Is It Battle Tested?

I have talked about competition being the laboratory for martial artists to see what works and what doesn't in reality. In the karate circles there is a growing interest in kata application (bunkai). Theories suggest that the blocks are trapping and grappling techniques and that all of the time prior to these recent developments, everybody was just stupid and wrong because there instructors didn't know the bunkai. These individuals and the self protection/reality defense guys say that ring/cage/mat combat sports aren't real fights. This is true, but I will tell you that any technique that you have never and never get the chance to apply to a non-compliant, resisting, adrenaline fuel advesary won't work. A grappler slaps on chokes, locks and throws on a daily basis. A kickboxer and boxer throw full powered blows at a training partner daily. When these martial artists compete in their specific sport, they apply their techniques 100 percent against a trained opponent who knows what they are doing. I say that if I can land a spin back kick on a professional kickboxer and drop him, I can easily land a kick to an attackers groin.