Now let’s get into the Driver’s seat – again :

3) Floor the Clutch fully again, gently ‘move’ the Stick truly ‘horizontally’ to the left as far as it’d go but don’t bang it to beyond. Now try to ‘slot’ it ‘vertically’ upwards i.e. along the axis of the Car to 1st position. No hammer-blow movement here or ever, for that matter.

4) Take off as one would normally and get to, say, 10 kph or so – releasing the Clutch completely.

5) Let go of the throttle fully, followed almost immediately by flooring the Clutch and gently pull down/’slot-out’ the Stick from 1st to Neutral. Keep the Clutch floored and foot off the Throttle. The Car should still be rolling ~ 10 kph or so.

6) After a brief pause in the Neutral, essential to let the GB prepare itself for your next move, ‘slot-it-down’ vertically and gently into 2nd – releasing the Clutch slowly as usual for a jerk-free transition from 1st to 2nd. Accelerate in 2nd to say, 20-30 kph.

7) Repeat the step (5) above, except that now one has to slot-it-out from 2nd, vertically upward and land in Neutral for a momentary pause, before moving into 3rd and then eventually into 4th/5th, at speeds around 40/60 kph. Such manouvres are known in auto-lingo as ‘up-shifting’.

8) Having got the hang of it by now, ‘down-shifting’ from 5th/4th to lower gears is to be ‘executed’ likewise – the ‘mantras’ being –

i) All the ‘Stick’ movements have to be consciously ‘horizontal’ and ‘vertical’. This where most people go wrong.

ii) Getting from one position to another has to be the ‘slotting’ way and not the ‘hammer-blow’ way.

iii) While shifting from one gear to another, give it a brief pause in Neutral EVERY TIME and then ‘slot-over’ to the next. NO drag-like move is to be made from one gear to another in a ‘single-stroke’ but always in two ‘slotting’ ones as above.

iv) Sometimes, getting into 1st and more so in Reverse doesn’t happen in the first ‘slotting’ attempt. DON’T force the Stick ever from one position to another. If done, it’d irreparably damage the external and internal gearshift linkages.

v) When that happens, don’t panic. Instead, let the Clutch/Accl go completely and try the gentle way all over again, sometimes even twice, but NEVER ever force a shift.

Conclusion

Having hopefully got the hang of it all, rest assured one can literally shift up and down all the way with one’s little fingers without even as much as having to look at the Stick.

Remember that the mark of a good driver – amongst other things – is to move the Car from standstill to cruise and vice-versa without any perceptible ‘jerks’. Such mini/maxi ‘hammer-blows’ are neither good for your Car’s Transmission nor for your own ‘reputation’ of a ‘good driver’ !