Lots of baked, crusty, almost dry sword ideas: light sabers, paintball, ice, wood, fiberglass, etc., etc. All move from a heavy, solid 'knights of the round table' sword to a light, video game-like one.
If we could get big, heavy sword fights and keep the bruises but not do permanent damage, more
people would sword fight.
There should be a sword that:
1. Clangs no matter how hard you slam it into another sword, and can spark.
2. Does not cut off appendages.
Gauntlets, a neck guard and goggles are a must. But the sword needs to not cut off an unprotected arm or a hand.
I'm not sure how, perhaps shape-memory metals that can soften? Or how table saws can stop the blade with PVC if a hand touches them? A dull edge is OK... any ideas??