On alchohol and drugs...

[Zhiu]

well i guess alchohol is a drug so I was wondering if there are any negative effects. I know now to practise after you've drank for about a day or so but what about other things like weed?

I don't smoke but once in a while I have a drink and that's about it. I was just curious as to what are some of the effects (besides getting drunk) if any?

and i don't get drunk so yeah... thanks!

[Brad]

I don't think there's any negative effects of having an occasional drink. Drinking regulary can potentially cause liver problems. I don't know the effects of weed other than making people act like complete idiots, and messing with your coordination.

[GLW]

Practicing under the influence of anything is not really a good thing.

Many feel that they can be more relaxed and do more...and for some this MAY be somewhat true.

However, the goal is to get to this natural state at will. Training under the influence of anything sets your starting point at a different place...meaning that now you have to figure out how to get to the same point sober.

Also, being under the influence can make one feel like they are doing better than they really are.

A number of old-time masters did very well but were also opium addicts. Those that were masters and also were doctors pretty much stated over and over that martial training and intoxicants did not mix.

[panda]

My chinese Tai Ji instructor likes to drink the occasional glass of chinese white wine, and he says it is very good for health, it includes such things as poisinous snake and ginseng and after drinking it he is always on top form doing Tai Ji.


Cherrs

[Repulsive Monkey]

in moderation it can be great for people with Yang Xu conditions as it creates internal warmth can be good for Blood stasis where the alcohol can thinnen the blood a little and alleviate stagnation. Too much can as mention be harmful for the Liver aswell as the stomch, heart and intestines. Contrary to western medicine alcohol is considered in chinese medicine to be better for you than weed. Weed causes disfunction with the processes of the kidneys whereas booze mainly effects the tissue of the kidney more so, plus alcohol leaves the body a lot quicker than weed does.

[Zhiu]

wow thanks haha first post turned out pretty good.

i don't practise under the influence but i was just curious so yeah thanks to all who replied!

[Nanking '28]

Hey Monkey, could you say a bit more about the effects of marijuana on the kidney processes??? I'm studying Chinese medicine and am really interested in that...

[MonkeySlap Too]

I had a student who would bounce around a lot in class. He'd seem to get things when I showed them, but then just flailed around when I walked away. He barely progressed. I discovered later he was tokeing up before class.

I have zero tolerance for this crap if you are my student. You're wasting my time if you come to class high.

I have too many friends who are suffering now because they let life pass them by while stoned, and others are suffering ill effects from too much weed. It seems like it's not too bad at the time, but just see what happens over decades.

I have no particular axe to grind on the issue, as I tend to not care what somebody does in their own time. Just don't expect me to train you, give you a job, or let you get a government handout. It's your choice, but don't expect me to pay for it. (same goes for throwing these idiots in jail, why am I paying for this?)

I consider alcohol and weed in about the same category - huge volumes are bad, and consistant use over time is bad. Don't ever do either and come to my class.

[Fu-Pow]

People in my CLF school who smoke weed do not progress nearly as quickly as those who don't. As for in my Taiji school its harder to tell. I think it messes up your long term memory and motor skills to some extent. I've experimented with the whole gambit of drugs and for some reason when I really got into kung fu I abandoned all of them....except alcohol. I've noticed that meditation and taiji reduce my apetite for this as well, because I am naturally more relaxed and deal with stress better.

[Repulsive Monkey]

Smoking weed has an internal warming effect which directly effects the lungs. This can create heat in the lungs dissipating the balance of Lung fluids and then causing bleeding. However there is one particualr function of the lungs which directly effects the Kidneys and that is the ability for the kidneys to grasp the lung qi and descend it. In Chinese Medicine asthmatics can suffer by the fact that the in-breath (which is facilitated by the Kidney functioning) is weak and that the out breath (which is considered to be facilitated by the Lung) is out of balance with it. So by damaging the lungs this too effects the function of the of the kidneys. From a wetern point of view one may choose to at the area of the endocrine system and the differences between alcohol and weed on the endocrine glands of each revelavnt organ. However weed seemd to slow down reaction times in a different way to alcohol, as with alcohol you loose co-ordination too, whereas the more weed you smoke the more leaden and zombified you get even though mentally the mind state is different. The way in which they differ seem to be in how they effect the kidney directly and it seems that weed has a stronger effect upon the kidneys functions in disharmonising them than alcohol, and the recovery rate is different too.
I'll have to root around a bit more but I'm sure I've got some litarature of both a european and American report on it all somewhere.

[Nanking '28]

Thanks RepMon, good info...
as to the other guys...sure, you shouldnt smoke before classes sure it slows the connection between body mind and shen, but come on, some of you sound like little ol nancy reagan fightin a lil ol war on a harmless herb... get with it guys.... closed minds are the real enemy in my opinion... and not all people who use the herb are zombified stinky hippies....I know doctors and lawyers and all other kinds who are perfectly successful and hold more knowledge in their skulls than any of us....

humbly,
later

[GLW]

What you choose to do outside of class is your business. Or for that matter, outside of any Kung Fu related event.

However, it is inappropriate for a person to go to a Kung Fu event (competition, demo, seminar, whatever) under the influence of anything.

I would never consider it since it would reflect badly on me and worse on my teacher.

I would not put up with it from a student. Public intoxication around me is not good.

I also do not put up with being under the influence in my class or my teachers. First, it wastes the class' time. Second, it is dangerous. I don't need anyone not stone cold sober handling a sword or staff or kicking around anyone.

Showing up to my class that way (or smelling of alcohol) is the fastest way I can thnk of to get asked to never come back to class.