Chris,
I know we're going to be at odds on this one, so I'll keep this short. If specialization is the height of skill, then why do specialists lose? Specialization only works when you have something that is completely alien to the other guy. Helio, Royce, etc., they won because they had a weapon that nobody knew how to defend against--grappling. Once people started to understand their game, the Gracie family began to lose. Inferior specialists (a.k.a. broad base martial artists) were beating the Gracies because they kept them out of their comfort zone by learning just enough to prevent a loss on the ground. Nowadays, one range doesn't work. I agree with you that one needs a solid base in which much or most of their skill resides, but rounding one's self out does not hurt. Ever. That is a flawed concept. By your reasoning, a wrestler--a specialist at taking down and not being taken down--should never go to the ground because he understands how to avoid the double leg and other popular takedowns. Just because you understand something doesn't mean it can't work against you. As a result, your "you don't need to know how to groundfight" argument is extremely flawed. The same would go for a pure groundfighter believeing the reverse of striking.
Anybody can be taken to the ground. Anybody can stay on their feet. A poor striker can beat a good one if he gets lucky, and a good striker will beat on a poor striker more often than not. A Xing Yi Quan fighter can/will lose to a boxer, and a boxer can/will lose to a Xing Yi Quan fighter. Let's not go overboard here pimping our martial art.
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