Practical Experience Vs. Just Practice

Let's say you been training a martial art for 10 years. You go to class, do the workouts, drill and practice. You spar, hit the pads, etc. Now let's say, a guy comes in to the class and you spar with him and you see he has ability and can do things to you and you have a hard time pulling off your best moves on him (if at all). After the workout, you ask him how long he's been training and he tells you 3 years. You say to yourself, "Wow, I've been doing it for 10. How can he be so good?" You have no competitive experience and most of his time in the discipline he has competed. What I'm saying is that through competition you learn at a much faster rate than those who don't compete. Combat sport athletes have a shorter learning curve and the better their opposition, the better they become as martial artists. You can learn new techniques and drill them for an eternity, but if you never have to do them under pressure, you won't have the confidence of the guy who has. If you don't fight, you better learn from those who have. Go into a boxing gym or a wrestling gym and see how these guys train. Most of their training is doing what they are going to do when they fight. Football and soccer teams scrimmage to prepare. They simulate what is going to happen in a game. Make sure you do the same (if you can't really get out there and play).