IF YOU ARE NERVOUS BEFORE A DEBATING ROUND,

TIE YOUR SHOES!!!!!

Zen Proverb (TASSOFT)

Tying shoes  -an art of meditation-

The TIME has come.... only a few minutes... before the debating round...  you heart is PUMPING.. THUMB, THUMB, THUMB.....  you are sweating like Niagara falls...  then you are suffering from PRE-DEBATING ANXIETY.

The best way to get rid of anxiety is meditation.. but meditation is a tool that needs a lot of practice.  When in a meditative state.. your mind is empty thus your mind is in tranquillity.  Although it is true that some things we do are a form of automatic meditation.. one of these tools is shoe tying! How many of you that tie your shoes, ever really THINK about it when doing it? When tying your shoes... your mind clears up. As  Buddha said "an empty  mind is a mind without anxiety".

So what you have to do.. is before every round untie both of your shoelaces and take a few minutes to tie them... and you will feel the anxiety swift away.

Now if you do not have shoes with shoelaces then take with you a string and tie and untie it on you finger.

Shoe tying is best learned in short (10-minute) sessions in an environment free from distractions so the frustration level will be kept to a minimum.

The two most popular methods of tying shoes are the bunny ears and the one-loop wrap. The bunny ears method is easier to understand although it requires more co-ordination. In this method you begin with a basic half knot and make two bunny ears or loops. Cross one loop over the other, wrap it around and under the other loop. Complete by pulling both loops tight. Sometimes your own hands get in the way with this method if you do not have sufficient hand dexterity to isolate your index fingers.

A one-loop wrap method requires less refined motor co-ordination. Hold a lace in each hand. Put each lace in the other hand to make a letter X. It is less confusing if you always use the dominant hand to put one lace under to tie a half-knot. Success depends on which way you wrap the lace before going under and will be most successful if you discover your own which way to go. Start over if you go the wrong way, instead of correcting mid-task, so that you learn the correct method without needing directional cues. You need good bilateral co-ordination to use both hands to pull the ends of the laces tight. When you have mastered tying a half-knot independently, you are ready to learn the one-wrap method.

Make a loop to hold in non-dominant hand. Put two dots on the shoelace to match up when you make the loop. Otherwise, you will eventually figure out with practice how to make a loop on your own. Hand-over-hand, help lay the lace over the loop, wrap it around and begin to push it under the loop to create the second loop. Now you should change your hold on the first loop and prepare to pull both loops tight. Verbal directions should be kept to a minimum if each shoe tying attempt is set up to end successfully.