(catches up on thread)
Wow.
I've had more "practical" experience with melee weapons than a lot of folks. I used to to do heavy fighting in the SCA, I practiced kendo for years, I've got a handful of Olympic-style fencing matches under my belt, and back in my shop days I spent a goodly portion of my time repairing and sharpening knives & modern swords. And as anyone who's discussed the subject with me, I'm a chemistry & metallurgical nerd.
And not to put too fine a point on it, Shit's hard, yo. Running around in the July heat in sixty pounds of SCA armor with a plywood sheild & a 4' rattan sword whomping on people- and getting whomped on- or swinging a bokken about in a full suit of kendo pads first requires you to be fit- even for the noobs, and you really have to watch your mouth writing checks your ass can't cash. Or the instructors will hand it back to you. In pieces.
Personally, I'd love to see any of these fedora-wearing hippos in an actual match at a dojo or a SCA ring.
I'm by no means an expert in anything, but I know enough to tell you everything these spergs have said is either a vast overestimate of their abilities, romantic pseudoscience, or an astonishingly stupid tactical move that will get you killed.