Magic Forums

I've been reading quite a bit around the forums and spell directory, and something struck me as odd. Most spells take a bit of concentration, so how would you use spells in a battle? I ask this because in my readings, I saw references to magic combat.
Here is the link to an article with magic combat references:
http://www.spellsofmagic.com/coven_ritual.html?ritual=2027&coven=6
Is the article false, or is there something that I am not grasping?