Sword Fighting in Second Life

By Xah Lee. Date: 2007.

cutlass2 — Various blades. These are built by Madlax Stygian.

jian — Some Chinese swords (劍 Jian) at the top, and Ninja-styled swords (bottom). These are built by Naeko Michinaga.

light sabers — Fancily designed Light-sabers of Star Wars fame. Note the superfluously ornamental beautifully crafted guards, at the expense of realism. These are built by Madlax Stygian.

duel chasing 58 — Sword fighting. Although the guy seems to be chasing the girl, but the guy was no match.

Here's a brief explanation of various words for different types swords. Different swords may have different names due to their different class, style, or function, but mostly, different words came about more due to cultural aspects, i.e. the sword's origin, region, and history.

Western:

saber: curved, thin, single-edged blade of European origin.
rapier: straight, very thin, trusting weapon, usually with fancy guards. European origin.

Mid-East:

cutlass: Saber-like, but very curved, thick, shortish, slashing knife. (think of pirate's swords in movies).
scimitar: Saber-like, but very curved, thick, heavy cutter used in Middle East. (Think of the tales in 1001 Nights )

Far-East:

katana: Saber-like, two-handed. Japanese Samurai (warrior)'s swords.
劍 Jian: Rapier-like, Chinese sword.
刀 Dao: Saber-like but thick width and broad, slashing, Chinese sword.