History Main / UnskilledButStrong

** Grace herself falls into this, as well, as she defeats Damien solely because of her BerserkButton.

* Hanamichi Sakuragi from ''SlamDunk'' is incredibly tall for his early age and has huge physical strength, but his raw power is paired with a complete lack of experience skill. Therefore he gets stuck by the sidelines in the first part of the series, and has to go through TrainingFromHell to compensate.
** Hitoshi Morishige is a similar, yet less extreme case.

* A metafictional example of this is present in almost all video games with [[CharacterLevel level-up systems]]. Endgame will have some [[SmashMook Smash Mooks]] that, StatisticallySpeaking, could probably destroy a planet with a well placed punch due to their STR and may have [[MarathonBoss more HP than God]]...but they have no techniques other than variations on "hit the heroes", and AI scripts that border on ArtificialStupidity at best, thus: UnskilledButStrong.

** This was also subverted in the ''PlanetHulk'' arc where Hulk is marooned on the harsh planet Sakaar and finds himself weaker then he'd normally be on Earth due to unexplained environmental differences. Press ganged into becoming a gladiator, Hulk is forced to develop sufficient skills to survive and claw his way to the top. As a result, by the time the arc ends Hulk has not only gained some combat skills but is even ''stronger'' and smarter then he was before. And also really, ''[[OhCrap really]]'' [[WorldWarHulk mad at the people who shot him into space in the first place]]. And then JephLoeb decided to turn him back into DumbMuscle [[WallBanger just because.]]

** To an extent, Einhart from ''[=ViVid=]'', who has relatively little formal instruction but has gone through [[TrainingFromHell extensive training]], making her quite powerful for someone her age. The difference is not as evident when she is matched up against Vivio, who also has little experience, but during her [[CurbStompBattle brief match with Nanoha]], Nanoha makes note of this.

* The vampire Cassidy from {{Preacher}}. He's shown ripping people apart for most of the series but in the final arc Jesse is able to [[CurbStompBattle Curb Stomp]] him because, as he puts it, he's so strong he never had to learn how to fight.

* Superboy in [[Series/YoungJustice Young Justice]], who has all of Superman's strength and speed but lacks the discipline to use them to their full extent.

* Due to unusual circumstances ''BeetTheVandelBuster'' can use five of the powerful magical weapons called Saiga, when most individuals can use only one. However, early parts of the series are spent with Beet learning how to fully utilize his five Saiga and Beet has zero ability in the more basic magical skills which are supposed to be the lead up to obtaining a Saiga in the first place.

Compare SkilledButNaive. Contrast WeakButSkilled. Often pursues a BiggerStick. Can also overlap with BrilliantButLazy.

** Actually a subversion in Kenpachi's case, as when he uses both hands to hold his sword, he's using traditional kendo techniques as taught to him by [[OldMaster Captain-Commander Yamamoto]], not just increasing the amount of power he puts into his swings. But normally he plays this straight, fighting by wildly swinging his sword around one-handed, because ''he finds it more fun that way''.

[[AC:RealLife]]
* This is one of the arguments the anti-gun control lobby uses to defend the right of citizens to own guns: Using a gun does not demand the months of intense training nor physical strength martial arts require, but can still ruin a thug's day. A brute with years of experience on the street will still feel a frail-seeming BadassGrandpa emptying a piece into him.
** Coincidentally, this is also the argument used by those ''for'' gun control, as it is far easier for someone to do a massive amount of damage to a large number of people with a gun compared to any other easily available weapon.

** A straighter example is Utsuho. Not really brought up in the text, but very apparent in the fight (while Marisa [[GameplayAndStorySegregation fights more or less the same way as everyone else). ''Subterranean Animism'' consists almost entirely of gimmick patterns. Except for Utsuho. Her patterns are quite straightforward, making up for that by way of having the largest bullets in the series, and spamming them. Furthermore, while most stage 6 bosses are all about variety, Utsuho sticks with what she does best, not even changing up her nonspells.

* It's quite possible to fall into this trap in many an RPG. Some games allow specialization of stats, but focusing on strength to the detriment of other stats can result in being unable to hit fast enemies, being unable to inflict damage on magic enemies, and other crippling flaws.

* Lampshaded in ''{{Ultimate Spider-Man}}'', when Peter complains that he's been just getting by on luck and his natural strength and speed, so Mary Jane suggests he take martial arts.

* [[StarterVillain Victor Sells/The Shadowman]] from ''TheDresdenFiles'' is at least as strong a magical talent as the title character, particularly when powered up by the storms he draws on, but because he has little formal magical training he makes some sloppy errors that Harry is able to exploit.
** Harry Dresden himself views himself this way, though as a full-fledged wizard he's got a lot more subtle skill than the average warlock or sorcerer off the street, and he gets better as the books go on.

* Marisa Kirisame of ''{{Touhou}}'' is perplexingly both Unskilled But Strong ''and'' WeakButSkilled. She lacks any inherent abilities and can only fight as well as she does by [[BadassBookworm studying really hard]], but 90% of that study is purely towards making bigger explosions, lacking the finesse and control of other Magicians (most notably Patchouli) and relying on [[WaveMotionGun Master Spark]]ing her opponents into oblivion.

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A character who is UnskilledButStrong lacks the refined technique of formal training, but compensates by either being [[TheGift very naturally talented]] or [[MightyGlacier having so much raw power]] they don't ''need'' skill. They tend to have the attitude that if brute force doesn't work, [[GonnaNeedMoreTrope it's just because they didn't use enough of it.]]

[[caption-width-right:330:Are you really going to criticize his poor form? [[hottip:*:Apparently, someone did...leading to ''[[IKnowKungFu this]]''. Don't say we didn't warn you.]]

[[caption-width-right:330:Are you really going to criticize his poor form?]]

As the name implies, this is the inverse of WeakButSkilled.

A character who is UnskilledButStrong lacks the refined technique of formal training, but compensates by either being [[TheGift very naturally talented]] or [[MightyGlacier having so much raw power]] they don't ''need'' skill. They tend to have the attitude that if brute force doesn't work, it's just because they didn't use enough of it.

* Captain Hammer of ''DoctorHorrible'' seems to get everywhere on his super strength (born with the ability to "bench press 500 pounds") and damage resistance (which is a lot in a world where the super villains we know of are 1:a MadScientist 2:a guy who can make things moist 3:[[spoiler:a horse]]) and his plans are limited to "smash the device". The first time he gets hurt he runs away crying like a little girl.

When seen in a protagonist, their lack of skill is typically only because it's the first episode and they've only just discovered their powers. The initial stages of the series, if not the series as a whole, will then focus on improving the protagonist's innate talents. It also gives the series a justification for why a complete newbie to whatever power they've uncovered is able to fight with or against people who have more experience, or why they can come along in training relatively quickly. One common example is the SuperPrototype that the OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent is FallingIntoTheCockpit of.

When seen in a protagonist, their lack of skill is typically only because it's the first episode and they've only just discovered their powers. The initial stages of the series, if not the series as a whole, will then focus on improving the protagonist's innate talents. It also gives the series a justification for why a complete newbie to whatever power they've uncovered is able to fight with or against people who have more experience, or why they can come along in training relatively quickly.

* [[XMen The Juggernaut]].