[steven]

If you are going to learn to write kanji, you might as well learn the correct stroke order. For me like 100% of the stroke orders were counter intuitive... but the more I practice the more I've started to get a feel for it. I think putting more effort into spoken Japanese will help you learn basic kanji (it's weird, but that's how it worked for me). However, sometimes the more 'quirky' (no offense meant) stroke orders do tend to make a character more easily remembered.

If it's any consolation, I've met plenty of Japanese kids with terrible stroke order... and I think it's an indication of poor writing skills to be honest. I've noticed that a lot of Japanese kids have more trouble writing enough kanji rather than substituting what would usually be written in hiragana with its kanji equvilant... although I have seen that as well.

But ya, Kyle that's interesting how you said that there are different groups of people who believe differently about these things. I suppose English is no different in that respect. I talked to a Japanese person who swears that stroke orders for certain kanji were different when they were growing up. I certainly have no idea though.