fighters attributes

[waterdragon]

this is sort of a follow on from the "most effective art" thread

besides the technique an style you study what do you think are the most important attributes for a fighter, if you want you cn rank the basic ones

1.speed - you have to be able to get there first, and speed brings it's own power

2. core strength, if you don't have core strength you wpn't have stability, wothout stability you woun't have power

3. endurance - you have to bwe able to go the distance

4. leg strength - if you can't stand you can't fight

5. co-ordination - you have to be able to block/control/attack/ in a\one movement

6. agility - geting out of the way is important too

there are many more but here are some to get you thinking

[TheManWhoCan]

Fighter how? Like MMA fighter? I'll post what I think is the most important things for fighting all together.

1. Accuracy - this ranks above and beyond anything else. If you can't ever hit your opponent, you'll always lose
2. Timing
3. Speed
4. Technique

Speed and proper technique can bring devastating power. But both those things can be trumped with 1 well timed shot.

[BlackMagicPanther]

1. Balance - Without the balance to control your speed or strength, you are nothing in a fight. This attribute alone can win you a fight if you can exploit your opponents lack of balance despite not havng their speed or strength especially if your style incorporates throws.

2. Knowledge - Being able to recognize the fighting style you are going up against and how your opponent is going to strike and counter will win you a fight very quickly.

[torofuerte]

Keep in mind that martial arts have specific physical requirements, not that different from one to the other, but different enough to keep that in mind during training. You train to attain the most optimal mental and physical conditioning required for a given competition. And by martial arts I mean those that test their stuff (as opposed to those that are t00 d34dl3y to compete) such as Kyokushin, Daito Juku, most FMAs, Judo, SAMBO, Wrestling MMA, BJJ, Boxing, any school of Kung Fu that participates in Kickboxing/Sanda, Sanda, Muay Thai and any form of full contact Kickboxing.

1. High Anaerobic Capacity
2. Mental and physical thoughness (the ability to take punishment)
3. Agility
4. Technique and timing
5. Ring/Cage/Mat generalship (the ability to control space to your advantage)
6. Well-defined game plans (people can't just go and fight without having a game plan.)
7. Physical strenght (different from #1 and #2)

All of these attributes have distinct "flavors" depending on the competition in question. A Judoka will require different forms of conditioning from a boxer from a kickboxer from a MMA fighter.

[ItalianStallion]

i think biggest attribut would be intelligence
now of course u need speed and strength but in order to adapt n have a gamplan to win the fight is a lot more important i think...u can defend against quickness n even power but the mind is a lot harder...

[47]

Practice. Getting out there and getting experience is the best thing you could ever do. If you spend all the time practicing with the other guys in your class/gym/whatever, you will just get used to fighting them. A good number of those attributes will come naturally with real practice.

[torofuerte]

Originally Posted by ItalianStallion

i think biggest attribut would be intelligence
now of course u need speed and strength but in order to adapt n have a gamplan to win the fight is a lot more important i think...u can defend against quickness n even power but the mind is a lot harder...

The mind is nothing without the physical attributes to impose your will against your opponent in a physical confrontation (both sportlike or in a physical assault).

Having said that, considering two individual with the same physical attributes, the one who can think the most, has a better gameplan, and is aggressive enough to deal with his opponent's aggression, that's the one that wins.

Physical attributes need to come first. Experience in using those attributes will eventually lead to the "smarts", the seasoned intelligence.

[47]

Originally Posted by torofuerte

Physical attributes need to come first. Experience in using those attributes will eventually lead to the "smarts", the seasoned intelligence.

There you go! Good reply torofuerte, you said it better than I did. Your intelligence should definitely come from experience. Otherwise, you're trying to think yourself through a fight. If you've been in them before, you realize thats not possible and will get you a beatdown.

Now I'm not talking about in the ring. If you are only training to fight in competition you get the luxury of examining your opponent beforehand, watching their other fights, observing their style, and so on.. Real fights are sudden, violent, often without warning, or with very little. In fact, I say VERY little, because anytime someone wants to waste their time warning you about how bad they are about to kick your ass, they shouldnt be allowed to finish their sentence.

Even in real encounters though, practical intelligence as well as the ability to recognize another persons style (if they have one) and fight them accordingly, will get you through. Just that it usually wont come in the way of conscious thought or your inner monologue, it should just be a natural observation like knowing something is blue without having to give it thought. The only way to achieve that is with experience.

Having great physical attributes are useful for preventing yourself from being injured as easily, and having the power to make your hits count and get it over with real quick.

[TheManWhoCan]

Originally Posted by torofuerte

The mind is nothing without the physical attributes to impose your will against your opponent in a physical confrontation (both sportlike or in a physical assault).

Having said that, considering two individual with the same physical attributes, the one who can think the most, has a better gameplan, and is aggressive enough to deal with his opponent's aggression, that's the one that wins.

Physical attributes need to come first. Experience in using those attributes will eventually lead to the "smarts", the seasoned intelligence.

If you're lacking in size, strength, and speed, your mind is what keeps you winning. If you're much bigger, faster, and stronger then your opponent, then your physical abilities are your major asset. If you're the same, your mind is what allows you to win. The mind is more important then the body, but you need a body to carry out the actions. Anyone at the top of their game in combat sports will take pride in being the smartest fighter. Not the biggest, not the fastest, not the strongest.

The one who can think the most is not the one who wins, he's the one who loses. He spends too much time thinking instead of acting.

[waterdragon]

i agree that mind is important but you must develop your body first, if you don't have the weapons there is no [oint in learning how to use them, before you learn to refine your technique you have to have the balls to stand in the ring and thrash it out, after that when you are experienced you can start to look at your game from a techniques POV, becasue you have a back up if your tech. sucks.

to get to this level, i believe you must trainin your body first.

[TheManWhoCan]

^ I completely disagree. In learning eveything, you learn how to do it first, then do it, then learn some more. Learn how to throw a punch, throw the punch, learn how to refine the punch. The weapons come from learning, they aren't natural. You have to learn how to use them first before they are effective at all. Learning is mostly mental. And having the balls to step into the ring is entirely mental. The "balls" is confidence, and confidence is completely intangible.

Fighting is a chess game. And just like a chess game you need a mental capacity that far outweighs your physical one, but your body is what moves the men on the board. You don't move the pieces around in chess if you don't know what you're doing. You physical body has very real limitations and it can only do so much. Your mind has none and it's what allows you to refine your techniques, to see what your opponent is doing, to draw him him, to time him correctly, to control the momentum, to be confident etc. Your body is important because it is the vehicle that drives you. The better your raw physical abilities are, and the better your muscle memory is, the better you will be. But in order to achieve higher physical abilities, you need to see and understand what you're doing wrong and how to improve. And that is entirely mental.

I've never understood why people say that the body is more important, or even equally important. Especially when real fighters at the top of their game all take pride in being the smartest fighter out there. I just don't get it.

[hayabusa0]

I would add 'vision' if no one else has mentioned it already (some of the posts were rather wordy. This is more so important for standup fighting. The best bjj and wrestlers out there could grapple blind honestly.

-depth perception to see straight attacks coming and move out of the way just enough to put them in a position to counter.
-some fighters just have an instinctive 'punch eye' that they can't get rid of like flinching and dropping their heads when they see a punch coming (Heath Herring for the latter)