This sword is indeed just perfect for practice with sword and shield. I'm a 6'1" guy (183cm) and this sword suits excellent when fighting in formation as well as one on one duelling.Thanks to the length of the sword, the fights become more technically advanced as well as it provide agility and speed.

The main difference between this sword and longer one hand swords is that the nimbleness of this short blade will allow you to strike quicker and find small openings in your opponents' armor and guard, where a longer blade would be somewhat cumbersom to manouvre.

This sword has proven to be adequate as a training sword for short and fairly skinny girls, to big guys like myself as well as some guys even bigger than me. It is the weapon of choice in our LARP community, with about 30 active fighter members, both guys and girls.

My advice: Get one. Or two! (Posted on 8/16/11)