“Your purpose in karate is not to fight, but rather to end the fight”. ~ Yoshio Kuba 10th dan Goju Ryu ??
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In self-defense there are no rules. If you’re in danger, in trouble, or in anyway threatened, you do anything and everything you can to get away and get to safety. This is nothing new.
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Today if we do any sparring or fighting in the dojo, we face each other from outside of striking range, bow, take up our fighting stance, then start inching towards each other until we are ready to exchange strikes and kicks.
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What most traditional martial artists do not train for is the guy being right in your face, shouting and swearing, grabbing, biting, head-butting you.
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The old Okinawan masters did not practice sport. Several of them are recorded as saying that karate is mainly for defending oneself against untrained thugs (rather than matches with other trained martial artists).
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Below is a quote from Gichin Funakoshi; from his book Karate-Do Kyohan.
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“When there are no avenues of escape or one is caught even before any attempt to escape can be made, then for the first time the use of self-defense techniques should be considered. Even at times like these, do not show any intention of attacking, but first let the attacker become careless. At that time attack him concentrating one’s whole strength in one blow to a vital point and in the moment of surprise, escape and seek shelter and help.”
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“It is most important to be on guard without becoming excited and to act with presence of mind throughout the situation from the beginning and even once the situation is in hand. When delivering the one blow against the attacker, the importance of using one’s whole strength and being especially accurate cannot be overemphasized”.
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Learn the difference between fighting and self-defense. Don’t assume because you can “fight” successfully in the dojo that this will make you successful at self-defense. You MUST understand the difference, and practice for that difference.