When I was sparring at the dojo a lot of my signature moves were things that looked like I was stumbling or reacting to a harsh hit but was really getting position for a power blow that would stop an offensive.

This kind of reminds me of knowing my regular opponents at the hometown CCG weeklies, also I suspect wrestling kayfabe around “finishers” is a fictionalization of this dynamic.

If I’d kept going they probably would have figured out the counters and we’d go on all a bit more attentive to follow-through.