I have a '99 Honda Civic LX with a 5 speed MT. 282K miles. Original clutch. In the last 6 months or so it's been particularly difficult to get the car into first gear. If I just try to push the shifter to the left where you'd expect first to be and then push up, it feels like it's hitting a brick wall. Same deal for second gear. If I push hard to the left, hard enough that the center console moves a half inch or so, and then push forward, it goes into first pretty easily. Shifting then into second is fairly easy but I am in the habit of keeping it to the left up against the console while pulling down. All other gears shift easily, although perhaps a little more to the left than when the car was brand new.

I have noticed that it tends to shift a little more easily temporarily if I beat the shifter hard to the right when in neutral. I doubt that's a good idea to do all the time. It's almost like the gear box is rotated slightly to the left and after I beat it to the right it shifts back to it's original position slightly. It's always temporary though, and goes back to being hard to shift within 30 minutes or so.

 

Inspect the bushings, washers, and O rings.