How do you protect yourself from a sword?

Answer 1

This probably will never occur in your life, as swords are few and far between. Swords are made out of steel, usually, so you have to block it with something harder than steel, or thick enough to prevent its penetration.

In the middle ages, people made special suits called armor that were able to stop a steel blade from cutting skin and bone. Still, the force at which a sword is swinging can break bones and cause massive bruises. Sometimes it was better to wear less clothes, and hope to Dodge the blade entirely. One other type of defence was a shield, which was an armored plate worn on the arm that one moved around to block a sword. Shields were very thick, so the worst that hitting your shield could do was rattle your hand.

Modern fibers provide a lighter solution to cutting weapons. Material made of many thin layers can absorb the force of an edged weapon and prevent complete penetration. With its energy absorbed, even a samurai sword (which can completely slice through softer steel swords) would not completely cut through sufficiently dense layers of fibers such as Kevlar. "Stabbing" through them (separating the fibers) might still be possible.