historical accuracy - Is the sword fighting historically accurate?

I recently watched Game of Thrones. The show is set in a pseudo-medieval world.
I'm wondering whether the sword fights and the swords are authentic representations.

Here're an example:

Answer

Not particularly. While it is, in part, derived from European sword fighting, there are also dashes of Chinese sword theatrics (Wushu) along with exaggerated and dramatic moves designed to film well. As with hand-to-hand martial arts, actual real life fighting is a lot faster, direct and brutal. The downside is that these methods don't film well.