This is an issue I’ve thought about for some time. Perhaps we in the martial arts are too clever for our own good. When we spar, we’re bouncing, feinting, probing, and so on. But what if the guy on the street is in berserker mode? I feint, and instead of reacting to the feint, he plows right through.
Does playful sparring really prepare us for the gun who is in an insane rage? The guy on PCP?
I believe that a portion of training needs to be dedicated to "mad minute" type of drills.