I've been working on CW for about 6 months now and started making good progress from 5 WPM up to around 10 WPM. But now I feel completely stuck! This 10 wpm barrier seems to be where many folks give up out of frustration. I can copy individual characters fine, but when I try to go faster everything falls apart.

Is this normal? What's the best approach to break through to 15-20 WPM? I've heard about something called the Koch method but don't really understand it.

Any elmers out there who've been through this and can share what worked for them? Really don't want to give up - I love the idea of CW but this plateau is discouraging.

Don't give up! Those who finally get over that "hump" and progress beyond 10 wpm do so because they have begun to copy code by reflex instead of by thought. The problem is you're probably still using that "lookup table" in your brain - comparing each character until you find a match. You need to train your brain to recognize whole character sounds as reflexes.

Start by setting up your computer to send Morse characters at 20 wpm and at an overall sending speed of at least 15 wpm - that's the Koch method. Learn the character sounds at full speed right from the start. Every minute spent toying with 5 wpm code is irrevocably wasted - Morse at 5 wpm and Morse at 15 or 20 wpm are completely different critters.

I was stuck there for months too! What finally worked was using LCWO.net with Farnsworth timing - 20WPM character speed and 5WPM effective speed. Also recommend checking out CW Academy when enrollment opens. The structured approach really helps. You're not alone in this struggle!