Let me say right off the bat that none of what I am about to say is in any way grounded in actual experience with swords; I'm a big fan of bodily integrity, so that precludes having sharp and pointy objects aimed in one's general direction.<br/><br/>The general shape and balance of swords to me suggests that they were meant to be kept pointed at your opponent. The physics of cutting really suggests that the edge of the blade is there as a way of reducing wasted energy. For example, imagine a spear: when you thrust (to impale your target), if you miss, then you have to draw the spear back, during which time you're open to being injured or killed yourself, with no way of injuring your opponent until you're back in a position to stab at them again. Once you add a long cutting blade, however, you can potentially do some damage as you withdraw, slicing along an exposed limb or flank with the edge. Thus, most of the sword's motion would be parallel to the blade, similarly to the way one uses a butcher knife to cut slices of meat. Very little lateral force is necessary to cut deeply into flesh, if the edge of the blade is moving quickly. (After all, how often do you hack into a piece of meat with a large knife? That is, if you know anything about cutting meat?) If that's true, then any sword (including a greatsword) would be rather easy to parry, as the point of the parry would be to get the sharp edge the hell away from your body. A parry would apply a small perpendicular force; although it might not be enough to keep the blade from hitting, it might be enough to keep it from penetrating armor. In that case, then, the main point of the greatsword would be to keep opponents at distance, making it hard for them to similarly approach and do the same to you.<br/><br/>Now clubs, maces, and hammers, on the other hand, are clearly blunt kinetic objects. Unlike swords they are extremely unbalanced, with most of the weight focused at one end; this implies they were meant to be swung to build up great speed; the large mass on the end would then deliver a large amount of energy in a small amount of time. Although slow, a solid hit could probably incapacitate or kill an opponent, which makes them somewhat risky to use - you leave yourself open building up the motion, but if you connect, your opponent is probably going down. (Knives, daggers, and short swords probably act on a similar principle - they require you to get close (thus increasing your risk of injury), but a solid hit does deep tissue damage, which is likely to kill.)<br/><br/>Sorry, I couldn't sleep.