Any martial arts veggies here?

[gracie2006]

I was just wondering if anyone else here does martial arts and what your training regimen is like. I've been a black belt in karate (kind of like americanized tae kwon do though) for 6 years and am going to be getting back in the swing of things after being out for little while. I am terrified that I will "suck" after being gone for so long. Also, I was just vegetarian and not vegan last time I trained, so I was wondering if anyone knows of any effects my vegan diet will have on my training, i.e. if I will need to add or subtract anything from my diet. Most of the karate guys I trained with are staunch omnis who abhor the idea of abstaining from meat and take any opportunity to point out the supposed health detriments of my diet. I never really defend myself because I am not that knowledgable about nutrition, I simply point out the fact that I am never sick while they are constantly battling colds and such.

[thebelovedtree]

I never trained there (my boss never gave me time!) but the vegetarian resturant I used to work for was also an asian cultural center and a martial arts school. Its supposed to be one of the best ones in the south east and we had many students who drove several hours to take classes there, and others who taught martial arts themselves.

The owners were both vegetarians, and we had many many vegan and vegetarian students, it was never a factor in ability.

www.thepeacefuldragon.com is their site if you want to peak around.

[Elena99]

I doubt you'll have to change your diet that much as a vegan, just make sure that you eat more if you're exercising more. Whole grains, legumes, fruits, vegetables and water makes excellent "fuel".

I'm vegan and have an orange belt in judo, but unfortunately I haven't been able to go to a dojo since the end of 2004 (I moved and there are no local classes here). When I was in judo, I usually had class 1-2 nights a week, 1.5 hours each, and I also went to yoga once a week (1 hour) and went running once or twice a week too.

If you're training with someone who is that disrespectful of your diet, I'd either pay less attention to them or challenge them to give you concrete information about how vegetarianism and veganism can be detrimental for working out. I've never encountered it myself, so I can't speak from actual experience.

[megveggie]

I do karate.

[purrpelle]

I practice Muay Thai kickboxing and do conditioning routines as well, daily.

my teacher has never asked me about my diet,and I doubt he cares. and as long as I get enough quality calories in I feel fine.(2000-2500) in fact, I think the veg*n diet is optimal for martial arts and yoga, because it's lighter and more energetic, IMO.

on a personal level, I feel better and I recover faster when I get 20% of my diet as protein. this may be high for some, but that's where I personally feel the best. I went as low as 10% and my muscular endurance and strength suffered.

[gracie2006]

I practice Muay Thai kickboxing and do conditioning routines as well, daily.

my teacher has never asked me about my diet,and I doubt he cares. and as long as I get enough quality calories in I feel fine.(2000-2500) in fact, I think the veg*n diet is optimal for martial arts and yoga, because it's lighter and more energetic, IMO.

on a personal level, I feel better and I recover faster when I get 20% of my diet as protein. this may be high for some, but that's where I personally feel the best. I went as low as 10% and my muscular endurance and strength suffered.

The protein thing is really good to know, as I haven't done anything as strenuous as karate in a while, mostly figure skating and jogging.

[toadstool]

I practice Tae Kwon Do.

I mentioned my (vegan) diet once to one of the head instructors. Her response was something like, "I love animals, too. I wish I could be vegetarian."

Other than that, no one at the dojo has ever really commented on my diet. None of their business, I'd say.

In terms of performance, I didn't start practicing until after I was vegan. But martial arts is like any other sport, in general, I'd say: get enough calories, get enough of the various nutrients you need, hydrate, and you'll be fine.

[gracie2006]

I practice Tae Kwon Do.

I mentioned my (vegan) diet once to one of the head instructors. Her response was something like, "I love animals, too. I wish I could be vegetarian."

Other than that, no one at the dojo has ever really commented on my diet. None of their business, I'd say.

In terms of performance, I didn't start practicing until after I was vegan. But martial arts is like any other sport, in general, I'd say: get enough calories, get enough of the various nutrients you need, hydrate, and you'll be fine.

Yeah, my problem with it being everyone's business is that I was a karate school director and head instructor, so it really was my friends and co-workers harrassing me all the time. Well, they thought it was teasing, but you can only hear the same stupid jokes a few times before you feel like sidekicking someone through a window!

[wizardofsoy]

I wish I had a handy link to send you, but I've seen lists before of veg*n athletes that include prominent wrestlers and body builders.

p.s. Bruce Lee was vegetarian, from what I've read.

[Morrigann]

I study Kung Fu, and have done so only as a vegetarian. As long as you fuel efficiently prior to class (i.e. healthy carbs like whole-wheat bread and fruit), and get a good serving of protein afterwards (I love lentils after a long, tiring class), your recovery time should be pretty decent. I'm not sure if you will have problems as a vegan, but I am sure you'll do really well-- a black belt is not something to mess with =)

~Morrigann

[Sharon]

I'm trying to turn my Tae Kwon Do master on to being a veggie - he has some health issues and takes meds, but I don't know if he's willing to change. He knows how I eat and is respectful of that, his family took ours out to sushi and they were pretty mindful of me not eating the fish.

[geekygirl007]

I practice taekwondo with the ATA. I'm a third degree black belt vegetarian.

My diet has never affected how I perform. I do make sure I take power bars and such when I am gone on a tourney and don't know about my food access.

oh, and I constantly get crap about being vegetarian. so I know how you feel.

[ALF_member]

Technically no.But did learn a little Jujitsu on my own. kinda self taught.

[Vrindavan1]

http://www.ivu.org/people/sports/lee.html

anyone know more details ?
like the time period, from - to