In the Arena: Real-Time Battle Tactics

You cannot learn to box by reading about boxing. You cannot learn to debate by reading about debate. At some point, you have to get hit.

In Chapters 12 through 14 of "Win Every Argument," Mehdi Hasan hammers this point relentlessly. Confidence is built through exposure. Composure is built through pressure. Skill is built through repetition. Demosthenes, the greatest orator of ancient Greece, practiced by putting pebbles in his mouth and reciting speeches while running uphill.

We could not replicate the pebbles. But we could build an AI opponent that interrupts you, challenges you, deploys techniques against you, and forces you to perform under pressure. This is what happens when you step into the arena.

Voice-First: Why Typing Would Miss the Point

Early prototypes of DebateClub used text-based chat. You typed your arguments. The AI typed back. It felt like messaging, not debating.

The problem is that debate is a performance art. Mehdi Hasan dedicates an entire chapter (Chapter 14) to "The 4 P's of Voice Control": Pitch, Power, Pace, and Pauses. None of these exist in text. You cannot practice timing in a chat window. You cannot practice composure when you have infinite time to craft a response.

So we built DebateClub around voice. You speak into your microphone. The AI speaks back through your speakers. Interruptions happen naturally. Pauses have weight. And you have to think on your feet.

Your Opponent: Configurable Adversary

The AI opponent is not generic. It is configured based on your opponent profile with specific talking points, debate style, and difficulty level.

The opponent uses the talking points you provided (or that were generated for you) as steelmanned arguments. It will not throw strawmen at you. It will throw the strongest version of the opposing case.

Real-Time Technique Detection: The 11 Hasan Moves

As you debate, the system is analyzing your speech. Every exchange is run through an AI that detects whether you used any of the 11 techniques from Mehdi Hasan's methodology:

DEFENSIVE TECHNIQUES (Judo Moves)
├── Concession & Pivot    Ch 8
├── Reframing             Ch 8
├── Preemption            Ch 8
└── Gish Gallop Defense   Ch 11

OFFENSIVE TECHNIQUES
├── Receipts (Evidence)   Ch 3
├── Zinger                Ch 9
├── Provocative Question  Ch 1
├── Personal Story        Ch 2
├── Rule of Three         Ch 7
└── Strategic Interrupt   Ch 9

CLOSING TECHNIQUE
└── Peroration            Ch 16

Each technique is scored on effectiveness (1-10) based on execution quality and timing. A well-timed zinger scores higher than a zinger deployed awkwardly. A concession that leads nowhere scores lower than one that pivots into a devastating counter.

How It Works: From Speech to Score

The detection pipeline runs on every exchange:

┌─────────────────────────────────────┐
│  1. SPEECH TRANSCRIPTION            │
│                                     │
│  Vapi captures your voice and       │
│  transcribes in real-time via       │
│  webhook to Convex backend          │
└──────────────┬──────────────────────┘
               │
               ▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────┐
│  2. EXCHANGE STORAGE                │
│                                     │
│  Each turn stored with speaker,     │
│  timestamp, and full text           │
└──────────────┬──────────────────────┘
               │
               ▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────┐
│  3. TECHNIQUE ANALYSIS              │
│                                     │
│  AI analyzes the exchange:          │
│  - What technique was used?         │
│  - How well was it executed?        │
│  - Was the timing optimal?          │
│  - What was the opponent response?  │
└──────────────┬──────────────────────┘
               │
               ▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────┐
│  4. SCORING                         │
│                                     │
│  Each technique scored 1-10         │
│  based on execution criteria        │
│  specific to that technique         │
└─────────────────────────────────────┘

The Judo Moves: Defensive Excellence

Chapter 8 of Mehdi Hasan's book is titled "Judo Moves" for a reason. In judo, you use your opponent's momentum against them. In debate, you do the same thing with words.

The system detects three core judo moves:

When you use one of these moves, the system detects it and evaluates the execution. Did your concession feel genuine? Did your preemption actually anticipate their argument? Did your reframe shift the debate, or did they ignore it?

The Gish Gallop: Your Opponent's Nuclear Option

Chapter 11 is dedicated entirely to the Gish Gallop: the tactic of overwhelming your opponent with a firehose of dubious claims. Mehdi Hasan calls it "the reigning world heavyweight champion of bad-faith debate tactics."

On higher difficulty levels, your AI opponent will occasionally Gish Gallop you. It will throw seven claims in thirty seconds. If you try to address all of them, you lose. The system is testing whether you know the counter-strategy:

If you successfully deploy this defense, the system scores it. If you fall into the trap and try to address each claim, the analysis will flag it as a missed opportunity.

Your Cheat Sheet: The Quick Reference Panel

During the live debate, you have access to all your prep materials via a floating button. Tap it, and a bottom sheet slides up with tabs for:

• Your selected opening with delivery guidance
• Your argument frames organized by type
• Your receipts arsenal with timing notes
• Your zinger bank with trigger conditions
• Your prepared counters for predicted opponent arguments
• Your selected closing with emotional arc notes

This is not cheating. This is how professionals prepare. Mehdi Hasan does not walk into interviews without notes. Neither should you.

Under Pressure: Composure Testing

Chapter 13 is titled "Keep Calm and Carry On." Mehdi Hasan writes: "Losing your cool almost always means losing the argument."

The AI opponent is designed to test your composure. Depending on configuration, it will:

The post-debate analysis scores your composure. Did you rise to provocations, or did you stay focused on winning the argument?

The Tape: Every Debate Recorded

Every practice debate is recorded and stored. You can replay the audio from your debate history. Listen to how you sounded when you thought you were being confident. Often there is a gap between how we feel and how we come across.

Professional athletes review game tape obsessively. Mehdi Hasan describes practicing delivery by recording himself and reviewing the footage. The recording feature gives you the same capability.

"Film yourself, then assess whether your facial expressions match your message. Watch for gestures that underscore your points. Study your body language."- Mehdi Hasan, "Win Every Argument"

The Bottom Line

You can read about debate forever and never improve. Improvement comes from doing. From speaking under pressure. From being interrupted and finding your way back. From deploying a zinger and feeling it land. From failing to counter a Gish Gallop and learning the lesson viscerally.

DebateClub gives you a sparring partner that fights back. It detects your techniques and scores them. It tests your composure. It records everything so you can review. And it adapts to your configured difficulty and opponent style.

The preparation phase built your arsenal. The arena is where you learn to use it.

Next in the series: what the analysis reveals when the fight is over.