Tied Up in Knots

It's been a little while since we've had a Tip o the Week go out, as things have been pretty hectic around here. Fortunately, it's slowed down a bit, so I can get back to doing what I do best - telling people things about FirePro2. Actually, I'm not sure if I'm the best at it, but it seems like what I do the most, and practice makes perfect, right?

Speaking of practice, and the need thereof, we did a fire practice on ropes and knots this week. I wish I had a picture of all of us sitting in our meeting room, busily tying ourselves up. I used to teach sailing, so I'm good with ropes and knots, but I always have a problem with one big thing. I'm left-handed. In knot terms, it might as well be called bass-ackwards, because everything happens in reverse for me, which makes it entertaining to watch me learn new knots.

Of course, I'm used to being backwards, so I didn't have that much trouble, but what I found a lot more interesting, and wished we spent more time on, was the practical application of each knot - the when as opposed to the how. Each standard knot has a specific application where it is the most useful, and combining the two is challenging for me.

I suppose more practice and experience is the answer, but I'd be interested to hear how you trainers out there get that critical information across, or if there is a good guide book that anyone has discovered.