Curare

I'm surprised no one has brought up the Israeli art, Krav Maga. If you mean "rough and dirty" the way I think you do, I've never seen anything like Krav Maga. My former dojo used to teach it and although I've never practiced it, I sat through lessons and it made my eyes pop halfway out of my head.

Patience, young grasshopper.

Trust me, this happens to everyone sooner or later. My instructors tell me that I can wear shin guards, but discourage it; if you can endure the pain, over years you develop scarring that dulls the feeling. One of my classmates frequently hits himself on the shins with a stick to achieve just that result. My best advice is to: 1. Wear shinguards (which do little for a hard block) 2. Put up with it and take aspirin 3. Avoid kicks that can be knee-blocked, at least with that opponent. I do 2 and 3. I own shinguards but I've used them only once in three years.

You act as though it's unfortunate your martial arts skills are untested in actual combat. Martial arts are supposed to teach mental, emotional, and physical control. Avoiding fights isn't necessarily a good goal, but I think channeling them into verbal confrontation is better than getting into a fistfight. Just like in the physical sense, you're well off if you can channel both your own actions and those of your opponent. Of course, that's easy to say, since I'm a girl...most guys wouldn't hit me, and most girls just resort to hair-pulling.