Were traditional martial arts ever meant for down and dirty street fighting? We all know the karate scenes in movies are highly choreographed, and that an opponent in real life will not be sticking to the script.
No, they were not, but I have seen several fights settled with traditional martial arts techniques.
It really depends on how any given person applies a technique to any given opponent.
If you are a street punk, and you pick a fight with someone who has studied karate for years, you are very likely going to lose.