[sirdarksol]

Actually, Drimascus, what most of us likely aren't getting is what you call "assimilation of technique." See, many (I am not saying "all" here, I've known many karate-kas, even from my own school, who don't do this) students of the martial arts mentally evaluate, sometimes even subconsciously, each move that their body learns. Then, when the time arises, it's more likely to rise to the challenge, so to speak.
Does this make every student of the martial arts better than the streetfighter at a local bar? No. But that doesn't matter to me. If I wanted to learn to fight dudes down at the local bar, I'd go down there, down a few bottles, then pick a fight.
So my art doesn't let me fight some guy in "The Grease Pit" bar, where the local biker gang hangs out. "Why do you bother studying it?" you ask?
Simple. I don't plan on fighting the guy in "The Grease Pit." I don't even plan on drinking at "The Grease Pit." Any place where the patrons of "The Grease Pit" hang out, I don't plan to be. I study my art for two reasons. One, I am an artist. Two, for the confrontations that I can't avoid. These are usually initiated by someone who has not learned to handle themselves. These are the baseball/hockey/soccer/basketball dads flipping out because their kid got benched. These are the guys who want cuts at the grocery store. These are the people who freak out at McDonalds because the new Beanie Babies are running out quickly. These are the drunk guys stumbling down the street who challenge you because you were checking out their girl (who isn't anywhere to be seen). These are the fights I'm most likely to get into. I don't want to kill these people, so I don't need to learn how to do a knee-drop to their throats immediately prior to snapping their necks. And if I do get into a fight with a Hell's Angel, I've done something more seriously wrong than what art I chose to study. What the deuce was I doing in a situation that could get me into an altercation with a biker?