Economy of Motion

You know a really important principle in Martial Arts - and in warfare in general - is "economy of motion."
This is what my instructor commonly calls "shortening the circles."

The above picture is of a Kenpo patch. I believe it's called the "Universal Pattern," though I tend to refer to it as "Kenpo Circles."
It looks really confusing at first, but when you have a good look you can see that it's actually divided into eight main divisions, and that everything on it gets smaller and smaller.

Shortening the Circles

Simply put, the shortest distance between two points is a straight line - so why would you add extra distance in?
The best philosophy on this that I have found is the Kenpo "Point of Origin" principle. Everything starts from where it is right now. You never wind up a punch or pull back to get extra power for a hit. Just strike from where you are right now. And then from there, hit again and again.

Of course, human instinct tells us to wind up. It's a natural thing. I do it, many great martial artists I know do it... and often they're still so quick that you don't notice. But those who don't wind up end up like lightning.

Actually that's the difference between life and death on the street. How long do you take to hit? To block? To hit and block (simultaneously)?

Pretty much every movie you've ever seen with martial arts in it has been dramatised. Even Bruce Lee dramatised his martial arts to make it look good - though it was still incredibly practical. A lot of them use big motions, cool-looking moves that are all fancy and require lots of time to strike. But they just don't work. Because in the time you've taken to wind up for that hit - you've already been hit!