Knowing how to do and what to do in a fight is great, but you have to execute that. You have to make your move on time. If you fail to do so, no matter how much strength you have or what you know, the attacker can strike and hit you.
Distractions can be a big obstacle. You could not make your move on time. One of the reasons for not doing that is distractions. The attacker might ask you for something and while you are talking, suddenly attack you.
The attacker has a weapon, you need to know what he has. That's important. But if you only pay attention to the weapon, you might miss what the attacker does with that. For example, the attacker has a stick. He can attack you any way he wants. He might hit you on your head, he might hit you from the side or he can hit you on your legs.
When the attacker is going to hit on the head with a stick but you get down thinking he would swing his stick to hit from the side, you will get hit. Here you get distracted seeing the weapon. You pay too much attention to the stick that you do not see what the attacker is doing. Watch the attacker and don't get distracted seeing something else.
In a fight, you have to decide in a split second. Whether you get back or get in, or counter-attacker, you can do a lot of things as a defense. When you get distracted, you might not be able to make the decision on time. As a result, you will become vulnerable and the attacker can easily take advantage of the situation.
The attacker hits you one time successfully. Now you are desperate to hit him back as quickly as possible. It happens in a fight. Your only focus is to hit the attacker quickly. For the time being, you might not see the bigger picture. You might fall into the trap and do exactly what the attacker wants you to do.
Have never been in so many fights. I hope that I won’t need this.