Very well displayed and quite interesting. Well, I think you have picked up a following so let’s hope that SwordPron (TM) becomes a regular feature of the HobbitHole.
Curious to know, how much protective gear aka safety gear, if any, do you all use during your training sessions or matches? I’ve seen the mesh masks and padded jump suits and gloves on the fencing team back at Mizzou but they were using foils, I think. One of the team lived on my floor, I doubt the ‘mgnt’ of the dorms would let the team have their swords and stuff in their rooms now days.
Come to think of it, I never once saw them practice on banquet tables, castle steps or swing from a tapestry. :-)
For low-force drills we don't use any gear. For sparring we use a "3-weapon rated" fencing mask and a cup, at a minimum. Some wear padded gauntlet gloves. I have a pair but I'm not crazy about them. Some people wear elbow/knee pads.
The gear is the subject of no small amount of experimentation. It's not like you can go to the sporting goods store and buy medieval fencing gear. There are some guys in the national group that make and sell specialized gear like full-head hard plastic helmets with a face grill that's better than a fencing mask because it better protects the back of the head. Might look into that.
What looks better than padded gauntlets are motocross gloves. There was a guy that used those and they offer better finger sensitivity and still have a hard plastic shell over the knuckles, which is nice. But I didn't wear any gloves when I sparred... just the mask. As it turned out it wasn't my hands that got hit anyway. It was everything else. :-) When we spar we do use controlled full speed and intent ~except~ for the kill. When we get the chance to take the kill strike we're taught to pull it just at the last moment. It can be an attention-getting thump but not so hard as to break a bone. One of those wooden swords or a steel blunt can easily snap even the larger bones. But we just tend to get nice bruises. Part of the training is to keep your sparring at the level of control that you've managed to develop. Don't get out of control. Ratchet up the intensity according to what you're able to properly execute. Know where your tip is and know where it is about to be.
Of course, there's a certain amount of trust you have to have in your sparring partner and have him develop in you.
Obviously, there'll always be some sacrifice of realism for the sake of safety. A real fight to the death with sharp swords would have a special intensity that it's simply not possible to fully duplicate in practice. Just like any combat training. But you can get close enough to be useful and insightful enough to know what to do and have confidence when that day comes. Though, it's kinda unlikely in my case.