RTK 2 experiences... :(

[shamanana]

Finished the first book a month or so ago and of course I thought the second book would be the natural next step...
Well, it's tough... I know I am supposed to learn the readings but... am I supposed to learn just the readings of the kanji inside the compound, the whole compound and what about the meanings of the compounds? I know it sounds stupid to ask something like that, but...
So, I've been wondering about the experiences people have with RTK2. What do you concentrate on. Of course... the readings but... the whole thing or just the kanji in question. I am using Anki to create flashcards to help me out... but... still... not enough. Maybe if there was a sentence or two in there...
What do you do to memorize all that stuff?

I noticed that there is a lot of people who finished the first book and loved it, but they shun the second book. I still believe in Heisig and in his method, but I just don't know how to tackle it...

[Psy]

I have written something regarding this elsewhere on the forum, but to keep it short: Beyond the semi-pure groups, Heisig 2 is largely a waste of time. The mnemonics using the primitives are extremely useful when the irregularities are few (and this will get you through around 800 on'yomi fairly quickly), but beyond that the method shifts to little more than rote memorization. My recommendation is to go as far as the semi-pure groups (everyday words is probably useful as well, assuming you don't already know how they're spelled), and after that ditch the book to pursue other studies. While the divide-and-conquer method works fabulously for the forms of the characters (as well as the signal primitives), vocabulary should be learned in context. This book somehow misses that most essential of points.

It's hard because it's rote. Rote is neither a very effective* nor a pleasant way to learn. Don't worry, you aren't the only one!

*There are situations where rote memorization can be effective and maybe even pleasant, but I assue you this is not one of them.

[shamanana]

On page 293 of the second book Heisig briefly talks about... "... you will have to set up for yourself a routine for drilling (a) from meaning to writing, (b) from exemplary compound to on-yomi, and (c) from inflected kanji to kun-yomi."
Since A) was covered in the first book we can skip that one, I am still far away from the C) part... which leaves B)... What I am saying is... are we supposed to "simply" (oh, I know, it's not simple) guess "just" the on-yomi reading inside the compound and not worry about the reading of the compound in its entirety and skip the meaning of the compound (unless it really sticks stubbornly)?

Like you said, it's rote memorization. And I can kind of deal with the memorization of the on-yomi reading but I seriously don't want to worry about the rest of the kanji and its meaning as well.

Or am I being wrong about what is expected from us?

[jettyke]

I use http://kanji.koohii.com its really useful, try it!

[shamanana]

I know it is... for the first book... what I am wondering about is the experience people have with the second book. And whether they concentrate on memorizing "just" the readings of the kanji containing the "signal primitives". Or do they bother to memorize the whole kanji compounds AND their meanings.

And if they do... is there a simpler way than just the rote memorization...

[QuackingShoe]

There are thread about RTK2 on the kanji.koohii.com forum, though. So you can look there for opinions.
Not many, however, as not a lot of people use it. I'd like to help you out, but I didn't use it either - I think the whole thing is a waste of time.