Alcohol and martial arts

[JimmyNewton]

I have a topic that hopefully will generate some good discussion.

I'm wondering what peoples thoughts are with alcohol and martial arts.

I drink on occasion, and did heavier while in college. Now i may have drink or 2 on someones birthday, a special occasion, etc, but can go months on end without taking a sip. I'm wondering what peoples thoughts on alcohol and martial arts are. I'm sure they range from keeping the body perfectly healthy, and stearing clear of drinking.

I'm sure several "masters" took this approach.

i would also assume that there have been masters, although while not drinking in excess, have had maybe one or 2 more glasses of sake than they meant to. I know this may be sensitive subject, and will be different for everyone, but i'm eager to hear your thoughts.

[AndrewGreen]

I think if you dig around you will find that a good number of the old karate masters quite enjoyed there drinking.

Choki Motobu and Chotoku Kyan immediately spring to mind...

Having fun and relaxing are important for ones health, living "proper" is borring. Unless taken to excess there is nothing wrong with drinking, when taken to far it causes problems. But so does being excessively a prude

[JimmyNewton]

I agree.

even with food, it is good it induge every once ina while, but living like a glutton can have problems. i believe in moderation. thanks for your comment.

[Pralgo]

You will find quite a few very good Senseis that have a beer gut. However it does not seem to slow them down.

[Steve_K]

I think someone being a martial artist is irrelevant. Drinking in excess is harmful and inappropriate no matter what you do. I'm not talking about drinking enough that it helps you feel good and sociable and relaxed, but about drinking so much that you begin to act in a way that you normally wouldn't.

I do believe though that if someone has a reputation as a "martial artist" similar to someone who has a reputation as a "doctor", then they should definately take more care in not showing too much change in their personality, as it could damage their reputation, but other than that, as long as you don't drink too much that your liver can't process it fast enough, physically you should be fine.

I personally don't drink, but I have no problem with others who do choose to, but I do have a problem when others choose to drink too much.

[AndrewGreen]

How do you get from doctor to martial artist? And why should a doctor not drink? Hawkeye did just fine

[Superfoot]

Apparently Shihan Kenji Midori loves his draught beer. I also read somehere that alcohol helps cardiovascular health and the digestive system.

[Makoto]

I personally don't drink, but I have no problem with others who do choose to, but I do have a problem when others choose to drink too much.

Why do you have a problem when others drink too much? What concern is it of yours?

Next please tell me what too much means exactly? Because, alcohol starts to bring about changes in behavior after the first drink, and too much is too vague. I think I understand what you are saying, but my too much and your version of too much might be different.

I agree, it does not matter if your a MA person or not. I would like to know why one would even think that being a MA means you have to live a certain way, I would also like some one to also tell me what are certain examples of that certain way. Lastly, if there is anyone out there who lives the MA lifestyle, what lifestyle is that?

[Muaythaiboxer]

i dont drink because of my faith but i have been to partys as the driver (i felt like a dork lol) and the drunk people looked like they where haveing fun. i would stay away from alcohol cause i see alot of bad things and very few good involved with it.

[Steve_K]

How do you get from doctor to martial artist? And why should a doctor not drink? Hawkeye did just fine

I never said that a doctor shouldn't drink, and I was illustrating a parallel between the two. However it does set a bad example when he/she (a doctor) drinks too much and act like an idiot, moron, jerk, etc.

"I don't know about that doctor, I heard some bad things about him."

"Oh don't worry about that, he was just drunk."

hmmm

There are some idiots out there that would make assumptions and stereotype a group, giving that group a bad reputation.

"Hey you know that one martial arts guy?"

"Yeah."

"Well I saw him drunk out of his mind at a party last night and he was picking fights with everybody."

"Those martial arts guys think they can beat up anybody. They're such jerks."

Now I realize that the above examples are quite explicit, but that is often how things can be perceived by people.

And MAKOTO

I have a problem with people who drink too much for many reasons. 1) when I am at a party, of any kind, much of the time they are loud, obnoxious, rude, violent, disgusting etc. 2) If because of their drunkenness, they happen to stumble across the street and get hit by a car and killed, he/she has one, scarred the person that hit them for life, and two, caused his/her family and friends to mourn them the rest of their life. And 3) Most importantly, they endanger not only my life, but my family member's lives, my friend's lives, and the lives of other innocent people, when they think they are fine, and need to get home, and then go left of center and smash head on into someone, or go up onto a sidewalk and hit innocent pedestrians. So I think that their drinking in excess concerns me quite a bit.

And too much, is however much is needed for the above scenarios to occur.