Entering the dissertation phase of my PhD program was scary. I took several months off while searching for a research topic. But one day, during open mat, an idea just sort of came to me.
I’d just tapped out a striker with a triangle choke during an MMA-style sparring session after he shot a takedown on me. His coach said something to the effect of, “stay on your feet, you can’t out grapple him, his fight IQ is too high.“
That wasn’t the first time someone had commented on my grappling fight IQ, but this time, it sank into my thoughts. What did he mean by fight IQ? What actually is it? What does it consist of? Is it just that I see opportunities in the moment? Is it my choices? Does it have to do with reaction time?
More important…is fight IQ a form of intelligence that can be measured?
There were so many questions I didn’t have answers to. So I did a quick Google search for the term. That’s how I learned that there are a lot of opinions on fight IQ, but no unified definition. But if a concept can’t be defined, how can it be measured?
The question bothered me, because if fight IQ could be measured, it might open up new opportunities for athlete performance enhancement.
By measuring a fighter’s baseline Fight IQ, and again after a fighter undergoes training, it would be possible to determine if Fight IQ improved afterward.
Developing a measure of Fight IQ would’ve been an awesome dissertation project. Unfortunately, the groundwork for such a measure hasn’t been laid yet.
That’s why my dissertation research project, once approved, will aim to develop a practitioner-based definition of the term. Once fight IQ is formally defined, it opens the doorway for future studies, including the development of measures used to assess fight IQ.
Currently, I’m in the prospectus phase, searching for my dissertation Chair and Committee members before finalizing my proposal.
For now, it’s all just a dream, but I’m headed toward bringing this research to life over the next several months, and will post updates as they become available.