Tae Kim's guide to Japanese - that's a name I haven't heard in 5 years.B1rd wrote:
Status Report:
Everything complete. I've been studying the book I got that has about 2300 of the most common kanji, I'm studying 8 a day so I should have it done in less than a year. 44 done so far. Obviously I don't memorise all of the readings and vocabulary of every kanji as memorising something without context would be inefficient and would take far too long, so as the book suggests I just memorise the generalised meanings and one or two of the readings. Learning the kanji systematically should give me a headstart in actually being able to read Japanese text, which will have huge practical benefits in that I'll be able to practice Japanese just by reading stuff off the internet.
I've also started on the A Guide to Japanese Grammar by Tae Kim, which looks very promising in that it seems it will teach me all of the fundamentals of grammar, rather than just teaching me the Japanese equivalent of English phrases, which textbooks seem mainly to do. Though I still think textbooks will be useful for practice and learning practical words and phrases.
Of course I've also been doing exercises 3 times a week, just basic calisthenics and stretches. I've improved a bit since I've started, now I can do 35 pushups (with my chest touching the floor), 12 pull ups, 40+ squats etc., and I can get my palms on the floor with my legs straight. I've been thinking of joining a gym, but I don't really want to pay the membership costs. It's something I'll consider.
So you found what I used when I was a first day learner.