~ / motions / hjkl-countslesson 1/6

h j k l, and counts

Step around from the home row, and multiply any motion with a number.

?how it works

Your right hand already rests on the four movement keys: h moves left, l moves right, j moves down and k moves up. If you forget which is which, j has a little hook that points down.

Put a number in front of a motion to repeat it: 5j moves five lines down and 3l moves three characters right. That's why the gutter shows relative line numbers. Your own line shows its real number, and every other line shows how far away it is. Read the number beside the line you want, type it, then j or k.

About to press the same key three times? Type a count instead. jjjjj is slow and easy to overshoot.

The usual beginner habit is reaching for the arrow keys. They're switched off in these drills, so your fingers learn to stay home.

⌨keys

`h`	left one character
`j`	down one line
`k`	up one line
`l`	right one character
`{count}j`	down {count} lines, e.g. 4j (read the count from the gutter)
`{count}k`	up {count} lines
`{count}{motion}`	repeat any motion {count} times, e.g. 3l

3 drills

First steps: Move onto the highlighted character using only h, j, k and l.
Count, then move: The target is several lines away. Read its relative number in the gutter and jump there in one go, like 4j or 3k.
Counts go sideways too: Reach the target with two counted moves: one up or down (j/k), then one across (h/l).

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