History Main / SwordPlant

* Different weapon, same principle: Vimes drives an ''axe'' into a table where several civic dignitaries are sitting near the end of ''Literature/FeetOfClay'' to, ahem... [[IncrediblyLamePun make a point]]. (Though technically it's not actually a ''point'' per se, but... [[DontExplainTheJoke Oh, never mind]].) Lord Vetinari decides to leave it there as a conversation piece. And then, he has it tuned.

* The Exile in ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic II'' did this when told to surrender her lightsaber.

* Different weapon, same principle: Vimes drives an ''axe'' into a table where the Patrician and several other civic dignitaries are sitting near the end of ''Literature/FeetOfClay'' to, ahem... [[IncrediblyLamePun make a point]]. (Though technically it's not actually a ''point'' per se, but... [[DontExplainTheJoke Oh, never mind]].) Lord Vetinari decides to leave it there as a conversation piece. And then, he has it tuned.
** There is also the BrickJoke which carries over from ''Literature/GuardsGuards'' to ''Literature/MenAtArms''. In the former, Fred Colon remarks that it's all very well pulling a sword ''out'' of a stone to demonstrate one's right to kingship. [[note]]And anyway, this can be faked with a hollow stone and some bloody Dwarf inside operating the release mechanism for the right candidate[[/note]]. The trick, in Fred's opinion, is to find the man who can put the sword into the stone in the first place. In the latter book, several novels along the timeline, Corporal Carrot, a man with a suspiciously crown-shaped birthmark on one shoulder and an inherited very sharp sword, kills the insane Chief Assassin who wants to make him King. The sword goes straight through the Assassin and right through the granite pillar behind him, standing out on the other side. Carrot then removes [[ExcaliburInTheStone the planted sword from the Stone]] without remarking on it even once.

* Both the Fighter and the Amazon of ''VideoGame/DragonsCrown'' does this for their GroundPound and [[ShockwaveStomp Power Smash]], stabbing the floor as an attack with their sword or BladeOnAStick respectively.

** Series-wide, this is the specialty of the dragoon class, who deliver DeathFromAbove by leaping high into the air for some time, then coming back down on their foes weapon-first. They generally get bonus damage applied if the weapon in question [[BladeOnAStick is a spear]], but pretty much every dragoon can also equip swords if the player wants to take the trope name literally (or if the sword gives a bonus they can't get from a spear).

* In ''[[VideoGame/PuyoPuyo Puyo Puyo! 15th Anniversary]]'' and ''Puyo Puyo 7'', Schezo's victory pose has him holding his sword to the ground with one hand.

* In ''LightNovel/{{Corsair}}'', Canale finishes his battle with Shirokko by stabbing his blade into one of the masts just shy of Shirokko's ear.

Contrast StabTheSky and SwordPointing. A plant which happens to be a sword comes under LivingWeapon. See also TheBladeAlwaysLandsPointyEndIn, which is about when swords are thrown or dropped and land point-downward, SteppingStoneSword, when a sword thrown or driven into a surface is used to climb or stand on, WeaponTombstone when a sword is used as a tombstone marker, GroundPunch when a weapon is not used, and LeftStuckAfterAttack if a weapon is unintentionally made stuck.

** This is also how Link travels back to his childhood in ''Ocarina of Time.''

** Lord Eddard Stark stabs Ice into the ground while passing sentence on Will in the first episode.

* Pictured above, Saber from ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'' does this in flashbacks. Other swordsmen in later installments follow suit.
* Carta Issue and her bodyguards in ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamIronBloodedOrphans'' do this whenever they introduce themselves to their enemies. It doesn't stop Akihiro from [[CombatPragmatist shooting them during their speech, however]].
* In ''Manga/MyHime'', Mikoto does this when she uses her sword's (very destructive) ultimate attack.
* The Claymores from ''Manga/{{Claymore}}'' often plant their swords in the ground to have [[MundaneUtility something to lean against when they are sitting or sleeping]]. Justified in this case, since the swords in question are made from ThunderboltIron and so never break or need sharpening, no matter how much abuse they're put through.
* ''Manga/{{Naruto}}''. Occurs during the Sasuke vs Deidara fight. Sasuke uses his sword as a SteppingStoneSword, and it is later revealed that Sasuke did it for ''another'' purpose, as well.
* In ''LightNovel/{{Corsair}}'', Canale finishes his battle with Shirokko by stabbing his blade into one of the masts just shy of Shirokko's ear.

* Major Olivia Armstrong in ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'' carries a saber everywhere she goes, and she's usually seen holding it in this position when she's standing and talking to anyone, though in most cases it's still in its sheath.
* Whenever [[Manga/InuYasha Inuyasha]] is too injured to stand, he usually plants the [[{{BFS}} tetsusaiga]] in the ground to support himself.
* ''Anime/KillLaKill''. This is Satsuki Kiryūin's signature pose, albeit with the sword still in its sheath.

* ''Film/ThePrincessBride'': The Dread Pirate Roberts throws his sword into a plant, so he can use both hands to impressively swing down, during his fight with Inigo Montoya.
* In ''Film/TheMatrixReloaded'', Morpheus stabs his katana into the side of the semi-truck he's riding, in order to give him a platform to snag the Keymaster (who is passing by on a motorcycle).
* Shows up in ''Film/HighlanderEndgame'', with Duncan planting it as a memorial on Connor's grave.
** Connor also did it in the original film after Heather's death, in the scene with the burning croft in the background.
* In the ''Film/ConanTheBarbarian2011'' film reboot, young Conan, while training with his father, refuses to admit defeat prompting his father to yell, "Enough" and stab the tip of his sword into the frozen lake they were sparring on. This act shatters the ice in such a way that it leaves Corin standing but dumps young Conan into the drink.

* In ''Film/PacificRim'', a damaged Gipsy Danger does this during the FinalBattle [[spoiler:to avoid being knocked over by the shockwave of Striker Eureka's nuke detonating.]]

* In a Japanese movie about a BornInTheWrongCentury samurai, the police insist on confiscating his sword as evidence after he kills several mooks on a train. He drives his katana into the floor of the train, snaps it sideways to break it in half, then storms off. Then he has to wait several months while his swordmaster makes another one.
* ''Film/{{Braveheart}}'' ends with a shot of William Wallace's enormous claymore stuck in the ground.

* In [[UsefulNotes/{{Bulgaria}} Bulgaria]], some unknown student may or may not have written an exam paper with a pompous description of how the country's FounderOfTheKingdom supposedly did this: "Khan Asparukh planted the sword between his legs''[[labelnote: *]][[DoNotExplainTheJoke into the ground]], [[GroinAttack not the other thing]][[/labelnote]]'' and spoke: [[DoubleEntendre Here]] shall Bulgaria be."

* [[DarkMessiah Rand]] plants ''[[AmplifierArtifact Callandor]]'' in the floor of the Stone of Tear in book 4 of ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'', and leaves it to remind the Tairen nobles that he will return. Justified in this case, since ''[[InfinityPlusOneSword Callandor]]'' is [[AbsurdlySharpBlade easily sharp and durable enough to cut into the stone floor]].
* Subverted in the Norwegian novel ''Literature/KristinLavransdatter''. Simon is sitting on a wooden bench, talking to his fiancé and fiddling with his dagger. He stabs the bench with the dagger and only winds up bending the point so badly it won’t go back in its sheath.

* ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire''. When Jon Snow does this during sword training, [[DrillSergeantNasty Ser Alliser Thorne]] gets stuck into him for leaning on his sword from exhaustion.
* In his first appearance in the ''{{Literature/Corum}}'' books, when the protagonists are spying on him encamped with his force, it's noted that Prince Gaynor the Damned stands at a campfire, sword planted in the ground with both hands on its hilt... to subtly empathize that his great sword ''has no'' sheath, to go with the helmet and armor he cannot remove, and that he neither carouses nor sits nor sleeps. (The blade is probably of too rare quality to be damaged by the treatment, and he'd probably just find it mildly amusing if one of his deaths actually came from equipment neglect.)

* One episode 1.07 of ''Series/{{Camelot}}'' has a group of female dancers planting swords into a table in front of surprised diners.
* Series/KamenRiderBlade tends to stick his sword into the ground when he performs his [[FinishingMove Lightning Blast/Sonic]]. Sometimes he'll jump off of the sword to get extra height for the kick.
* ''Series/KamenRiderKiva'': In one of the 1986 scenes, the Bat Fangire (in human form) flung the Demon Imperial Sword Zanvat Sword, which had been his weapon, into the wall of Castle Doran, where it stayed for 22 years. It wasn't pulled out until 2008, when it reacted to Wataru's power and partially exposed itself, staying in the wall until Wataru finished drawing it out.
* ''Series/KamenRiderDouble'': During his debut episode (excluding cameos in the previous episode and winter movie), Ryu Terui is shown carrying his ''very'' heavy Engine Blade around. Later, he stabs it into the ground so he has both hands free, and then transforms into Kamen Rider Accel for the first time.

* Wrestling/DrewMcintyre has made this part of his entrance, featuring a claymore of course.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
* In ''TabletopGame/{{Ironclaw}}'' calendar swords lack pointed tips so that paladins can do this while kneeling before an altar.

* ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'':
** ''VideoGame/ZeldaIITheAdventureOfLink'' marks the debut of Link's sword-planting move. It is called Down Thrust, and is learned in the town of Mido, during the process to find the third dungeon (Island Palace). It allows link to inflict damage to enemies by "[[GoombaStomp bouncing]]" on them with the sword aimed downward, quasi-''[[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Mario]]''-style.
** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast'' has Link doing this with the Quake Medallion, allowing him to perform a powerful, yet magic-costly earthquake that defeats enemies on the ground. It is obtained in the Lake of Ill Omen in the DarkWorld, and is needed to gain access to the penultimate dungeon (Turtle Rock).
** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker'' has Link perform a down thrust to [[spoiler:deliver the final blow to Ganondorf in the final battle]].
** In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess'', Link briefly puts the Master Sword back to its pedestal in order to gain entrance to the Temple of Time. During battle, enemies who lay knocked down in the floor can be finished instantly this way, by using the Ending Blow skill. This technique is also necessary to [[spoiler:kill Ganondorf in the last battle]].
** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword'' has Link doing this to enter the Silent Realms. The Ending Blow retains the ability of stabbing enemies downward first seen in ''Twilight Princess'', and is also needed to inflict damage to [[spoiler:Ghirahim in his final rematch (though he'll still be alive after ''three'' sword plants, as he dies in a different way later), as well as Demise at the end of the final battle]].
** This is also how Link travels back to his childhood in ''Ocarina of Time.''
** Link uses one as a combo-finisher in ''VideoGame/HyruleWarriors''.
* ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'':
** One of Ganondorf's victory animations in ''Melee'' has him do this with a {{BFS}}.
** Link's down aerial, where he again bounces on his targets from above. Toon Link's down aerial is also this, with different mechanics more likely to result in him actually planting his sword in the ground.
** Ike's down taunt in ''Brawl''. His "Eruption" special attack in the game also involves stabbing the ground and making ''[[IncendiaryExponent fire]]'' shoot out. Ike's full-screen applause has his sword, Ragnell, planted next to him. He also plants his sword in one of his victory animations.
** Roy and his Echo Fighter Chrom both plant their swords in the ground in their stage entrance animation.
** The Black Knight Assist Trophy plants his sword in the ground before leaving the stage.
** Lastly is Sephiroth's down aerial, Hell's Gate, which, as mentioned below, [[spoiler: Is the exact way he kills Aerith in his home game.]]
* In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening'' itself, Chrom also does this after defeating an enemy. [[JustifiedTrope Makes a little more sense]] for Chrom, whose sword, Falchion, is uniquely indestructible, surviving without damage or dulling for thousands of years--it's the same weapon wielded by Marth [[AncestralWeapon millennia before Chrom's time,]] and can be visibly recognized as such by characters old enough to have seen both.
* Frog does an especially cool variation of this as part of his and Crono's "Spire" [[CombinationAttack Dual Tech]] in ''VideoGame/ChronoTrigger'': he jams the sword into ''an enemy'', not the ground, whereupon Crono strikes the weapon with a lighting bolt, electrocuting the impaled opponent.
* Zero frequently uses techniques like this in ''VideoGame/MegaManX'' and ''VideoGame/MegaManZero''.
* ''Videogame/MegaManX4'': Colonel does this in his "idle" pose. Also, during the battle with him, one of his attacks is him StabbingTheSky as his LaserBlade catches lightning, then stabbing it to the ground to spread the electricity across the ground.
* ''Videogame/MegaMan8'': Sword Man's AssKickingPose is him simply planting his BladeBelowTheShoulder to the ground. It's also used in his strongest attack, i.e him doing the pose and then swirls of towering flame covering him.

* ''VideoGame/{{Runescape}}'': the Dragon two-handed sword's special attack does this, [[GroundPound damaging all surrounding enemies.]]
** In the lore, this was done in an epic scale by Guthix, the god of balance, to end the God Wars. Thrusting the tower-sized Sword of Edicts into the middle of the scorched battlefield, he enacted Edicts of Guthix, which cast out all other gods and prevented them from directly interfering in mortal affairs for over 2000 years.
* ''VideoGame/IllusionOfGaia'': Will's knightly alter ego Freedan could create paralysis-inducing earthquakes by leaping from high places and stabbing his sword into the ground as he fell.
* Sephiroth uses this attack in very dramatic fashion in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII''. It becomes a usable attack in ''VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy'' under the name "Hell's Gate".

** [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyX Jecht]] has this as his VictoryPose in Dissidia, where he manages to imbed his BFS halfway into the ground and use it as a stepping stone.

* In ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII Final Mix'', Sora finds the Lingering Will--the AnimatedArmor of a previous Keyblade hero--crouching over its enormous Keyblade, head bowed. In ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsBirthBySleep'', we see how it came to be there.
%%* Duran from ''VideoGame/TrialsOfMana'' does this when he casts a spell.

* Part of Mitsurugi and Yoshimitsu's kata in the ''VideoGame/SoulSeries''.

* Duke of ''VideoGame/BattleArenaToshinden'' has his "Helm Crush" attack, where he swings his {{BFS}} such that it points straight down (hence the name), planting it deep into the ground (and whoever's unfortunate enough to be between the two).
* The introductory illustrations of ''VideoGame/BattleForWesnoth''[='s=] ''Heir to the Throne'' campaign show Delfador making the point that even a hotshot princely swordsman shouldn't mess around with a staff, as their duel concludes with Delfador leaving said staff behind ''rammed through the prince's body into the ground''.

* ''VideoGame/BlazBlue'':
** Jin Kisaragi has a MagicKnight variation as his [[FinishingMove Astral Heat]] "Arctic Dungeon": he stabs the ground with his [[AnIcePerson magical ice]] [[KatanasAreJustBetter katana]], causing ice crystals to erupt across the ground. If his opponent is touching the ground when this happens, they are frozen and, when the ice shatters, instant-killed. In the third game onward, his Touga Hyoujin and Gekka Hyourou super moves all involve stabbing his katana to the ground to impale the foe with ice spikes.
** Ragna does this in his win pose, stabbing his {{BFS}} to the ground and then resting his foot onto the notch on the blunt side of the blade. Kagura also does this in his win pose--his blade is almost as long as he is tall and he can easily rest his whole body on it as if it's a wall.
** Litchi has this as a gameplay mechanic similar to Donovan below but done with her staff. After planting it, she can either send it flying towards the opponent [[BoomerangComeback and then back to her]] or jump onto it with a special move; from there she has a few more unique attacks. Her Astral Heat also requires her to plant her staff first.
* Duran in ''VideoGame/TrialsOfMana'' plants his sword whenever he casts a magic spell. Hopefully, Flammie doesn't mind him doing that when the party [[spoiler: has to ride on top of her head]] during one of the boss battles.
* In ''VideoGame/GuiltyGear'', this is [[AntiHero Sol Badguy]]'s iconic win pose.
* The FinalBoss of ''VideoGame/ReturnToCastleWolfenstein'' uses this to compensate for his lack of ranged attacks: he jams his sword into the ground, causing the rain of rocks from the construction above and sending Blazkovitz flying towards him, into his reach.
* The [[HumongousMecha Shogun Executioner]] of ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquerRedAlert3'' has a special ability that slams ''three'' {{Laser Blade}}s into the ground at once, producing [[ShockwaveStomp a massive shockwave of power]] that destroys anything around it. Not that the Shogun Executioner has much trouble on that front...
* In ''VideoGame/GuildWars2'', Mesmers and Guardians can stab the ground with their greatswords, the former to attack the enemy with a ghostly sword blade erupting from the ground, the latter to magically burn a protective symbol into the ground.
* Used in Ghetsis' sprite animation in ''VideoGame/PokemonBlack2AndWhite2'', to show his anger and slipping sanity.
* In ''VideoGame/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaAsPortable: The Battle of Aces'', [[MasterSwordsman Signum's]] profile art has her striking this pose.
* This trope serves as a central gameplay mechanic for WarriorMonk Donovan of the ''VideoGame/{{Darkstalkers}}'' series. He can plant his sword in the ground, where it will remain until he commands it to attack the opponent, which it does by flying out from its planted position then turning and returning to him like a boomerang. While this grants him good control of the playfield and a tricky way to apply pressure on the opponent, it also acts as a trade-off in that while his sword is planted his normal attacks lose range and strength, and he is unable to perform his other special moves.
* One of VideoGame/{{Rastan}}'s signature attacks in his eponymous ''Creator/{{Taito}}'' game.
* The Exile in ''Videogame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic II'' did this when told to surrender her lightsaber.
* ''[[VideoGame/GanbareGoemon The Legend of the Mystical Ninja]]'' has enemy ninja who try to stab downward at you after taking a running jump. When they miss, they get their swords stuck in the floor.
* Some of the finishing moves in ''VideoGame/EternalDarkness'' involve planting one's sword into a fallen enemy.
* This is one of the most powerful attacks that can be made in ''VideoGame/JediKnightIIJediOutcast''. Against enemies who were knocked down, Kyle could leap forward and stab their downed opponent in (and probably through) the chest for an instant kill. Jaden could do the same, or stab them with two lightsabers if DualWielding in ''VideoGame/JediKnightJediAcademy''.
* Both the Fighter and the Amazon of ''VideoGame/DragonsCrown'' does this for their GroundPound and [[ShockwaveStomp Power Smash]], stabbing the floor as an attack with their sword or BladeOnAStick respectively.
* Happens a few times in the ''VideoGame/GodOfWar'' games, mostly with the [[{{BFS}} Blade of Olympus]]. In ''VideoGame/GodOfWarII'', Zeus stabs the ground with it and single-handedly ends the war by [[OneHitPolyKill banishing all of the Titans]] to the underworld with the ensuing magical attack. ''VideoGame/GodOfWarIII'' has Kratos stabbing the ground with it for a magic attack in a manner reminiscent of the way Zeus used it.
* ''VideoGame/{{Warframe}}'': Many warframes are portrayed in official art as striking a badass pose with their sword planted in front of them. Slamming the sword into the ground is also a standard aerial attack.
* Ra's al Ghul does this, right between the cobblestones in front of the Lazarus Pit, when challenging Batman in ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamCity''.
* In ''[[VideoGame/PuyoPuyo Puyo Puyo! 15th Anniversary]]'' and ''Puyo Puyo 7'', Schezo's victory pose has him holding his sword to the ground with one hand.

* Matt in the ''Videogame/EpicBattleFantasy'' series uses this for some of his attacks. Anna in ''4'' and ''5'' can do this too, but with her bow.

* ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack''. [[spoiler:He does this to finish off Aku once and for all.]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/WordGirl'', the villain Nocan the Contrarian does this at times. He's so strong that doing this triggers earthquakes.

* The introductory illustrations of ''VideoGame/BattleForWesnoth''[='s=] ''Heir to the Throne'' campaign show Delfador making the point that even a hotshot princely swordsman shouldn't mess around with a MartialArtsStaff, as their duel concludes with Delfador leaving said staff behind ''rammed through the prince's body into the ground''.

* The introductory illustrations of ''VideoGame/BattleForWesnoth''[='s=] ''Heir to the Throne'' campaign show Delfador making the point that even a hotshot princely swordsman shouldn't mess around with a SimpleStaff, as their duel concludes with Delfador leaving said staff behind ''rammed through the prince's body into the ground''.

A character stabs the ground (or a wall) with a sword (or any other weapon, for that matter) as an attack, to HeroicFatigue help stand up, [[BladeBrake as an anchor]], or [[CaptainMorganPose just to look cool]].

A character stabs the ground (or a wall) with a sword (or any other weapon, for that matter) as an attack, to [[HeroicFatigue help stand up]], [[BladeBrake as an anchor]], or [[CaptainMorganPose just to look cool]].