Quote:
Originally Posted by J. Holmes
Who the hell is going to be walking around with a sword? This smacks of juvenile fantasy.
Anyway, European fencing is the best civilian sword art. The Katana and it's method of delivery (slash) is slower and has lesser reach than the rapier. That's because the Katana wielding swordsman was trying to penetrate armor. European civilian swordfighting evolved under conditions of no-armor--thus speed was of the upmost importance.
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What are you trying to do to an opponent? The fact that thrust attacks have been favored down through time as being more lethal (potentially anyway) is balanced by the fact that slashing wounds on almost any area of the body have more immediately disabling effect by far. Add the fact that thrusts are actually
slower than cuts in actual combat (Read the "Paradoxes of defense," by George Silver. He explains the matter very well) and you see the truth, more often then not, lies somewhere in the middle.
Factoid: Did you know that swords don't cut through armor? They weren't designed to. Least of all the japanese sword. They were used to cut around the armor, behind knees, under the arms, beneath the rims of helms or under neck protections, beneath maile skirts, etc. This was as true in japan as it was in europe. The sword was never intended nor used as a primary battlefield weapon. It was a sidearm to be used when spears and polearms were broken or lost.