I thought the Afghan's reactions were lighting fast.
All this talk about sparring not being effective in a real fight for and against, well for me here's the reality of a real fight in GB. Pubs and alcohol being the fuel that causes them and the chavs who indulge in this sort of thing more than other members of society. Realistically all anyone would have to do to avoid being hit is footwork and the odd dodge, within a minute they will be out of breath. You could if you felt like it say 'finish him' like that voice in the game and do the prick with a roundhouse kick but really all you would have to do i walk off.
So what are you going to do about his mates who are watching all this kick off? While you're concentrating on dodging Darren from the estate with you best come dancing footwork, they are most likely going to be pummelling you from behind.
I agree with you that booze is the likely cause of most rucks out in the streets. Best thing is to try not to put yourself in a situation where something like this can happen to you. But then hiding away for most of your life is not an option as well.
Whatever you do, don't punch someone in the mouth going for their teeth. Shattered teeth are like $%&#ing razors, do you really want your knuckles cut to shreds and their saliva/blood all over those cuts?
Also I never said sparring doesn't increase your skills. I think it's an essential part of the training, along with the basics and the katas, forms, call them what you will. My point is that it needs to feel real. If you're feeling comfortable and not threatened, then you may be conditioning you body to do the moves and react, but in no way are you preparing your mind for a real confrontation. I'm not saying you should get smacked as hard as possible (if that was the case, people would be forever injured), but your sparring partner(s) should make sure you know that you missed the block, otherwise you're not going to learn.
