World-class fighters, regardless of which martial art they are disciplined in, tend to have one thing in common. They define all motion in a fight (even the simple tensing of a muscle) by its energy. In other words, they make the best use of every technique by feeling what that technique should be accomplishing mechanically, and maximizing its effect by using their entire bodies to best advantage.
Another way of defining energy would be to say that it is just physics - applied mechanics and kinesiology. You could define a movement, or in our case a strike, etc., by the sum of its vectors.
You can improve your fighting ability by defining all of your movements by their energies. For any given technique, break it down, and figure out exactly what the purpose is and how it can be accomplished most efficiently. Then practice what you've learned about that one technique until you have mastered it. Move on to another motion or technique and repeat the process. Ideally, you should be able to stop in the middle of a workout or a fight and be able to reasonably explain to yourself why you are making every single motion, and how exactly you are doing it to maximize efficiency.
After you have begun to improve your own abilities, start looking at others. Identify their energies and analyze how you might take advantage of their energies in a fight. You want to be in control of both your energies and those of your opponent. After all, if you can manipulate your opponent, you can beat him.