European martial arts are enjoying (no pun intended) a kind of renaissance lately. There is much study going into reconstructing techniques from late medieval and renaissance sources.
Thanks for the link. Skill does make a great deal of difference, but I specified a 17th centry cavalry officer, skilled at sword play because he would have been a noble, and had been taught to use a rapier throughout his lifetime.
Most sword fights ended in 8 to 10 seconds. They were not the extended play that is so often portrayed in period musicals,movies and competition. I am reminded of the best sword fight ever put on film involving Danny Kaye and a antagonist. Danny did the normal cutting through candles without moving them and then jumped on a table, downing a flagon of wine as he fended off a furious attack. Hilarious.