so ive been a ham for about 3 years now and always kind of avoided CW because it seemed intimidating but i finally got myself a cheap set of paddles off ebay and hooked them up to a MFJ keyer and honestly its a lot harder than i expected lol. not the receiving part, i've been using the Koch method with LCWO and that's going okay, maybe 8-10 wpm on a good day. its the SENDING that's killing me.

like i'll be copying a callsign just fine in my head but the moment i try to squeeze out something on the paddles my fingers go all weird and i start sending garbage. does this ever get better or am i just wired wrong? i've heard people say you need to do it every day and i'm trying but some days i sit down and it feels like i've forgotten everything. also wondering if a different paddle would help or if i just need to practice more with what i got

oh man this is exactly what it felt like for me starting out, you are absolutely not wired wrong. the sending/receiving disconnect is super common and it took me probably 3 or 4 months before my hands started cooperating reliably. one thing that really helped me was to slow the keyer way down, like embarrassingly slow, and just send random text while watching TV or something so your brain isnt overthinking every dit and dah. you want it to get into muscle memory territory.

also dont underestimate the iambic vs single lever thing. i started on iambic mode A and honestly found it more confusing than it needed to be. some people swear by mode B, some go back to a straight key first just to internalize the rhythm before going to paddles. might be worth a week on a straight key if you havent tried that. as for whether the paddle matters — yes and no, a nicer paddle with better feel and adjustable tension can help but not until you've got the basics down. the MFJ setup is fine to learn on, get comfortable first then worry about gear.

yeah same boat as you not long ago. what helped me was recording myself sending on the keyer and then playing it back. you hear all kinds of weird timing issues you dont notice in the moment. kind of brutal honestly but it works. also i read somewhere that 10-15 minutes a day is better than an hour once in a while, consistent short sessions really do add up faster than you'd think.