You know, everyone understands things on the basis of his personal experience and thus nobody can understand 100% exact what was meant by the speaker.
In my environment it is no wonder to meet a man carrying a knife, but of cource there is really a little chance to get attacked and no chance that an attacker would be a FMA expert using these complex techniques.
In my view the question about realism touches all martial arts and so it is important vor every martial artist. If we train for sport, there are rules there, but in real situation of self defense or war it wiil be better if our mind is not bound to a set of patterns(matter unrealistic). If we train for self defense or martial art, we can work through different scenarios, but the fault in performing intent is inevitable(form unrealistic).
But in fact I simply like the comparison of martial practice with conversation and would be glad to hear some thoughts on this topic.