How do you know?

How do you know you're absorbing the material taught in class? What things do we do to reassure ourselves that we can apply what we've learned?

Some schools put the students into tournaments, others free spar, while others just know....and some deep down know or believe that they do not know at all. The obvious way, is simply to test it out on the street or street-like scenario. I think the same advice was given by Grand Master Yip Man. How practical is that nowadays?

In a system that believes that free/tournament/full contact sparring is not good training for street self defense, then what is? what tests can we do to reassure ourselves of this? Would you want your son/daughter to pass through grade school without any exams? maybe you do! What kind of tests can we perform to assure that we can truly apply what we've been exposed to in class?

Thoughts, comments?

Until then.