If you spend all your time “perfecting” the look of the kata, totally specialising in kata performance, it stands to reason that your performance will look pretty. However, I would question whether your knowledge of kata has any depth. It will be very little use to you as a self-defence system. Learning the movements is only the first stage of kata practice. Furthermore, winning championships is an ego-inflating pursuit that creates a false sense of security. In my view this ideal is widely disparate with the true goals of bujitsu, which is to teach people how to fight.
Take a good look at any of the older styles of Karate, Kung Fu, Kobujitsu, etc. All of those that I have experienced teach combat applications of the principles found in the forms. Even Tai Chi Chuan forms can be applied in pretty brutal ways.
The technique may look slightly different in a combat situation, because of the chaotic nature of fighting. The angles of entry and engagement are continually shifting. Rhythm and timing are very important. The kata exemplifies core fighting principles, which are applied against habitual acts of violence. The kata itself is not a choreographed fight, but a method of recording information: a syllabus or database, if you like.
Mick