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.
That is nearly the very definition of a Tokugawa era samurai.
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
True that. The majority of the fight consisted of footwork maneuver for openings, then suddenly decided. Anytime you are in blade reach, you are in mortal danger, so no real fights were fought like Rathbone and Flynn.