I've been considering whether there really is such a thing as "Fight IQ"
It seems to me that a person's ability to fight depends on these things:
1. Inherent physical attributes (especially reach).
2. Physical condition - strength, stamina, flexibility and coordination.
3. Technical knowledge and experience of a given style of fighting.
4. The right opponent.
5. Respect.
6. Maybe a bit of luck on the day; e.g. a good night's sleep the night before
Now, this looks like a complete deck, right?
But is there more. If that were not so, how come we all know the guys who rock up to the mats/ring and are just plain talented? What does talent really mean?
I come from a world of music, in which "musicality" is a thing. However much you practice your scales and arpeggios, some people make music that sounds like a spreadsheet and others make it sound like the highest art to captivate your mind and emotions. "That guy", he's only been playing for a while but he just has "it".
So it is with fighting. That guy is new to wrestling/boxing/bjj whatever but he has "it". He can compose the fight. Lead it. Make sense of it and deliver something greater than the sum of his skills. Aggression - which has come to mean, for me, a willingness to hurt someone to a given end - is part of it. But it is more than that. You know when you are being outgunned because you get drawn into his ever-evolving game plan.
Whatever "it" is, it is hardwired, or at least well established from whatever life has thrown at him. We all have some degree of of it and innumerable fights are won and lost on who has more.
But can it be grown?
What do you think?