Just as an aside:
A guy I know just graduated from the New York Police academy. He said thy they regularly sparred pretty full contact resulting in many minor injuries. The NYPD arguable have the toughest job as opposed to other cops. The fact that they make everyone spar(men against women, big vs small, two people are randomly picked) is telling in that they want their officers prepared for the real deal. Doing soft compliant technique work may be part of the equation but a small part(this is in reference to striking as grappling is more complicated IMO)
If the nypd thought form work best prepared you for working the streets they'd do that a lot instead of sparring.

Just saying.

In responses to the original thread I would add a lot conditioning deprecate from forms work. Stamina, speed, strength/power, etc. I've heard people say that conditioning should be done outside of class to save time for partner work. This assumes everyone works out outside of class. Students need to be directed in how to condition themselves properly and this can only be done by giving them exercise drills in class. Then they know what specifically to do and can eventually make up their own drills.

Even people that work out at the gym, only focusing on maximal strength, need direction as well.