Would you describe your fighting style as Instinctive or Calculated?

I believe we all need to be able to do both. The reason we train is to get our techniques ingrained as muscle memory so when we have to use it it will come out on it's own with little or no thought to what you have to pull out.

I think the ideal meshing would be about 65% instinct and 35% calculating.

I also think that in a real life life or death situation that too much of either can get you killed.

If you overthink you can lose valuable time and freeze up. If you fight with pure instinct you risk a good fighter outsmarting you.

Unfortunately, even after 17 years of training I still find myself overthinking what I'm going to do when sparring. I'm probably at a 45% instinct and 55% calculated. It's something I have been trying to imporve for many years and I realize I will probably never get it to meet my own expectations of myself.

I’m actually calculated fighter and as far as keeping my head and planning goals (ex. should I take the person down or keep striking), but actual techniques to use I leave it more to instinct. My brother who also trains where I train is actually more of instinctive fighter, which makes him more faster and aggressive, but tends to get too competitive and focuses less on learning when training and more on actually experiencing the fight.

Instinctive 90% calulated 10%

You cant calculate a fight because every fight is different and anything can happen, just because someone jabs 100 times and you think that he is gonna throw another jab doesnt mean he will just because he threw 100 of them. His next punch might be a hook instead and you thought he was gonna jab.

I go strait instictive, usually adapt while fighting. I start standing up and striking, if i am winning i keep doing that, i dont think about what he is gonna do, if i see a punch my body reacts to dodge it or block it automaticly i dont think to hard.

the only time i think is if i think who is winning, if he is winning standing up then i would take him to the ground that is the only time i think, other than that i just whoop his asss instictively.

I dont mean those stupid crazy wind mill punches, my punches are already instictive to punch correct so i dont have to think when i punch like those crazy youtube videos where they swing crazy lol

I agree with Keyboard Warrior. Sure, you plan your fight. I will consciously change stances or use different types of techniques, so the other guy doesn't get a feel for what I am likely to do. However, when a strike is coming at me, my block and stance are largely instinctive, based on my training for that situation.

Em...it depends. If it's a REAL fight I'd most likely rely on instincts although I may "plan" if for some reason I can't escape at that very moment.

For sparring it's a combination of both.

Sound arguments here.