Realism; Strength is not important for swordsmanship(?)

[Bilanthri]

Originally Posted by Gerrard of Titan Server

Consider an out-of-shape person, and take an Olympic athlete strength trainer of some sort, and compare how fast that they can swing a bat. Would the difference really be that large?

...

The kinetic energy difference would be larger because kinetic energy is the square of speed, but IIRC GURPS damage is generally treated as the sqrt of kinetic energy, so we're back to about 60 vs 80.

While the kinetic energy imparted in a swung weapon is an important factor when calculating shearing forces and whatnot, it seems that a better comparison comes from looking at Newton's Second Law:

F=ma

Since trying to land a crushing blow is less important than landing a well-placed blow, a stronger wielder may not swing their weapon that much faster than a weaker person. However, they would have an advantage in being able to bring their weapon up to speed quicker, as well as being able to continue to accelerate into the blow.

Why, may you ask, would one continue accelerating into their strike? For the same reason that empty-hand techniques teach practitioners to strike "through" their target. You don't want to level off or slow down before the impact...that's called pulling your punch. It can mean the difference between a bloodied, angry opponent and one who's been floored.