- 4 March, 2006 -

Everyone remembers in the original "Karate Kid" movie, when Daniel-son catches a fly with chopsticks. Well, we don't have any flies for you to practice on, but we can teach you a few insider tricks on refining your chopstick skill. Chopsticks were invented in China about 3000 to 5000. They are held between the thumb and fingers of the right hand and used as eating utensils. Most importantly, they make you look cool when eating in public. 4 steps to maneuvering chopsticks. STEP 1. Chopstick A is the lower, stationary chopstick. Place chopstick A between the palm and the base of the thumb. Use your fourth finger (ring finger) to support the lower part of the stick. Squeeze the chopstick down with your thumb, while the ring finger pushes it up. Chopstick A should not move at all. STEP 2. Chopstick B is the upper, moveable chopstick. Hold chopstick B like a pencil, using the tips of the index, middle finger and thumb. The tips of both chopsticks should touch each other. If the tips fail to line-up it will be difficult to hold food. STEP 3. Pivot the chopstick B (upper stick) up and down towards chopstick A (lower stick) to pick up pieces of food. STEP 4. Practice using the pair of chopsticks like pinchers to grab food. Chopstick ettiquette. Playing with your chopsticks at Doc Chey's is always encouraged. But in another context, chopstick ettiquette is strictly followed. These "laws of stick use" vary by country and culture, but here are some general rules: Don't play with your sticks. Never wave your chopsticks in the air, bang them like drumsticks, stick them in your nose, or use them to move items on the table. Don't stab vertically. Never stab chopsticks into a rice bowl, leaving them standing vertically. This resembles incense sticks that some cultures use as offerings to deceased family members. Pick and eat smartly. Decide what to pick up before reaching with chopsticks (do not hover around or poke looking for special ingredients). After you pick up an item, do not put it back in the dish. Don't poke. When picking up a piece of food, never use the tips of your chopsticks to poke through the food as if you were using a fork. Mouth to bowl. In Chinese culture, it is normal to have your lips touching the edge of the rice bowl and using chopsticks to push rice directly into the mouth. In Korean culture, it's rude to pick the rice bowl off of the table and eat from it. No stick-tips on the table. Chopsticks can be rested horizontally on your plate or chopstick rest, but not on the table. Don't put the stick-butt in your mouth. In Chinese and Japanese etiquette, the chopstick butt (blunt end) is sometimes used to transfer food from a common dish to your own plate or bowl. Koreans consider the blunt handle unsanitary so never put it in your mouth. Chopstick facts. Children in China typically start using chopsticks as early as age three. In some Asian countries, being capable of picking up small beads quickly with a pair of chopsticks is a typical requirement of employment. A single chopstick can be used as a thrown projectile weapon in the hands of a martial art expert, penetrating solid objects and flesh. Hashijutsu, a form of Japanese martial art uses slightly elongated metal chopsticks as weapons. Holding the sticks in a v-shape can catch weapons and limbs, twisting them away from the warrior. Using chopsticks is never a requirement at Doc Chey's. When all else fails, ask for chopstick training wheels. There ain't no shame in forkin' around either. In fact, we always give both sticks and forks just in case.

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