[Kromm]

In GURPS, "parry" does not only mean "stop cold," or what most unarmed fighters call a "block." It can also mean any slight deflection good enough to let you evade an attack with a partial step smaller than a hex on a battle map. A matador with a cape "parries" a bull. He doesn't stop the horns with his cape . . . he uses his cape to guide the bull past as he turns. That's what most parries are in GURPS. Hard meet-force-with-force parries aren't normally assumed. This is why even though weapons can break on any parry in real life, we only make that possible in the game when there's a factor-of-three weight difference.