The Martial Artist

A healthy life style is essential to those who wish to become martial artist. Class and practice take a lot out of you; in fact it is not uncommon to lose 3-5lbs a class in water weight along. For those who have cone to class, a belt test, or worse yet competed without proper rest, diet, or water in their system will tell you that you are in for a very long session. Other habits such as smoking, drinking and drug use are also things that should be strongly avoided in training.

There is nothing wrong with eating fast food, drinking Pepsi and for some having the occasional adult drink, however the point to remember is moderation. Eating healthy meals 3 times a day, consuming a gallon of water on normal days and getting 6-8 hours of sleep a day is something that will greatly assist in your training, not to mention your everyday life as well. I am also a fan of drinking sports drinks, before and after class to avoid dehydration during class and later that night. Trust me if you do not drink enough water after a hard class you will feel the effects soon after through dizziness, migrates and nausea or worse yet the three of them combined.

Your body needs time to rest and recover. The average person needs 6-8 hours day in sleep. They saw that a person can service on 4 hours of sleep and when I was in basic training I learned that this is true, however your body will not be at its best with only 4 hours a day in sleep. During my daily sleep cycle I will only get 4-5 hours of sleep however I will also do a cat nap or two a day to refresh the mind and body. Another aspect of rest is just sitting or laying still. I am not a fan of watching TV for 8 hours a day like the normal person after they get out of work/school, however resting your muscles while watching a couple of shows does give your body a chance to rest and reset itself.

Drugs are not just controlled substances such as pot, speed and the popular craze of steroids. Drug use includes tobacco, liquor, beer and pain killers. Drug us it may seem like fun but going to class under the influence of drugs or alcohol is disrespectful to your classmates, your instructer, your dojan, school and all the up to the grand master of your school. For many schools the issue of pain killers is a mixed point. There are people who need to deal with pain on a regular basis so they seek doctors who will prescribe pain killers to those people in order to get through their daily life. Some martial art schools still see this as drug use in the school, others have an unspoken don’t ask don’t tell way of dealing with the issue. If you need to use pain killers to get through your day as prescribed by your doctor then I say go with it, however there is a difference between taking what you need to get through class and taking 3 times that much for a buzz while in class. At the time the buzz may feel good however running the risk of heart attacker for that feeling is certainly not worth the risk of it. Another aspect of taking pain killers is dehydration is always a factor mixes that with class and you need to be consuming twice as much water as the average student. If this is something that you need to deal with then do your research, speak to your doctor, pharmacist, and instructer so they have an understanding of what is going on.

Drinking is another aspect that needs to be considered as we grow. Some martial artists who are over the legal age see nothing run with having a few drinks every now and again and others discourage it completely. Coming to class drunk is certainly an easy way to get you expelled from the school, not to mention the normal effects of class could certainly lead to sickness. As I said before drinking outside the dojan is discussed heavily on two sides. Some people say that as an adult they can make their own decisions, others say that it is disrespectful to the school; I see more of a middle view on the path. I see nothing wrong with having a drink every now and again; however drinking heavy on the weekend is certainly not something I would recommend. The story of the drunken monk who was only able to beat his master while intoxicated is certainly entertaining and is possible in some circumstances, however this really does dishonor your school and truth be told I would rather not go against my own instructer let along the masters and grand master of my school.

I was greatly considering on not writing this part on the website, but I thought that it would be important to discuss.  It is easy for a person to say do not smoke to say quite smoking, however hearing it from a person who does smoke or who has quit does hold more value. If you are presently a smoker do not let this keep you away from martial art training, however I can tell you from experance that you will want to quit smoking after you truly commit yourself to your martial art program.  I know from experance that quitting is indeed difficult, but i can also tell you from experane that you will fill much better the less you smoke. Unfortunately as I am working on this website I am a smoker. I can tell you that after class seeing people who are in great cardio shape winded is one thing, however being a smoker this makes class much harder. Over the past 6 months I have been able to cut down the number of cigarette's I smoke on a regular basis and I am hopeful to be smoke free by Feb. of 2009. As I started cutting down smoking class has become a lot easier and after the second month my fellow classmates and my instructors started seeing the difference. Of course quitting smoking is wonderful for class, however there is also the risk of cancer and dieing a slow painful death that is important to avoid.

Posting the food paramid may seem like fun however personally I will live nutrition to those who study that area in greater detain them myself.  Instead of posting the the total number for meat, fruit and bread servings I will instead post links to sites that are much more qualified then myself to discuss such things.

Dietary Guidance

Nutrition

Mypyramid.cov

I am going to post supplements simulary to the way I posted about nutrition. 

Athletes today are constantly trying to find things that will improver thier training, strength, and power.  There a number of supplaments on the market today and keeping up with them is not always easy.  A thing that is important to know is that many sports enhancment supplaments are not backed by the FDA and are not effective for everyone.

I am a supporter of Creatine and Whey Protein when preparing for competitons.  Creatine basically helps your body to hold water longer which adds to muscle size and strength when training.  Normally by using creatine I will add 7-10lb of water weight to my body which is helpful in training for compettions.  For many organizations the use of creatine is not considered however for other organizations it is and it is important to know that if you will be facing a drug test before or after the competiton which way your organization sees creatine.  It is also important to know that weight gain and strength is reduced shortly after you stop taking the product and your body flushes it from your system.  Basically it is good for short term effects as well as to jump start your body into a new program.  Whey Protein is also a supplament I take during the summer and during training periods.  Protein is essental for weight gain and muscle growth, and strength.  It is believed that a person should consume 1 gram of protein per body pound or more while in training and since I do not eat much meat I need to find protein in other ways which includes protein shakes several times a day.

If you decide to add  Sports Enhancement Supplements into your routine it is important to know what you are adding and what the real effects are .  To take legal issues off of myself I will be adding a few links to this section that will give you a start place to learn about supplaments.  It is important to do as much research as possible and speak with your docter before you start adding supplaments into your sytem.

Sports Enhancment Supplaments

Sports Supplaments

GNC