Ive studied extensivley into various 'reality' based systems of fighting and am quite confident in my ability to preserve myself from any physical attacker/knive attack(also have tried some martial arts like TKD,Kenpo,5 animal system e.c.t...but that stuff will get you stomped in a real defense situation)

I think something that escapes many people is that no matter how big,tough or strong you might be,you still have two eyes that can be gouged/dug into,a throat that can be crushed/traumatized,a nose that can be broken and a whole skeletal system that can be twisted/broken with proper measures.

Also the mental aspect is often neglected when training.The saftey of a dojo just dosn't remedy the adrenaline dumps effects(involuntary shaking,lack of fine motorskills,short term memory loss/perception alteration).If you can control the dump then thats an accomplishment,but you'll be fighting yourself as well as your attacker.

Ive never found fighting fun since i'm a bit 'soft' at heart,but have defended myself effectivley in a few instances.When crap hits the fan,you have to be vicious,victimizing,punishing and unrelenting in the attack.I say attack because your attack is the defense.Never try to block punches waiting to counter or 'square off' with your attacker.You have to victimize your attacker violently to cease their threat to you.

wow,more than I expected to write...hope it was informitive.