What makes a good fighter?

[new2bjj]

"Lack of Stamina makes cowards of us all" or something like that, is a classic quote. Of all the things you can improve, stamina is one of the easiest, I would think. You can't teach heart, and you can't teach speed, but stamina is simply grinding it out. I imagine you might have to periodize it, if you have really poor VO max, but even then, it seems like it can be achieved. Put it another way, my friend was an all american wrestler, and he told me "most people aren't that fit, all I have to do is keep them going for a while, and then they get tired and it's over".

[Scott Larson]

Yeah, those are some good quotes.

[Lu Tze]

In the ring: heart.

Out of the ring: awareness, and enough balls to take the initiative.

[cshirk]

Being good in a particular rule set does not make you a good fighter overall and being a bad fighter in a particular rule set does not make you a bad fighter. For instance, a person may be so good at TKD that they can kick butt even in street fights. Put them in a boxing ring, however, where kicks are banned, and they will be severly handicapped. They may be a good fighter, they simply are not good in that rule set. Conversely, a boxer would be severly handicapped in a match that requires, say at least 8 kicks to not be disqualified. He may be an excellent fighter both in the boxing ring and on the street, but in a match that forces him out of his skillset, he may be handicapped. Hence why I'm a proponent of variety.

[Lebell]

a good fighter: a savage, aggresive mindset, not too smart, not too dumb.

[alex]

having a real big pair never hurts

[Heffy]

I think being a good fighter in the context of contests with rules, the key attribute is to be able to adapt to any set of rules. On the street it's mostly awareness, and set-up.

The two real fights I've been in were situations that I was really not prepared for.
The first was against about a dozen guys, I wasn't sure who was with the guy trying to rob me and my friend, and who was just hanging around watching, but this one guy was running my friends pockets so I grabbed him by his wrists and shoved him off my friend. One of the other guys came up behind me, I turned around just in time to get punched in the face. I squared off with him like I was gonna fight him. While I was doing that the main guy got my friends money and everyone took off.
The second time I was alone and I got attacked by two guys I thought I was friendly with in an alley. It was the dead of winter and there was ice (you know when snow melts and then freezes and it becomes mounds of smooth ice?) all over the alley. I was wearing a ski jacket, a backpack, my hood, and a hat, when suddenly one of the guys suckerpunched me in the back of the head. I think he expected me to just go down, but instead I turned around and took a swing at him. I fully missed because of the ice and the fact that I just got hit and he was behind me, so I one-inch-punched him in the nose without retracting my arm(he was NOT expecting that). Then I threw him against the fence and started trying to get my footing so I could hit him or throw him down on the ice. His friend came up beside me and knocked me down. I got up and squared off with them. The rest of the fight continued in the same fashion. I was trying to work my way out of the alley, while keeping an eye on them. Neither of them was willing to attack me when I was looking at them so they kept trying to come up behind me. I got knocked over a few times but was able to get back on my feet and get out of the alley. Especially because we were on some random persons' property and partway through the fight they leaned out their window and started yelling "hey get the fuck out of here!"

I think being a good fighter in terms of street fighting you need to be aware, decisive, and ferocious. The way my instructor says it is that to someone looking to attack people there are two kinds of potential targets. The easily victimized, and those that are too much trouble. When one turns into the other it isn't uncommon to see your would be attacker backing right off. Anything with rules isn't really "fighting" it's "practising for fighting". Real fights are generally few, far between, and not things you intentionally got involved in. I mean after the incident in the alley the only kind of training I wanted to do was sparring in my full winter clothing with my backpack on, on an ice skating rink. Regardless of your fighting style, mats, and wide open spaces, can give you a very unrealistic idea of what it will be like to be in a real fight.

[Ryno]

In the ring: heart.

Out of the ring: awareness, and enough balls to take the initiative.

Yes. More specifically, determination. Never quitting, always working. This may be in the fight itself, and can help an outclassed fighter pull out a gutsy win. It can also be the reason why someone gets so technically skilled, or why some fighters have such phenomenal stamina/cardio. They are determined, and will not quit in training. They push themselves when others would quit. They drill relentlessly, and don't become dismayed by defeat. They just learn from it, and press on to get better.

[AndyS]

The Holy Triad of fighter is:

- Physical ability
- Mental ability
- Skill

Physical ability you need that you can do the damage and stand to the end of the fight. Different arts need different combo of force, speed, stamina etc.

Mental ability you need that you can do anything. I have seen guys who are strong and fierce and aggressive when sparring but they freeze in fight. If it's so, the opponent wins easily.

Without skill you can't even touch a good fighter. And even if you can, you can't do any damage because you can't use your whole body for strike, kick or throw.

You need all these three for being a good fighter.

[Lebell]

having a real big pair never hurts

I like titties too, but stay on topic mate.

[ProudClod]

a good fighter: a savage, aggresive mindset, not too smart, not too dumb.

Yet if you're too agressive, you won't get much of a chance to use your technique. You have to be agressive enough... But not overshoot it. Savage? Wouldn't being savage take away from your concentration and technique? Wouldn't it simply make your reckless?

[alex]

dont confuse aggression for recklessness. I am an aggressive fighter, doesn't mean i throw my technique out the window- I suck before I get in the ring.

[The_Tao]

aggression?

I think that the correct word may be ruthlessness

[roly]

aggression?

I think that the correct word may be ruthlessness

incorrect.

2. making an all-out effort to win or succeed; competitive: an aggressive basketball player.
3. vigorously energetic, esp. in the use of initiative and forcefulness: an aggressive salesperson.

good fighter= able to beat up more than 50% of other people that compete within that given ruleset

[Scott Larson]

I think we have to be careful about how much of a bloodthirsty animal we turn into. Its pretty easy to kill someone if you have a little bit of skill, and you get a dangerous spot.