Acrabotics + Martial Art (jumpy)

[elbows_and_knees]

Muscle memory does come into it as you mentioned, and yes that will resolve the situation to some degree, but regarless, stress will reduce the persons ability to complete complex or fine motor movements.

Therefore, theoretically, if you have two equal people training equally as hard for equally as long, but one is training in an art that uses complex movements and one is training in an art that uses simple movements, under stress, the person who has trained in an art with simpler movements has a higher chance of being able to apply what they have learned than the other person will.

That's not to say that what they have learned is a better art, it just means that under stress, they will be more likely to apply it as taught.

Also, the more complex the movement, the more things that can go wrong.

once again, basics are drilled every class. And we spar (roda) every single class. kicking wise, your basics in shotokan don't differ much from capoeira.

[Jiffy]

True, but what I'm getting that is that the style is irrelevant. Put it this way then... if the same person was to spend the same amount of time on flashy and basic techniques, and they become equally as good at both. In the street, in the heat of the moment, they will have more chance exectuting the basic movements they have learned then they will executing the flashy/complicated movements that they know just as well.

Stress breaks down your mental capacity to process complex physical movements. Simple as that.