Street Fighting

Most striking martial arts intentionally develop effective wide-hook hand strikes as part of their curriculum. These are as fundamental to Choy Li Fut as jabs are to Boxing:

Mike Tyson was famous for powerful overhands and hooks. However one of the greatest MMA fighters of all time used these kind of punches as a core part of his effective strategy that often won by KO:

A lot of people on the internet criticize punches-that-are-not-straight-punches as "wide," "swinging wild," "sloppy," "hay makers" or "wind up punches." Here's an example of someone stereotyping all wide punches like this:

When emotion takes over technique is replaced by the body's natural attack mechanisms. When a fight escapes control of the judges and referee, what gets used are: 

1. those wide punches used by Tyson and Fedor,
2. low kicks, 
3. clinching and 
4. grappling for position on the ground (without submission holds.) 

I would add that these are legitimate techniques, so you can train to do them well. But are these the most important techniques to get good at to protect yourself in a street fight?

What is important to beginners is a critical question, and I think we need to explore this question further as martial arts continues to evolve.