The dubious quick kill pt1 & 2

[Tartar Horde]

Slight correction Mortblanc, those archers were ENGLISH not British, although I know there were a few Welshmen in the companies they were predominantly English. Britain only came into being with the act of union joining Scotland and England.
When two opponents of similar skill, or no skill at all for that matter, come to blows with bladed weapons, the chances are very high that they will both end up needing medical care (if they live). The articles I gave links to prove that this is the case, it is also the case when you investigate Japanese accounts of Samurai encounters. A lot of the time both combatants would be killed within one or two sword strokes. This is because in those days most men would know how to use a sword, and so you had a population that was familiar with it's use. Today the reality is very different and virtually no one trains or uses these weapons in the general population, even though there are a few clubs around that do, the numbers viz the population are small. Anyone with training, and diligent practice will have a huge advantage against your average blade weilding citizen, who will try to hack, slash and batter you to death, using anger as a substitute for skill.