Defense against melee implements with a sword in modern day?

Lux Egreditur Dorsualis (LED)!
When the altilia run down, the Dark Ages began!

200IQ move right there

Adding my 5 cent:
Keep in mind that you will need to cut through the clothing too, which can be a challenge depending on the blade's sharpness and the clothing article, so the self defense blade would need to be quite sharp to cut through a thick sweater for example.

If you mean by "historical swords" reproductions made from 10 series or spring steel:
I think a sword will take a big amount of damage when defending against a heavy crowbar or an aluminium bat, might fare better against wood, but the impact when defending will probably bend the blade. When hitting the other object I think there would be less damage, since the sword is lighter and therefore the impact has less energy but it still wouldn't be very good.
If a wall is hit, the tip will get scratched up pretty good if its concrete (no real idea what drywall would do), it would lose a great deal of sharpness in that case and might bend or break the tip too, but it will still be a dangerous weapon, especially if it has a second edge. I have seen what happens to a 1055 throwing knife when it hits concrete, and it survived surprisingly well. A wooden stud might take your sword from you, and maybe leave a twist in the blade, but not much sharpness lost. Glass will f-up your blade royally.
If you mean by "historical swords" originals: There is so much variance in materials there that there is no telling how it would act, but most will be inferior than even low-end modern production.

Cough carry insurance cough cough. But yeah don’t shoot or slice off someone’s arm unless they pose a clear danger to you or loved ones.

Yeah I would rather get advice in a life and death situation from a competent instructor, a lot of those are vets and know what they’re doing. Not Shadiversity who’s kind of famous for being a heavy set youtuber who larps with questionably effective and accurate techniques.

Probably, know I don’t bother with knives but it’s said to drill with being proficient with one hand because a huge chunk of the street defense case studies end with the defender having to use the off hand to fend off a grappling attempt if you can’t use it well with one hand, or it’s unchambered you might die.
USA law is more permissive, if someone breaks in and moves towards you, carjacks you, threatens you with a deadly weapon etc it’s out of hand treated as justified in most states.

Well there is this one, atleast you could call it the Medieval European counterpart to the Wakizashi? Given that it has only a 50-ish centimeter blade length like most gladiuses and leaf blades: sbg-sword-forum.forums.net/thread/70800/legacy-arms-knights-riding-sword

And there's the Georgian Qama which survived to have alot of use in the early 20th century I believe or 1800s. Probably because of its small size just like for the Kukri although its not as well known.

So are you implying that something Gladius shaped would outperform? Leaf shapes were made for a time before armor (Metal or cloth) were very developed but not sure how they could compare yeah. Its also possible that leaf shapes might have been used against snakes or wild animal attacks besides against human attackers given their hacking power and wide stab wounds, hence the stories of people fighting snake-like beasts with them I think.

No comparison has been done so far, between the gladius, leaf shape or that of the 'Knight's Riding Sword' on the market (Idk what particular historical model that one is based on however).

There’s a reason two guns was seldom done apart from rare cowboy and pirate antics which were more often than not just a New York reload variation. Try getting good groups. What’s the point when a one semi auto can lay down a high volume with devastating precision. It does make a lot of sense to drill with the off hand though since you may be forced to use it.

I could see a good knife being an advantage to simply a grappling hand if yore female or at a size disadvantage. If you don’t have the mass to confidently fend off a grappler, then a well placed sharp knife could easily make the other side’s tendon’s and fingers useless. Obviously if it’s life and death repeatedly shooting center mass is preferable but makes sense for someone in the always lose algorithm for grappling to have an alternative. Then again like you said, a hidden backup 380 could probably do more.

This is probably irrelevant anyways since despite my crazy act I don’t run around loaded with guns and swords and seldom feel the need to carry (really just on road trips and stuff) so most people will hopefully never need and even if they did a microcompact 380 would be enough for like 99.9% of the freak bad luck cases where they would want to be armed. If guns aren’t allowed, I guess some places must teach how to knife fight which is the case for places like Brazil. Really though I go with the simplest method available and handguns are not just concealable but very easy to become good with.

Also one last point: make your home defense weapon something you would not mind losing. Even if the police from the get go recognize it as a justifiable use case they will temporarily take your weapon as evidence and by the time they return it it’ll be a rust bucket. So if an emergency necessitates use of a weapon use something cheap and reliable, not a rare 2000$ gun or sword if you can help it.

I’ve long advocated a sword and shield. And to me a shield carries the same importance as the sword. The question then arises as to type. I’ll say up front that a firearm trumps a sword. In some countries firearms are extremely hard to obtain and if a person obtains one from the black market while protecting one’ll have at least one charge against them in addition to whatever else the government chooses. So back to excluding firearms. I feel a shorter sword advantageous, at least for me as I’ll be in the house. While a gladius is good it was originally intended to be part of a weapons system, a sword and shield and that’s where it earned its reputation. Personally, I would depend on my cutlass, but certainly do not hold it head and shoulders above other blades such as a machete or kukri. I would be depending on my shield, most likely leading with it as a right-handed boxer would lead with his left when making an opening. But I’m experienced enough to know that there is no way in hell that I can sit here behind my computer and predict what will happen. I’m experienced fighting in the streets with a stick multiple times and once with a sword, but that is entirely a diferent story. As for a shield, I have two that I feel comfortable using, the third is too heavy and tiring. Although either way, I don’t expect the fight to last more than a few seconds, this is not Hollywood. One is a 12” buckler and the other is a 23” centre held round shield. That one gives more protection and handles like the buckler, light and fast. However, the rope border will cause the loose of effect compared to the steel edge of the buckler, but then I’m mainly making an opening. I designed it to contra machetes, and will trap a machete long enough to get in one power cut or thrust. A second choice is a powerful torch that will blind the adversary. It’s hanging next to the 23” shield, but I can use only one at a time.