Throughout the ages, anyone who has achieved some success in calligraphy should use a practice grid (at least with a frame, even if it is folded) when he first learns to practice calligraphy. It's just that some people start to pretend to be inferior after they have made some progress and become somewhat good at writing. They say that it is best to write on white paper when practicing calligraphy, that it is best to have your own style when practicing calligraphy, that you cannot rely on imitation when practicing calligraphy, and so on. If you really believe their nonsense, and you have no calligraphy foundation at all, and just scribble on white paper without reading the copybook, then you will be just a "painter" for the rest of your life, even though the words you write are just words. Although he has his own "style", it probably has nothing to do with calligraphy.
Whether to use calligraphy practice grids or not depends on the calligraphy practice itself. What is calligraphy practice? To practice calligraphy is to put the words next to you and then write according to them. The words placed next to them are called calligraphy. Practicing according to the copybook is called practicing calligraphy. Practicing without following the copybook is called writing without a copybook. Doing homework, recording and writing Reports and so on are just writing. Writing a word according to your own meaning is called creation. The calligraphy practice grid is just an auxiliary for us to practice calligraphy. What is the auxiliary for us? It helps us better understand the structure and stroke layout of my original copybook.
The model and model of regular calligraphy is the model and the foundation. As the saying goes, "There is no circle without rules." Since it is called a model, it has a frame, a mold, that is, a grid. In fact, practicing regular script is what we usually call practicing calligraphy! To a large extent, for beginners, practicing calligraphy means practicing regular script. After the beginner stage, you can do whatever you want.
When practicing regular script, the grid will be of great help. It’s okay if you don’t need it, but the progress may be slower. For example, if you want to go to the other side of the river and there is a bridge, but you insist on swimming across it, that’s okay.
All in all, grid will help a lot in calligraphy practice, especially regular script. Once you are familiar with strokes and proficient in the structure of Chinese characters, you will naturally be able to achieve "no grid on paper, but grid in mind". But it’s okay not to have a grid, but the progress may be slower. For example, if you want to go to the other side of the river, there is a bridge but you have to swim across it, that’s okay.
