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Old 02-10-2010, 10:19 AM   #27
Marc Abrams
Dojo: Aikido Arts of Shin Budo Kai/ Bedford Hills, New York
Location: New York
Join Date: May 2006
Posts: 1,302
United_States
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Re: should you smoke marijuana on your aikido journey

Training in any athletic endeavor when you are impaired/under the influence of any mind-altering substance is potentially dangerous not only to the person, but to anybody who trains with that person.

I can not think of any cogent reason why any dojo should allow a person to train in an altered state. I have even spoken to a student who had alcohol on his breath, despite acting entirely sober. As the owner of a dojo, I am ultimately responsible for the well-being of the students training there. Clean body, mind and uniforms are simply starting points to walk onto my mats!

True Story:

One of my sempai was going through a divorce and would smoke pot before training. Pot calms must people down. For him, it had a disinhibitory effect. The result was that he became an angry snap and people would get hurt (big strong person). This person needed to spoken to and told what was going on and that nobody really wanted to train with him anymore. This is a good person who was oblivious as to what was going on. He had no intent or desire to hurt anybody.

bottom line:

Train safe means NO MIND-ALTERING substances before training.

Marc Abrams
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