When you first start practising martial arts, you will not hold much distinction between sparring and real fighting. This is because at this stage, you consider a hit to be a hit no matter how much injury it incurs.
As you train for longer however, you get used to the sparring, and you get used to being punched, kicked, struck, and thrown around the place. You realise that you are controlling your moves; making sure that you improve your use of power but also respecting the fact that your opponent is also here to train, and so not beating them to death. You tend not to follow through with moves in sparring for this reason.
A real situation is different in one key aspect: this mutual agreement not to harm each other doesn't exist (or it wouldn't be a fight) and your opponent genuinely wants to cause damage to you. Unfortunately, you might have been training for so long that whilst you have a lot of strength to your moves, you've trained yourself not to use it.
One way around this, is to think clearly and tell yourself that you can now use unlimited power. Unfortunately, a real fight situation would not lend itself too well to thinking clearly, as instincts start to kick in or panic ensues. Instead you may have to rely on a more primal blind rage to unlock your hard-trained power. This is "seeing red". You get it sometimes in sparring, if your opponent hits you particularly hard, you suddenly want revenge (before calming down again quickly). But this mental state alone may not be enough, particularly if it's you against several (which in most of the reconstructions on Crimewatch, it seems to be).
The first rule of real fights is: run. There is no shame in deciding to remain alive. If you're successful at running, you conveniently avoid any travesties of justice if you end up in court. If you can't run immediately, run when you have the chance, don't stay and try to win the fight.
The second rule of real fights is: shout. In most martial arts, shouting upon the execution of moves is routinely implemented. There's a reason for this, it works. Shouting does two things: it will surprise your enemy, giving you a split second advantage, and it also makes you seem even more powerful.
What do you do if you come up against a massive brute and you can't run? Most martial arts teach you about important points on the body which can be used to inflict great pain. This is also important. A large person probably won't be affected by a kick to the stomach, but a strike to the temple will still work effectively. You can also try to throw them off-balance. If they're particularly big, they will be more likely to fall if pushed off-balance.
Unfortunately there is another point to consider in these panic-stricken circumstances. Most country's laws don't look favourably on the person being attacked. In the eyes of many courts, if you strike first, then you are the attacker. Surely you can't just let them hit you first. The only thing to do is to try to block their first attack, and then rapidly counter. In any case, if you strike first, then your enemy will strike back, regardless of whether they would have struck first or just let you be.
Also consider what you are legally allowed to do. This is different in each country, but ultimately, most countries have fairly logical laws. If what you do is justifiable as self-defence, then you're generally fine. Self-defence is considered to be when you act in a way to prevent harm to yourself, so once your opponent is down, you have to stop fighting. Of course, you should check your countries own laws to be certain.
If you are unlucky enough to find yourself in a situation like this, you'll probably be able to identify its approach early on, and whichever part of your brain is responsible for martial arts will begin firing up, and this is the biggest advantage.
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