Alcohol and the Martial Arts

mistressekerry

mistressekerry

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Okay,
So last night, I went out and got a little tipsy...... and whilst suffering through my hangover today I have been pondering something, and thought I would put this pondering to world of MAP.
How much and how regularly do you people drink? And when you drink, just how drunk do you get?
I have had conversations with my friends and fellow martial artists where they have admitted to being as useful as a chocolate fireguard after a few pints, and one of my fellow black belts freely admits that when he is drunk, he couldn't fight his way out of a paper bag. Surely this isn't what we should be doing after all that training??
I know many instructors and self-defence afficiandos who say that you shouldn't drink at all, as it a) ruins our awareness and b) imapirs judgement. Also, one of my close friends is into training in a big way and refuses to drink from a health point of view - obviously alcohol is full of empty calories, so again, not great for martial artists who want to develop lean fighting machines for bodies.......
However, I remember reading somewhere (unfortunately my memory fails when it comes to where) that the ancient Samurai were famed as much for their drinking skills as their fighting skills, in fact, it was seen as a sign of weakness if a samurai couldn't handle their sake!
So, what are your opinions folks, as martial artists should we abstain from alcohol? Are we kidding ourselves if we train hard, but party harder? Should a martial artist be teetotal, or can we enjoy the odd tipple?
Your views please.......
 
Randomly enough, because most of my non-MAist friends have got themselves new girlfriends and lost any interest in having fun, I pretty much exclusively go to the pub with other karate people at the moment. Hence, there is a perfect correlation between karate nights and beer nights.
 
Well, there are grounds to say that most situations in which martial arts will be useful to you exist because of alchohol
Uh.... I know I really shouldn't, but the first beer after a training session is a real treat. Every once in a while. We're none of us perfect, especially not me, and censorious attitudes don't really help. The only thing I would have a problem with is if somebody turned up to a training session reeking of alchohol. If I was the instructor, I'd demand that he left the premises and if he refused to do so, I would call the police. If it happened too many times, I'd kick him out of the club full stop.
 
its obviously unhealthy and going to stop you from fighting effectively but you've got to enjoy yourself sometimes.
i've never once had a hangover either no matter how drunk i've been
 
While we're on the subject, what's everybody's favourite post-training beer? Maybe it's just what I've come to expect, but I find it does have to be beer. Some guys go for guiness, but I find I prefer a light, crisp but well-flavoured lager. It's the only situation in which I'll consider drinking budweiser(Not that I'm a snob- I just usually don't like it.). But if I can get hold of a real czech lager, like the original budwar that budweiser nicked and bastardised, well chilled, that's pretty much the perfect after-training experience.
 
I drink socially (like a pint or less an hour) when i'm out with friends normally. In this instance i do it purely for the taste so the drinks tend to have alcohol content 4-6%.
However every once in a while i'll go out with the aim to get drunk. This tends to just be social drinking with various shots every 15-30 minutes. I'm suffering for it today though, no headache or anything just a really weak stomach.
 
My standard is anything cold and wet - add your innuendo here!!

But seriously, after training, anything I can get hold of is good.
 
I basically don't drink much at all now,for various reasons.If I know I have a big training session or something the next day I won't drink at all. I think back to when I used to go out and get hammered and it worries me to think what kind of situations I nearly got myself into,that was before my ma days.

I am also an utter lightweight these days too,probably because I lost some weight and find that anymore than 2 glasses of wine and I feel drunk,which in turn makes me really annoyed with myself. I have gone several months without even a glass of nice red wine as I felt I should try and quit completely but now I have the odd glass.

Our kung fu nights out are very tame affairs,some nice Chinese tea and perhaps one nice beer,some nice food then home to bed!
 
Hmmm, tea, a beer and food?? Doesn't really sound like the TKD socials - shots, dancing and lots of embarassing pics are the norm there!!
Whilst pondering, I have developed a theory - maybe it is university clubs that are responsible for the drunken martial artist - who else here trains with a university club???

Reece - I hope, one day, you will feel the joy and pain of a really good hangover. They are god's way of letting you know that you had a little too much fun the night before!!
 
Well, we could go down the whole "state related learning" route, which would suggest the best way to learn how to fight when drunk is to do some drunken training

Certainly in the UK a sober fight is about as rare a a sober kebab...

However, surely alcohol consumption is a personal issue. Too much and of course it effects your general health and therefore training....but a couple of beers after training!

Anyone here ever though it was a good idea to do some sparring after a few (well, a lot) of drinks? Good idea at the time of course
 
Maybe,although I know a few people from university clubs who do the whole going out and getting drunk together thing. Dunno, perhaps it's because of the make up of our club,it's small and we're all old and boring and just want to train without hangovers

I've done the going out and getting horribly drunk and getting a horrible hangover and I think I just got fed up of losing full days to hangovers when I could be out training or something.
 
Um, when I was 18, one of my friends and I kicked the crabapples out of each other while drunk just to "test out" the karate we were both training in at the time. I put that down to being young and dumb and haven't done it since.
 
Forget the fact it's a waste of martial arts training and think about the damage to your liver and what a waste it would be to give you a new one.

Considering the wider implications why are you worried about your martial arts training?
 
Four brew masters go into a bar. One, the head of Corona, says to the bar tender, "I'll have a Corona, miles away from Ordinary, you know."

The next, from Budweiser says, "A bud! The King of Beers!"

The third, from Coors, says, "Please, only fresh Rocky Mountain spring water. Give me a Coors."

The fourth, from Guiness orders a Coke.

"What?!?" the others say. "Why a soda?"

The Guiness brewer says, "Well, I figured none of the rest of you were having beer..."
 
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