I debated because it was fun. I had the best days of my life debating. I made the best friends of my life while debating and some of my proudest moments relate back to debating. It is understandable that I will therefore advocate for debating. But using what I have learnt throughout the years, I implore you to consider these reasons.

Debating is great because it makes you think critically. There aren’t many activities that give you free rein and wants you to just think. Within a debate, you’re given a topic. You are expected to be creative and come up with innovative arguments for a certain side of the subject. But it’s fun when the allocated time is from 15 to 30 minutes. That means, you’re incentivised to learn, all the time.

You are expected to read and be up-to-date with current affairs. You are expected to know great artists and what makes them great. Know the great figures in entertainment and what makes them great or not so great. Debating spans philosophy, politics, society, gender, sexuality, literature and everything. Topics are unpredictable so your width of knowledge is expected to be significant.

Some debaters choose to deepen knowledge and pick fields they enjoy. Some debaters stick to strategy-making and focus on that. There are multiple ways to success. But what makes debating great is the range of options available and the circumstances one is put in.

In real life, that translates into critical thinking. No matter what comes forth, debaters are used to thinking from the ground up and thinking deep about everything. They have the challenge-everything mindset. Those are the best grounds for a thinker to flourish.

The great thing about thinking about issues around the world is that it humanises you. I strongly believe no human can keep their hands folded in the face of patent injustice. Debating therefore makes an activist out of you. You become an activist trained well in the act of speaking up.

More importantly, you learn to judge circumstances and push relevant arguments. You learn to reach common ground and not to agitate opponents. As an activist, such skills and strategies become invaluable as you negotiate with a wide range of stakeholders who all want different things.

Another great thing is that you know a lot. You know a lot about a lot of things. That means you are likely to be fairly comfortable in any given situation. One can always choose to specialise. But debating creates a broad base arena of knowledge you become comfortable in. Even when you do not know a lot, you have the mindset to seek knowledge and that makes the hike all the more easier.

Anwar Ibrahim, Saifuddin Abdullah, YB Khairy Jamaluddin and Rais Yatim were all accomplished debaters in their own time. The correspondence is not co-incidental. Debating prepares you for the gruelling world of fighting for a cause.

Debating teaches you to juggle things. Three nights of practice a week? Check. Tournament for the whole weekend? Check. Operate under Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) deadlines and often approach 4 (I have far too many friends who top their departments and debate at the same time)? Check.

Debating teaches you to communicate with people across races and nations and see how we are all one in many things. It teaches you to control your emotions when situation is about to go out of control and salvage the best out of it.

Debating brings you in contact with fantastic people and they inspire. They inspire you to do more and be better. You meet the sociologist, the physicist, the mathematician, the programmer, the philosopher, the thinker, the artist, the musician, the dancer, the director, the actor among others.

Everyone operates on alter egos and debating teaches you how to juggle identities. Many quit, perhaps for good. But for those who carry on, they see only improvement. Debating inspires one in far too many ways and the workload seems like a mountain you can and will beat.

Meanwhile, you notice your English improving, yourself becoming more health conscious, your sense of morality rising and life just becomes better. Debating done right does wonder for one’s quality of living.

Cure to the dilemma of identity

If there is one reason I prescribe debating, it is because it’s the cure to the dilemma of identity. The act of searching for identity is a noble but difficult one. Debating, foremost, equips you with options. At the very least you are able to compare what’s wrong with the world with what you can do to change things.

Or you can just find out what issue you are most passionate about. You read about great figures and learn to identify who resonates with you. You meet great people who do all sorts of great things for you. They recommend good books, nice clothes, kicks, great music and fantastic gears. They become your friends and you feel fortunate to have them. Life becomes a happier affair.

Meanwhile, your search for identity has found directions. It is because debating opens up so many roads and inspires you to dust off old shelves and just look for things. That pursuit of novelty takes you closer to your search for identity in a woefully generic world. Debating does it all while you don’t even realise you have found yourself. At least you’re closer than you ever were.

I haven’t forgotten how debating brought me the privilege of raising the Malaysian flag higher. When Universiti Islam Antarabangsa (UIA) Malaysia became the Asian champion, it was a night of glory for Malaysia. We had shown the world what we are capable of.

On many occasions, debating allowed me to represent Islam. It allowed me to show the world that Islam is not what Islamic State (IS) propagates and that Muslims live a life guided by book that is very much in resonance with the modern life.

When teams were defeated by hijabi women, the myth of ‘quiet Islamic women’ had been debunked. Our women are just as good as our men and we do not discriminate. The greatest UIA debaters were often women. Perhaps you can approach them one day and hear stories of how they dispel misconceptions about hijab every day. Being debaters helped them represent their creed and nation.

Debating is a sport for all. It accepted when my English wasn’t up to par. It accepted me when I once thought that Africa was a country and Egypt was a continent. It accepted me despite of my imperfections. You don’t have to be born a champion to be a debater. Instead, Debating makes a champion out of you.

SYED SADDIQ SYED ABDUL RAHMAN is a part-time lecturer at Universiti Islam Antarabangsa (UIA) Malaysia and is Asia’s best debater, winning the United Asia Debate Championship in May 2015.