I'm completely new here.
I've read this site up and down and am starting to get deterred before I am even started.
How do I begin with the lessons?
That's all I would like to do and I can't seem to figure out how to do something that should be clearly linked.

Manage->Add cards, then Review.

http://kanji.koohii.com/learnmore

Well thank you kind sir.
So there is no clearly marked "Start" button for Lesson 1 then?

This is something they should work on if I may suggest.

DreamingCosmos Wrote:Well thank you kind sir.
So there is no clearly marked "Start" button for Lesson 1 then?

This is something they should work on if I may suggest.

The number of kanji added each time is completely up to each individual user, so there is no need for a start button.

Next question:
Is there any way to 'flip' the way the flashcard is presented to you?
If I'm learning to read Japanese, I would prefer to see the Kanji first then answer with the English meaning.

DreamingCosmos Wrote:Next question:
Is there any way to 'flip' the way the flashcard is presented to you?
If I'm learning to read Japanese, I would prefer to see the Kanji first then answer with the English meaning.

No, because that not what Heisig advises. If you want such an option, you would be better off going the traditional route, and using something like anki instead.

DreamingCosmos Wrote:If I'm learning to read Japanese, I would prefer to see the Kanji first then answer with the English meaning.

No such thing - they're not meanings, they're keywords; names for the kanji. For meanings, you need words. But if you still want to do kanji-to-keyword, it's easy to reverse an Anki RTK deck.

I have Anki so I will have to try that.
But why exactly does Heisig advise against this? I don't feel like I'm learning anything going from English to Kanji.
If I'm doing mental flashcards, that's like trying to materialize Kanji from thin air when I see a new keyword.

You won't learn to write the kanji by learning to recognize them. Heisig is all about writing the kanji (and about not forgetting how to write them).

This makes sense.
I see this problem with Rosetta Stone all the time. I learn to answer the questions based on recognizing the Kanji and the sounds.
Anyway, thanks for the speedy answers and for not bashing me because I had stupid questions like I see happen on every other message board in the known universe.