating technique that pairs perfectly with that new sushi set you just bought or are thinking about purchasing.

Here are a few steps that will guide you through the process of using the chopsticks that came with your sushi set:

[Please keep in mind that the chopsticks you normally get with a sushi starter set are just fine for learning purposes.  Usually the "fancier" chopsticks are a little harder to use, anyway!]

1. First, you’ll want to place one chopstick between your thumb and forefinger, right in the crook and resting comfortably.  The stick should ideally be at the base of your thumb, your thumb being about 1/3 the way down from the thicker end of the chopstick.
2. Rest the chopstick on your ring finger about 1/2 of the the way down the chopstick.  At this point, the first chopstick should be pretty stable, one end between your thumb and index finger (from the first step) and the other end resting on your ring finger.
3. You place the second stick in your hand similarly to how you might handle a pen or pencil:  resting on the tip of your thumb, held into place with the help of your middle finger.
4. Using your index and middle fingers, practice moving the tip of the top chopstick up and down while the bottom chopstick remains still (it might wobble a bit as you are starting out, but this will improve with practice). As you move the top one down the tip should meet up with the tip of the other chopstick.

And that’s all there is to it!  Don’t worry if the instructions aren’t perfectly clear to you the first time.  The foundation to all of this is that you must practice for a while with the rest of your sushi set.  All the seemingly intricate placements and movements in eating with chopsticks is functional, allowing you to execute a “pinching” motion with the ends of the sticks.  Of course, it’s most fun to practice with some actual food, so break out that sushi set and try picking up some delicious food items with those chopsticks.  The tasty morsels waiting for you at the end of those sticks will be a wonderful incentive to keep practicing and improving your technique!