although this might be a little out of context, in Japanese martial arts there is a saying, first the eyes then the feet then the hand.(regarding training) I think thats quite applicable to our sport,especially since we don't have to be concerned with how to actually do damage with an edged weapon where as I imagine the people who invented this saying did. If footwork was more important to somebody concerned with having to actually overcome someone in a life or death scenario then I think it's rather clear which is more important. See The Book of Five Rings (Musashi). He spends a good deal of time complaining about numerous strokes in other sword schools and comes to the conclusion that this is to comercialize the art and that there aren't so many ways to strike a man with a sword. He also stresses the need to control the opponent through footwork. One could also compare this to sports like tennis where you could have the greatest slice or backhand or whatever but if you can't get to the ball it ain't gonna be a factor.