Think of a spring that is compressed, and is just released, and is rapidly expanding——that’s the Kinetic. As for the potential, think of that same spring in its compressed state without its kinetics being realized.
Similarly, in some respect, a good fighter should be good at controlling both his own kinetics and potentials, as well as his or her opponent’s. Therefore, martial art is technically about such controls and having a grip on both the Ks and the Ps and the interplay between the two components.
Of course, the knowledge and understanding of the close interplay, between these two components are evolutionary in nature, and most importantly, experience-dependent. The more experience you have, the better you are able to keep your opponent in check and impotent in a constant “potential state”. The goal is to shut down your opponents’ kinetics, regardless of what range you are in.