When it came to a real fight . my god!. as if he couldnt grasp what was going on.
It is hard to keep your head in a fight, and i admit i didn't fare as well as i should have in mine. The kid i fought tried to punch me and faield (miserably) so he tried to tackle me. After that it sorta became a big blur. eventually i got sorta-standing and got him to the ground with a few choice kicks (achilles tendon all the way, weakest area in the foot, downs a guy in no time) and got away from there.
(i was only about half a year into martial arts at the time)
But it's an acquired skill you know? martial arts doesn't automatically make you a master of fighting, it just gives you tools, it's up to you to get used to them and use 'em. Boxing is the same way...
I've been relatively lucky (depends on how you look at it), i haven't had to deal with a lot of fighting. besides that one i've really only had to defend myself a couple or other times. Neither of which were very bad. Just a bite and scratch here and there. nothing too serious.
But nowadays, kids are abandoning punching, and going for grappling. so judo and ju-jitsu are becoming a lot more useful. If you can fall and fight from the ground it effectively keeps the opposition away. (which is what i'm learning now)