Many times, the victor is simply the one who made less mistakes. Maybe this was in Matsumura's mind when he said he tried not to lose. Not defeating yourself. Use sound technique and execute it well, don't screw up and things should turn out OK.
A and B are fighting in a tournament. A has strong offense and B has strong defense. In 3 rounds of fight, A's attack was blocked/deflected by B's strong defense. In all 3 rounds, B didn't throw even 1 punch/kick. After 3 rounds, the score is 0-0, 0-0, 0-0.
A couple of ways to look at this. In one sense, since A's offense was ineffective and B's defense was quite effective, B could be said to have won. Alternatively, in ties/very close calls, the win usually goes to the offense as they showed more initiative. It's not much, but it's better than showing no spirit. I've noticed this happens more frequently in pee wee sparring divisions. Two seven-year-olds jumping around, circling each other with no contact for 2 minutes. Sometimes the best kiai screamer wins, that being the only observable criteria.
This reminds me of myself when I started out - shy, non-confident, worrying about leaving myself open during an attack. But I got hit anyway and eventually learned my lesson. Not attacking or at least countering is the mistake.
