Now that you know a little about how the utensil originated, it is finally time to get down to business. Lets dive into how exactly the chopstick utensils are used.
Step 1: Holding The Chopsticks
When holding Chopsticks, it is best to use your dominant hand. Either your left or right, whichever is easiest for you! Try to hold your hand loosely, not clenching the tools, for better food grip.
Start by placing one chopstick, the thicker end, in the valley or in between your thumb and pointer finger, the other end, lower end, of the stick should be resting (balancing) on top of your ring finger.
After the first stick is in position grab the second stick also placing it in the valley between your thumb and pointer finger, but instead of resting it on your ring finger, instead, rest the second stick on your middle finger.
When needing to have more of a firm grip, use your middle, thumb, and pointer fingers to grab the second chopstick more tightly.
Step 2: Maneuvering The Chopsticks
Now that you understand how to hold and position the chopsticks in your hand, let's now begin to learn how to manuever the utensils. The first or bottom chopstick more or less remains stationary and will not move around as much.
The second or top chopstick, however, will do most of the heavy lifting, using your middle and index fingers to do all the work. When moving the top chopstick in an up and down motion/direction, use your index and middle fingers.
Remember to keep your hand relaxed and loose as you use the chopsticks. Allowing all fingers to perform in unison when maneuvering the second or top chopstick. When grasping food, make sure to lower the top/second chopstick, releasing to let go, and grasping to lift each food item.
Reminders
And that's it! You learned how to use chopsticks! Once your able to learn how to manuever chopsticks within your hand, your golden! Don't forgetto loosen your handwhile using chopsticks. It is best for beginner chopstick users to start by grabbing bigger food options such as sushi, meats, fish, etc. More experienced chopstick users are able to grab foods such as rice, noodles, etc, all in due time with more practice.
If wanting a more hands-on visual reference, at the bottom of the page is a YouTube video of how to use chopsticks, for you to follow along with.