i agree with the above-

Andrew - I find direct training is 99% of my slowly growing ability to retain my form under pressure

Victor - as a guitarist/saxophonist I have direct experience of your musical analolgy - concentration on good basics can expand your mind (a bit like the process described by phenix in another thread) so you see beyond the musical patterns and improvise around them.

I'm definitely a beginner when it comes to meditation but from some reading I've done it seems that you can treat it as a way of getting in touch with the moment, not searching for patterns (e.g. in an opponent's movements) rather reading moment to moment. as you have said the focus you learn in meditation is helpful too.