Sorry, on a relevant hijack…
From another forum, there was this discussion about katanas vs. european swords, and one poster said the rapier is actually faster than the katana, and if we would pit a samaurai vs. a fencer in a quick draw contest, the samurai will lose as the rapier is lighter (and hence speedier) while the katana, being a battlefield weapon, is heavy.
Is there any truth to it?