The pedal idea is funny, but there are too many useful ways to enter insert mode (i, I, a, A, o, O, c, C, cc, cw, c2w, cit, ci), vi}c, vf.c, v0c, etc.). It seems like having a pedal for `i` would encourage a way of using vim that avoids the most efficient keybindings. I rarely press the `i` key to enter insert mode.
I had the exact same thought about the "clutch" aspect of this, but am wondering if simply having a foot pedal that issued ESC when tapped could still be of value. On most keyboards the ESC key is the longest reach with my shortest finger so it winds up requiring a wrist motion.
When I started using Vim, I found ESC to be too far of a reach and ctrl-[ to be too unfamiliar. I used ctrl-c for years, but that caused muscle memory problems when switching between other editors that use vim keybindings.
Eventually, I got used to ESC. I move my hand more than bend my wrist, so it isn't so bad. I hit ESC with my left ring finger. I also try to plan my next keystrokes and/or move my right hand into next position while my left hand reaches for ESC.
I've found that moving ctrl to the capslock key also helped reduce wrist motion, though it makes using other people's computers more annoying, since I try to do everything on the keyboard with pure muscle memory.
When I first started using vi in the late 80s it was on the (old even then) ADM-3A terminals in my dorm's basement computer lab. I still miss that layout, which had Control where Caps Lock usually is now and Esc just above it (where Tab is now usually found). Sadly I've found that trying to use custom mappings is just too crippling when I have to use some other computer than my primary one.
For a while, I used vim bindings that used Tab for Esc and encouraged you to use tab motions (> and <), and auto-tabs instead, with the slight accommodation of binding Shift+Tab to (positive) Tab.
It was a fascinating set of key bindings, but a problem with it was that it wasn't very portable, and I hit too many problems with Vim modes in other editors not supporting rebinding Tab or causing too many accidental side-effects.
(I try to keep CapsLock bound to Backspace so there is a Backspace on each hand. It's a good use of the key. Though maybe real Backspace might make a good, Esc in a Vim binding, hmm, I'm going to think about that now.)
Nice keyboard layout. I didn't start using vim until around 2005 or 2006.
My computer use is so dependent on muscle memory that I can't comfortably use anyone else's computer, even without the moved keys. Every time I get a new computer, there is a long adjustment period too. I find the trade-off worthwhile though, since I'm rarely far from my laptop and rarely type more than a few sentences on other computers.
What worked for me is binding ESC to 'jk' in vim. It's perfect because you basicly never need to actually type 'jk' in any text and its located where the right hand rests anyway. If you have never tried this you should give it a shot.
