pushing the car in the rain and wet is a great way to learn car control.
It's hardly stupid if done in the proper environment - road course/closed course.
I'm not doubting that your brakes are a lot better now, but they could be even better if you had ABS as well. ABS will not lock-up as you said it will on a smooth surface, bumpy surfaces might disrupt it for a split second but it'll still enable you to have a measure of control in steering away from trouble.
It sounds like you've never driven on snow or ice with ABS either...? I don't know every nuance related to this subject but having an Integra-R with ABS and an EH3 (SOHC VTEC 5th gen Civic) with a full 5 lug swap - I can confidently say even with the lighter weight of the Civic, the R will still out brake my Civic on any given track/condition.