There is no ideal length.
It depends a bit on how you use the sword and on your style.
If you're practicing fencing as a sport it'd be different than if you were using a katana, wakisashi, butterfly knives etc.
Each kind of martial art requires a different balance. A tai-chi sword requires more from the wrist while a typical katana uses more from the shoulder than the wrist. It's a complex equation.
I should mention that, even within a particular martial art, you learn to use weapons with different lengths and balances - and each one requires you to adapt to each one differently. If you study arnis you'd learn rattan sticks, fiberglass, hardwoods of different lengths.
There's no ideal length.
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