I seriously doubt he'd be a dangerous opponent in a real fight because he's a genuinely lovely human and wouldn't get in a real fight. But yes, I too fell for the scary Russian assassin vibe for the first couple of years.

garchompdude search for the 2014 European individual sabre final

Dancing tuna thank you!

I added the song titles

Henry Gonzalez I mean, fencing nowadays is pretty comfortable where it is. It’s a competitive and athletic sport that isn’t necessarily trying to strive towards realistic fencing. If you want to check out something more similar to a “real sword duel”, then try HEMA.

It's more fun than epee though, so

Also, in all seriousness, you need to remember what a sabre is. It's not a duelling weapon for a fair fight. It's a sidearm. If you draw a sabre, you've probably lost already, but you want to make a big drama out of it.

Yet it is one of the best ways to prepare for real duel, because it teaches proper fencing - without hitting straight towards the attacker, which is intuitive reaction.

Just gonna mention that the sabre heritage is from the cavalry. The cavalry had sabers and they usually rushed the opposing infantry, cavalry head on. They rarely defended. So if you imagine you are on horseback, sabre actually makes a bit more sense. At least the first 4 meters.