• You are not logged in.

    Right thumb for Right Handed?

    • Started by 5Stars
    • 4 Replies:
    • Reputation: 1
    • Registered: 10-Oct-2018
    • Posts: 5

    I am right handed but I have always used my left thumb for space. After a while of getting used to the caps backspace, I've experienced a lot of strains while typing since I am typing backspace and space using the same hand.
    Would it be a better choice to train my right thumb to press space instead of my left thumb? This is so that I can dedicate one hand for backspace and another for space, just like I did back when I used qwerty.
    None of the other forums mentioned this. Thanks.

    Colemak DHk
    130-150wpm for easy words, 110-130wpm for sentences!

    Offline
    • 0
    • Reputation: 210
    • From: Viken, Norway
    • Registered: 13-Dec-2006
    • Posts: 5,343

    [We've discussed this a little on the Discord too.]

    I believe in spacing with both thumbs as appropriate. That said, I do use the right thumb most of the time. I also believe in using both Shift keys, if that's relevant. But maybe it's too ambitious, hehe.

    If you get tired from using the Caps Backspace, maybe it's because you're mashing it? Also, maybe it is because you're new at Colemak. I've heard of people complaining about Backspace fatigue when starting to learn Colemak but then it subsides as they type more confidently with less errors.

    I try to delete whole words as much as possible, as explained in my Amphetype topic. That way, I won't be mashing the Back key which is good because I think same-finger n-grams are quite straining in the long run. I use the Caps key as my Extend modifier and hit Caps+T+O (= Ctrl+Back) to delete whole words.

    Last edited by DreymaR (04-Jan-2019 20:53:45)

    *** Learn Colemak in 2–5 steps with Tarmak! ***
    *** Check out my Big Bag of Keyboard Tricks for Win/Linux/TMK... ***

    Offline
    • 0
    • Reputation: 1
    • Registered: 10-Oct-2018
    • Posts: 5

    Thanks for the reply. I'll give it a few more weeks then and see if I am still comfortable using both on my left hand.
    On the other hand I'm interested in extend modifier for deleting whole words. I suppose AHK is the easiest to achieve that.

    Colemak DHk
    130-150wpm for easy words, 110-130wpm for sentences!

    Offline
    • 0
    • Reputation: 210
    • From: Viken, Norway
    • Registered: 13-Dec-2006
    • Posts: 5,343

    PKL_eD has this functionality, but by now I think you've learned that. ^_^

    *** Learn Colemak in 2–5 steps with Tarmak! ***
    *** Check out my Big Bag of Keyboard Tricks for Win/Linux/TMK... ***

    Offline
    • 0
    • Reputation: 117
    • From: UK
    • Registered: 14-Apr-2014
    • Posts: 975

    I also used to use my left hand for space despite being right handed, which according to the mentioned research here, is quite rare. I ended up relearning to type space with my right thumb to make various things easier, not least Extend.

    Using Colemak-DH with Seniply.

    Offline
    • 0