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10->''"The sword is a simple tool, but in the hands of a master it becomes the most versatile of weapons. And just as the imagination is limitless, so too are the possibilities of the sword."''
11-->-- '''Master Piandao''', ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender''
12
13This trope is a character noted for their mastery of the UsefulNotes/{{sword|s}}. They might be a deadly duelist, a skillful swordsman, or just someone who is notably better at putting holes in other people. They may or may not possess ImplausibleFencingPowers depending on the level of realism within the work. Their weapon of choice might be a CoolSword, {{katana|sAreJustBetter}}, [[RoyalRapier rapier]], {{BFS}}, or something completely mundane. Some might be undefeated and renowned as [[WorldsBestWarrior the best swordsman in the world]], while others might be an anonymous badass trying to stay alive.
14
15Often a Mentor, often helping other characters TakeALevelInBadass. Occasionally an OldMaster. May be BadassNormal if there are superhumans to compare to. May well be the WorldsBestWarrior. The ranged counterparts are the MasterArcher and TheGunslinger. Due to biblical associations, [[ArchangelMichael Michael]] (or local equivalent) is a common name for these characters. Note that this trope is about the ''character'', even when the actors are {{Flynning}} badly.
16
17----
18!!Examples:
19
20[[foldercontrol]]
21
22[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
23* Manga/{{Azumi}}, the titular character of the 1990s feudal Japanese manga, is a kunoichi who wields a dual-bladed katana with such skill that she can easily decimate dozens of soldiers by herself.
24* ''{{Manga/Berserk}}'' features several notable masters of the sword:
25** The protagonist [[OneManArmy Guts]] stands out for his ability to wield his giant [[{{BFS}} Dragon Slayer]] with as much speed and skill as someone who mastered the use of an ordinary sword, enabling him to cut down one hundred men in one encounter and slay giant Apostles. Besides his [[LightningBruiser strength and speed]] he is surprisingly crafty and talented at [[IndyPloy improvising]].
26** [[TheAce Griffith]] originally gets Guts to join the Band of the Hawk by fencing circles around him in a duel, managing to parry Guts' monstrous blows with his light single-handed saber through sheer skill and agility. However, after Guts becomes superior to him in skill as well as strength, Griffith finally tastes defeat.
27** [[ActionGirl Casca]] was second only to Griffith as a swordfighter in the Band of the Hawk before Guts came along, and acquits herself heroically in the Hundred Man Fight, Battle of Doldrey, and the Escape from Midland. Her style emphasizes [[SheFu acrobatics]] and [[FragileSpeedster speed]].
28** [[TheSmartGuy Serpico]] at first opposes and eventually aids Guts with his impressive sword skills, relying on speed, smarts, and analysis. He is especially adept at using the environment to put his opponent at a disadvantage, and against Guts' inhuman abilities he has no choice but to be a [[CombatPragmatist combat pragmatist]] whenever he fights him.
29** [[HorrifyingHero The Skull Knight]] is an ancient undead warrior of peerless skill with the blade, honed from centuries' worth of experience fighting against the [[DemonLordsAndArchdevils Godhand]] and their Apostle minions. Wielding the Sword of Actuation, he fearlessly wades through TheLegionsOfHell on a regular basis, slices them apart in [[BladeSpam rapid succession]], and makes the whole spectacle ''[[CurbStompBattle look damn easy]]''.
30* ''Manga/BlackCat''
31** The BigBad Creed is dangerous with a sword, capable of splitting bullets and being one of the very few people able to face off against the hero Train. It's later subverted in that he gradually becomes more dependent on using the magic of the Tao elixer and high-tech nanomachines to keep up with his competition.
32** Sephiria Arks is the best swordswoman of her generation, having such control over her blade that she can balance a filled glass on it.
33* Ginji Matsuzaki from ''Manga/BlackLagoon'' can use his katana to defeat a group of thugs and hold his ground against gunslingers like Revy. It's particularly noteworthy that the ''shirasaya'' mount for his sword isn't even practical for fighting, since it has no handguard or hilt wrappings, but he's good enough to wield it anyway despite this.
34* Many characters from ''Manga/BladeOfTheImmortal'' at least claim to be examples of this trope.
35* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'':
36** Captain Unohana is [[AllThereInTheManual reputed]] to be a master swordsman even though she's the top CombatMedic of the Gotei 13.
37** Hisagi's fame with swordsmanship is [[AllThereInTheManual solidified]] when he proves to be capable of defeating the also renowned swordsman Yumichika in a sword duel.
38** Jinemon Kotsubaki, former 7th Division lieutenant and father of 13th division third-seat Sentaro, was renowned as a master swordsman.
39** Yachiru is the name given to the only shinigami that ever mastered all known styles and forms of sword combat, who was also the person that founded both the 11th division and the "Kenpachi" title, which is given to the strongest captain in any given generation of captains. [[spoiler:She is eventually revealed to be Captain Unohana.]]
40* Kamika from ''Manga/CorpsePrincess''. Her sword skills earned her the in-universe [[TheyCallHimSword title]] "Sword Princess" and she's even been shown capable of creating [[SwordBeam massive explosions]] just by drawing her [[DualWielding twin katana's]].
41* ''Anime/CowboyBebop'': Vicious is so skilled with his katana that he can hold his own in a future setting with a whole lot of guns, and is a match for Spike's shooting ability.
42* In ''Manga/DemonSlayerKimetsuNoYaiba'', the setting centers around a centuries-long feud between humans and [[OurDemonsAreDifferent demons]] (called Oni in-universe), wherein a dedicated order of humans, the Demon Slayer Corps, utilize swordsmanship disciplines (known as [[CharlesAtlasSuperpower "breathing styles"]] to slay demons. One character in particular, [[spoiler:Yoriichi Tsugikuni]], the [[InvincibleHero only person in centuries]] to ever come close to killing the [[BigBad progenitor of all demonkind]] Muzan Kibutsuji, was a genuine {{Samurai}} from the Sengoku period, and an absolutely godlike master swordsman whose skill defied all logic and laws of physics - to the point that the demons, who on average are [[HumanoidAbomination much stronger than their human opponents]], were [[TheDreaded baffled at his inexplicable martial prowess]], believing him to be divine providence given human form. In modern times, the Demon Slayer Corps employs a number of elite fighters, [[TheAce the Hashira]], each of whom is the undisputed champion in their chosen breathing style:
43** Water Hashira: Giyu Tomioka, the first Hashira introduced. Giyu is a [[TheStoic stoic]], pragmatic and unemotional fellow and is an [[JackOfAllTrades all-rounder]] when it comes to swordplay. Water Breathing is said to be the easiest breathing style to learn for beginners and was used to derive the greatest number of new Breathings [[spoiler:except for the original Sun Breathing technique]]. It is focused on chaining attacks into a seamless, flowing link, with an emphasis on sweeps, cuts, and slashes.
44** Flame Hashira: Kyojuro Rengoku. A HotBlooded NiceGuy Hashira, almost unusually cheery and upbeat no matter the situation, Kyojuro is energetic and prefers offense to defense. His Flame Breathing relies greatly upon the swordsman's mobility and is focused on swift dashes forward followed by a slash or a lunge to deliver a decisive blow.
45** Stone Hashira: Gyomei Himejima, the strongest of the Hashira, a mountain of a man who prefers using a massive [[EpicFlail kusarigama]] to a sword - except the chain-end of his weapon ends with a massive spiked ball of nichirin metal, while the blade in his other hand is more similar to an axe than the typical scythe. As such, he favours massive, broad sweeps which aim at catching the enemy in between both ends of his weapon, as well as lightning-fast thrusts utilizing the unusual length of his flail to the fullest.
46** Wind Hashira: Sanemi Shinazugawa, a mildly sadistic BloodKnight. His Wind Breathing is all about rapid, brutal cuts and slashes, with no thought spared for defense or fluidity of movement. A skilled Wind Hashira resembles nothing so much in combat like a raging typhoon, with similarly devastating effects.
47** Sound Hashira: Tengen Uzui, an AgentPeacock extraordinaire who is, ironically, the stealthiest of the Hashira, as befitting one of the last surviving [[{{Ninja}} shinobi]]. Tengen's unique style, allegedly inspired by Thunder Breathing, revolves around being able to gauge the opponent's "rhythm" of movements, then producing a new "rhythm" involving fast, direct cuts and stabs in a seamless link to disrupt and break the opponent's "rhythm". As an ex-shinobi, Tengen also frequently utilizes several varieties of bombs, in order to confuse his opponents with rapid bursts of light and sound.
48** Mist Hashira: Muichiro Tokito, [[TeenGenius the youngest of the Hashira]] and probably the most naturally gifted swordsman of the present day, [[spoiler: as befitting of the [[HeroicLineage last descendant of Yoriichi's twin brother Michikatsu, now Upper Moon Rank 1. Kokushibo]]]]. His Mist Breathing, derived from Wind Breathing, puts emphasis on [[ConfusionFu confusion and lying with one's body language]], meaning Muichiro relies on quickly landing a series of devastating slashes from unexpected directions, dispatching his opponents before they can mount a proper defense. Unfortunately, should they be able to anticipate his attacks, much like Wind Breathing, Mist Breathing has [[FragileSpeedster very little in the way of solid defensive techniques]]. Few enemies live long enough to figure this out, however.
49** Insect Hashira: Shinobu Kocho, a CreepyGood StepfordSmiler and the younger sister of the late Flower Hashira, Kanae Kocho. Shinobu is the self-proclaimed weakest member of the Hashira - while true in the sense that her physical strength is indeed lesser than that of most other swordsmen, she also uses this claim to her advantage, to goad her enemies into underestimating her. Her Insect Breathing is uniquely focused on thrusting, stabbing, and inflicting shallow cuts, none of which would usually suffice to kill even the weakest of demons. However, Shinobu, being a talented CombatMedic first and foremost, has managed to [[PoisonousPerson create a poison made of wisteria flowers]], lethal to demons in even small doses. A single cut with her slim poisoned blade is usually more than enough to grant even more powerful demons a swift, painful demise.
50** Flower Breathing: Kanae Kocho's style of combat was more focused on weaving and spinning than Shinobu's more straightforward lunging and stabbing and more in line with the style she derived hers from, Water Breathing. These techniques are still practiced by the Kocho sisters' ward and adoptive sister, Kanao Tsuyuri.
51** Serpent Hashira: Obanai Iguro, a WeakButSkilled JerkWithAHeartOfGold and the second weakest of the Hashira in terms of raw power. Iguro compensates for his lack of physical strength by focusing his style on locating and hitting the critical weaknesses within his enemies' defenses, using wavy serpentine movements involving a lot of slashing and stabbing to slide his sword in between enemy counters and deliver maximum damage with a minimal amount of force.
52** Love Hashira: Mitsuri Kanroji, a GirlyBruiser with a unique muscular condition which, ironically, makes her the second physically strongest of the Hashira, despite her small stature and athletic build. Her immense strength allows her to wield a [[CoolSword unique, whip-like sword which bends whenever she swings it while remaining razor-sharp]]. Much like her mentor Kyojuro, Mitsuri relies greatly on her agility and mobility, with the added benefit of her whip-sword providing her with incredible reach. Despite her incredible skill, out of combat, she is ironically somewhat [[TheDitz clumsy and unfocused]].
53** Thunder Hashira: While the position is vacant at the start of the series (since the last Thunder Hashira, Jigoro Kuwajima, has [[RetiredBadass retreated into retirement]]), one of the main characters, Zenitsu Agatsuma, is a prominent Thunder Breathing user and is expected to eventually inherit the title. Thunder Breathing is heavily inspired by real-world iaido, and its practitioners are usually fast and strong, expected to be able to perform a FlashStep and finish the fight with a single, decisive slash.
54** Though not a Hashira, the Upper Moon Rank 1. Kokushibo, [[spoiler: formerly known as Michikatsu Tsugikuni, [[CainAndAbel twin brother to the legendary Yoriichi]]]], prefers to use his own style of swordsmanship, the Moon Breathing, [[spoiler:being one of the [[FallenHero founders of Breathing Styles]]]]. Due to being an immortal demon, Kokushibo is not only capable of greater strength, speed, agility, and dexterity than any of the individual Hashira, but can also amplify his attacks with his Blood Demon Art spells, [[ImplausibleFencingPowers sprouting new blades from both his main sword and his body, creating slashing gusts of air, cutting through stone architecture like paper and expanding his cuts to ludicrous lengths and widths]]. Notably, he possesses at least sixteen different techniques, more than even the widely-practiced Water Breathing. Unsurprisingly, despite Muzan being the most powerful demon due to the sheer amount of damage he can endure and come back from, Kokushibo is usually seen as the most skilled enemy the heroes have to face, having become a demon for the explicit purpose of perfecting his swordsmanship [[spoiler:and finally surpassing his legendary brother]].
55* Future Trunks from ''Franchise/DragonBall'', to date the only main character to use a weapon in a world where someone's finger poke could topple a mountain. Mind you it's not as much of a gimmick as it could have been. Trunks has proven to use it effectively in battle, even getting several techniques utilising his sword in his video game skillsets.
56* In ''Manga/FairyTail'', there's Erza Scarlet, one of the strongest characters in the series, who has lots and lots of swords. She usually {{Dual Wield|ing}}s two {{BFS}}es.
57* ''Anime/FinalFantasyVIIAdventChildren'': Cloud, who expertly uses a composite BFS composed of [[BifurcatedWeapon six component swords]], either individually or in DualWielding combos.
58* President Fuhrer King (Civilian rank, military rank, first name) Bradley in ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist''. He routinely draws his sword and cuts his opponent down so quickly that most people don't even see him move before the other guy takes a fatal wound. The man can take on a tank and win with nothing but his saber, and it wasn't even an AbsurdlySharpBlade. He's later shown slicing bullets in half -- and when [[spoiler:Scar cuts off his arms, he holds the blade of the broken saber ''in his teeth'' and still keeps fighting!]] The proof of mastery for any other Master Swordsman in the series is crossing blades with Bradley... and ''surviving'' the first pass. Second place goes to Ling Yao, who is the only person who comes close to being able to hold his own against Bradley in a fight.
59* ''Literature/TheGardenOfSinners'':
60** Shiki Ryougi is mainly known for fighting with a knife, but her skill with a sword was enough to [[spoiler:surprise and eventually kill an [[BigBad immortal Buddhist mage]] who had basically set up an alternate reality to capture her.]]
61** Shiki's father is also implied to be one since he trained her in the first place. We only see him in flashbacks and in one practice match with her that he wins handily, though.
62* ''Manga/{{Gintama}}'' has quite a few awesome sword wielders: Okita (best sword in the Shinsengumi), Hijikata, Katsura, Takasugi, Nobume, etc. But Gintoki is the main character and big badass with his curry-stained, mail-order, frequently broken wooden sword. He'll use real swords when it gets really serious, and when he's serious, he's pretty much unbeatable.
63* ''Manga/HayateTheCombatButler'':
64** Hinagiku Katsura is the KendoTeamCaptain in addition to being the StudentCouncilPresident and has proven to have far greater skill than the rest of the club put together. She has acquired two magical swords so far. The first is [[WoodenKatanasAreEvenBetter Wooden Masamune]] which lets her cut ghosts and brings out its wielder's maximum potential, and seems to be semi-sentient as it is very fond of her, either for wielding it so well in battle or because [[EvenTheGirlsWantHer everyone is fond of Hinagiku]]. The second is Shirosakura which seems to be made out of crystal and she's been shown easily slicing through boulders with it and it seems like it may be able to kill ghosts as well...and lets her fly (which she's used only once due to [[WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes her intense fear of heights]]. Notably, she is able to pull these swords [[SummonToHand seemingly from nowhere]], though we did get a humorous short of Isumi lamenting that Wooden Masamune keeps disappearing, shown to be from answering Hinagiku's call for it whenever she finds monsters and ghosts in need of a beat-down.
65** While he claimed otherwise early on in the series, Hayate himself is about on par with Hinagiku. In a duel with [[StalkerWithACrush Kotetsu]], Hayate nearly killed him with the incredible speed and power of his strikes and in Greece, he was able to one-shot a 12-foot-tall Minotaur with little effort using only a decorative sword from a nearby suit of armor. Borrowing Wooden Masamune he could even deflect the StormOfBlades from the Greece Arc's BigBad and defeat it without taking much more damage than he already had.
66** Athena may count as this due to being the one who taught Hayate. She certainly had skill in the End of the World {{Flashback}} arc but hasn't done much fighting in the present.
67* ''Manga/InuYasha'': The ambidextrous Sesshoumaru masters [[AllThereInTheManual any weapon]] the second he touches it, and sometimes even ''before''. He [[CrypticConversation advises]] the struggling Inuyasha on how to properly use [[EnergyAbsorption Dragon-Scale Tessaiga]] after overhearing a single conversation and handles even Sango's [[BattleBoomerang Hiraikotsu]] with ease. The only weapon he ever struggled to master is his own sword Tenseiga, which requires mastering [[HealingShiv compassion]] instead of physical strength or skill.
68* ''Anime/{{K}}'' has [[TheLancer Kuroh Yatogami]] and [[TheDragon Yukari Mishakuji]], both badass, both trained by the same master: [[CoolOldGuy Ichigen Miwa]]. He could have probably [[CurbStompBattle curb stomped]] both of his students but being a PosthumousCharacter means that won't ever happen. As is, Yukari is better than Kuroh (who can wipe the floor with everyone except for [[RankScalesWithAsskicking Kings]]) [[spoiler:until the finale of the 2nd season where Kuroh manages to reach beyond him in skill]]. Bonus points for all of them invoking {{Samurai}} aesthetics in different ways.
69* ''Literature/{{Katanagatari}}'':
70** Meisai Tsuruga, or Uneri Ginkaku . The main characters have to duel them to get the twelves katanas of Shikizaki Kiki. Shichika considers himself one as well, despite not using a katana. He uses a [[FantasticFightingStyle martial art]] in which the swordsman himself is the katana.
71** Hakurei Sabi in particular, is considered the best Swordsman of Japan's history and is an in-universe MemeticBadass said to be able to cut anything.
72* Shigure Kosaka of ''Manga/KenichiTheMightiestDisciple'' is renowned for her immense prowess with any kind of weapon [[ImprobableWeaponUser (even handcuffs)]], but she prefers swords above all. That said, she can make a weapon out of practically anything. Case in point, she can cut through someone's clothes ''with a wooden spoon!''
73* Shizu from ''Literature/KinosJourney'' is one, being able to deflect bullets with his sword just by moving it slightly.
74* Jintetsu of ''{{Manga/Kurogane}}'', despite being JustAKid, is an extremely capable swordsman and renowned assassin.
75* ''Literature/KyoKaraMaoh'':
76** [[TheAce Conrad]] is the 'best swordsman in Shin Makoku' and turns out to have an international reputation; he takes after his father, Dan Hiri, who was a widely known master in his day. ''Gunter,'' who is easily taken for a SquishyWizard, turns out to be amazing with a blade as well. (Yuuri has still never seen him fight.)
77** In season three we learn Gunter ''trained'' Conrad -- in his adolescence (i.e. [[HalfHumanHybrid maybe fifty years old]]?) he was getting to be cocky and bitter due to his [[AllOfTheOtherReindeer social isolation]] and genius, and Gunter, who was still teaching back then, [[CurbStompBattle handed him his ass]] to show how much he still had to learn. Their only battle during showtime (probably the best fight in the series) was inconclusive since Conrad had a separate agenda and ran away at the first opportunity he could make.
78** Hube is also pretty damn good, and prone to cutting improbable things; he fixated on Conrad in his first appearance because he knew only a master-level fighter [[DeathSeeker could defeat him]].
79* Oyuki from ''Manga/LadySnowblood'', is a Master Swordswoman who uses a short sword concealed in a parasol.
80* ''Manga/TheLegendOfZeldaFourSwords2004'' has Link, who can non-fatally cut down three bandits in a split second. His clone Vio turns out to be even better, [[spoiler: decisively beating him in a match when pretending to betray him]].
81* ''Manga/LoneWolfAndCub'':
82** Ogami Itto. Being the former Executioner of the Shogun, he was expected to fight for the right to get such a cushy job, presumably besting every other swordsman in Japan for the right to be "the Shogun's right hand". Consequently, when he goes rogue, no man/woman/ninja hit squad can stand against him. At one point in the series, he literally fights off an entire crowd of female assassins while drugged unconscious. Despite this, the series is fantastic for trying to find new, creative ways for the bad guys to provide some challenge worthy of him. His enemies, acknowledging him as the greatest swordsman in Japan, will attempt to send, say, the greatest rifleman in Japan against him, or some such.
83** Yagyu Retsudo, the series' main antagonist, is also a master swordsman and {{Ninja}}.
84** Yamada Asaemon is the Shogun's sword-tester and is thought to be the only swordsman in Japan who can match Ogami. [[spoiler:He goes up against Ogami, and is only defeated because Retsudo secretly tampered with his sword.]] The creators later made a spin-off starring Asaemon, ''Manga/SamuraiExecutioner''.
85* ''Franchise/LupinIII'':
86** Goemon Ishikawa XIII is the best of all. His demonstrations of ImplausibleFencingPowers pretty much fit into every category, with his trademark moves being ParryingBullets and cutting a group of enemies' guns, [[ClothingDamage clothes]], and ''hair'' before they can realize what happened, and it would actually be shorter to list the things he ''hasn't'' managed to cut in half. His fighting skills without the sword are nothing to sneeze at either. Part of Goemon's skills come from his AbsurdlySharpBlade. That said, he can block bullets with ''any'' sword; it's just that [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome if he uses a common sword, it's going to be ruined]].
87** Lupin himself is no slouch. While not as good as Goemon, he's good enough to understand how he fights, and the rare times he has his sword he has been seen ParryingBullets.
88** An episode of [[Anime/LupinIIIPartII the second series]] had [[spoiler:[[Manga/TheRoseOfVersailles Oscar François de Jarjayes]]]] show up and fight Lupin, and she was ''winning'' before he got his hands on Goemon's sword, at which point Lupin used the invincible sword to cut hers.
89** ''Anime/LupinIIITheItalianAdventure'' adds another character to the swordsmen roster: [[spoiler:[[BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy Leonardo da Vinci]]]], whose [[RenaissanceMan immense list of skills he mastered]] includes swordsfighting, going toe-on-toe with Goemon for a while before losing. He had the advantage that they were using his favorite Renaissance-era blades, which Goemon was unfamiliar with, but as other opponents with a similar advantage had previously gone down in ''seconds''.
90* ''Franchise/LyricalNanoha'':
91** Signum, the MagicKnight ancient leader of the Wolkenritter. She's introduced in ''Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaAs'' as someone who could match [[MultiMeleeMaster Fate]] in melee combat even while holding back and is later shown fighting a [[Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaStrikerS Post-StrikerS]] Nanoha on [[SuperMode Blaster Mode Lv 1]] to a draw even though she was fighting in standard form.
92** In ''Manga/MagicalRecordLyricalNanohaForce'', Cypha was introduced as the master swordsman of the Huckebein group and, [[TheWorfEffect as a show of power]], {{curbstomp|Battle}}s Signum in their first duel after she's shown to be immune to all of Signum's attacks. And as it turns out Curren is even better, stomping Erio and Vita without even needing to go SuperMode.
93** Nanoha comes from a family of skilled swordsmen (including her father, brother, sister, and aunt), though she herself lacks any such training outside of the ''[[Manga/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaInnocent INNOCENT]]'' continuity.
94* Lafarga of ''Manga/MagicKnightRayearth'' is a swordsman with no magic, but he's strong enough that he can create RazorWind just by [[CharlesAtlasSuperpower swinging his weapon]]. Even Hikaru, who's pretty good with a sword, can't beat him while he's BrainwashedAndCrazy. The title given to him in-universe is "Dal".
95* ''Manga/{{Murcielago}}'' has Kurono Miyamoto, one of the toughest opponents Kuroko has ever faced. She is considered a prodigy when it comes to swordsmanship, and she constantly forces Kuroko, who's no slouch at fighting, to go on the defensive. A sniper even learns the hard way how adept Kurono is with the sword when she deflects a bullet right back into his skull.
96* ''{{Manga/Naruto}}'':
97** [[ScaryBlackMan Killer]] [[UncleTomfoolery Bee]] can fight with ''seven'' swords at once by holding them in every possible place on his body, ''except for his hands''.
98** [[SamuraiInNinjaTown Mifune]] is a master IaijutsuPractitioner capable of holding his own against high-level shinobi despite [[BadassNormal having no ninjutsu or genjutsu]]. His longtime rival Hanzo the Salamander (an infamous OneManArmy of a ninja) stated that Mifune's swordsmanship is so great that attempting to use hand signs (a requirement for most ninjutsu and nearly all genjutsu) against him would be a futile gesture.
99** Anyone who becomes one of the 7 Swordsmen of the Mist is this by default as well, particularly Zabuza, who probably has the most [[spoiler:relatively]] normal sword out of the group, and was able to give Kakashi a run for his money [[spoiler:even after his resurrection by Edo Tensei.]]
100* Master Yupa of ''Manga/NausicaaOfTheValleyOfTheWind'' is yet another very [[OldMaster old swordmaster]] who manages to hold his own against small armies. His swordsmanship is an InformedAbility for at least half of the movie until he finally lashes out and sweeps down an army full of enemy soldiers.
101* ''Manga/OnePiece'': There are many master swordsmen in the series. Those of particular mention include:
102** Dracule "Hawkeye" Mihawk is the best swordsman in-universe. He could, upon introduction, effortlessly hold off the previously unstoppable [[DualWielding tri-wielding]] Zoro with ''[[CherryTapping a three-inch dagger]]'', or use his main sword to chop an entire fleet of at least fifty galleons in half from a distance. His main sword is a large [[RuleOfSymbolism cross-shaped]] [[{{BFS}} affair]] that's longer than he is tall ([[AllThereInTheManual he's 6'6"]]!), that he uses on whatever he feels like. He's skilled enough to deflect bullets with it, playing into his iconic line, "A sword without subtlety is but an iron bar."
103** Zoro himself also qualifies. While his main specialty is three swords, he is proficient at two swords and one sword as well, able to cut down a man made of steel, a legendary samurai, and bring down a government assassin. Despite having the second-lowest supernova bounty (now tied for 4th highest as of Dressrosa), even the other supernova are wary of him. His only major loss was against Mihawk, whereas even the main character has lost more times. While he was initially very power-based, Zoro has honed his skills. After the time-skip, during which [[spoiler:Mihawk personally trained him]], Zoro has taken a few pages from Mihawk's book by casually slicing a ship in half while half asleep.
104** The Wano Country is a country unaffiliated with the World Government. Their special brand of swordsmen are called samurais, and supposedly are so powerful, even the Marines don't want anything to do with them. [[spoiler:Didn't stop Kaido and his crew from conquering the nation.]]
105** "Flower Sword" Vista, commander of the Whitebeard Pirates 5th Division, also qualifies. When he fought against the aforementioned Dracule Mihawk at Marineford, the latter said that among swordsmen only an idiot wouldn't know who Vista is.
106** Shanks probably qualifies. Aside from strong Conqueror's Haki, he doesn't seem to have any special powers, but he used to duel Mihawk to a draw on the regular. Even after losing an arm, he's still powerful enough to clash with Whitebeard, prevent Kaido from joining the War of the Best at Marineford, and then end the fighting at Marineford himself with the threat of being a new opponent for the Navy to face.
107** While he's not as overtly powerful as those listed above, Brook is certainly a master of the sword and one built around sheer speed; there are several moments within the series where he'll seemingly walk past an opponent at a casual pace, only to sheathe his sword and reveal he struck a DelayedCausality blow that takes them down in one strike. He killed one of Gecko Moria's strongest zombies this way, and also badly injured Zeo of the New Fishman Pirates while the latter was boasting his defensive capabilities made him untouchable.
108* ''Webcomic/OnePunchMan'': Kamikaze, or by his hero name Atomic Samurai, is the most skilled swordsman in the world and can perform feats so fast, that it looks like he never even moved.
109* Kuno, from ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'', is a KendoTeamCaptain and is capable of doing tremendous damage with a bokken. He is a scarily skilled fighter, despite his ''many'' personality flaws and general idiocy.
110* ''Manga/Reborn2004'': Sword Emperor Tyr, [[BloodKnight Superbi]] [[ThreateningShark Squalo]], [[MyMasterRightOrWrong Genshiki]], [[CulturedWarrior Ugetsu Asari]], and [[NiceGuy Yamamoto Takeshi]]. Sword Emperor Tyr was the original boss of the Varia before Squalo managed to [[ChildSoldiers kill him]] [[ChildProdigy in a two-day-straight duel when he was fourteen]]. Squalo was thought to be the presumptive leader if he didn't step down for [[BadBoss Xanxus]]. Yamamoto is also a ChildProdigy learning his father's "Shigure Soen Ryu", a style known to be invincible because its forms branch out to be either be weak or strong depending on the master and student's contribution. Yamamoto learned the style in a week and defeated Squalo by learning its secret. Later, he was mentored by Squalo to further expand the style in the Future Arc.
111* Inglis/Chris in ''Literature/RebornToMasterTheBlade'' is a good king who's granted a dying wish by the goddess of his world, and uses it to wish for a rebirth so that he can spend it becoming the greatest swordsman of all time. The goddess, being annoyingly prescient, reincarnates him as a ''girl'', but that doesn't stop her from pushing forth towards her ultimate goal.
112* ''Literature/RebuildWorld'':
113** When Akira’s VirtualSidekick Alpha controls his PoweredArmor like PeoplePuppets to use a sword, Akira’s movements are described like this due to her efficiency as an ArtificialIntelligence.
114** The CyberNinja Nelia is a master of DualWielding, first using two liquid-metal-based swords, and then when she’s using a MiniMecha, two LaserBlade ones. She’s good enough to make Akira reconsider his OpposingCombatPhilosophies arguing against melee and get a sword for himself.
115* ''Anime/RedoOfHealer'' has the Clyret family, whose members have been so good and dedicated to the sword they ''developed a new Class'', Sword Saint, that can only be achieved by someone in their bloodline. Kureha, as their strongest member alive, is flat-out the best swordsfighter in the world, enough that [[spoiler:when the Sword Hero dies she's able to pass the terrifying test to claim the Class for herself rather than let it be reincarnated]].
116** Keyaru is one by virtue of [[PowerCopying copying Kureha's skills]].
117** Blade, the Sword Hero, ''believes'' herself to be this... But [[SubvertedTrope her swings are so bad and unrefined Keyaru found himself embarrassed during their fight]]. She only won and got her reputation by [[UnskilledButStrong her superhuman strength and speed]] and her Divine Armament amplifying her physical abilities and granting her a HealingFactor.
118* Just about ''everyone'' in ''Manga/RurouniKenshin'', with ImplausibleFencingPowers out the wazoo. Special mention goes to the hero, Himura Kenshin (loosely based on Kawakami Gensai, below), Shinomori Aoshi, Hiko Seijuro, Saitou Hajime ([[HistoricalDomainCharacter loosely based on the real Saitou Hajime]]), Makoto Shishio, Seta Soujirou, and Yukishiro Enishi.
119* The protagonist of ''Literature/TheReincarnatedSwordSaintWantsToTakeItEasy'' is a child prodigy in swordsmanship, but he's secretly the reincarnation of the previous generation's Sword Saint, with his skills intact. Other than him, there is the 'Sword Saint Pricess', Iris Reinfel, and the members of the Sword Gang.
120* ''Manga/SaintSeiyaEpisodeGAssassin'': the Gladiator, legendary warriors who fight with sacred swords. Shura, Capricorn Gold Saint, is stated to be one of them, even if he isn't happy nor interested in all of this.
121* ''Anime/SamuraiChamploo'':
122** The two heroes are master swordsmen, Jin, and Mugen. Jin is a traditional swordsman, while Murgen relies more on his incredible speed, unique and unpredictable fighting style, and killer instinct rather than any traditional martial arts. This is largely why Jin's hardest battles are usually classic sword duels, whereas Mugen is conversely pitted against unconventional foes who don't rely on swords.
123** Various antagonists also qualify. Chief among them are jovial mercenary swordmaster Inuyaka, the deadly Shaolin Tsujigiri Ukon, and Kariya Kagetoki -- a peerless swordsman of such great talent that he is known widely as the 'Hand of God'!
124** During Episode 21, Jin meets an old hermit called Matagi. Later, when the hermit is asked about his real name he quietly mutters that he is actually ''Miyamoto Mushashi'' -- perhaps the most legendary Japanese swordsman in history! When Jin asks him to repeat himself more loudly the old hermit dismisses the topic.
125* While there are a number of sword users in ''Manga/SnowWhiteWithTheRedHair'' the prince (later king) Izana Wistaria and the knights Sir Lowen Mitsuhide and Lady Kiki Serian stand out as expert swordsmen who have not been seen defeated even in practice and flashbacks to their youth.
126* Mifune from ''Manga/SoulEater''. Bonus points for having a set of literally ''dozens'' of katanas he carries around in oversized holsters. ''Bonus'' bonus points for being the only full-blooded human to be able to go toe-to-toe with people and creatures with supernatural powers.
127* ''Literature/SwordArtOnline'':
128** [[ZigZaggingTrope Zig-Zagged]] under most circumstances. In the realm of [[{{Cyberspace}} VRMMORPGs]] that [[UnusualUserInterface translate nerve pulses directly into in-game movement]], Kirito, Asuna, Heathcliff, "Red-Eyed" [=XaXa=] and Yuuki are strong enough to have each gained RedBaron status in the various games they play. In the real world, though, Kirito's mediocre at kendo, Asuna has never even picked up a sword, Heathcliff is [[spoiler:the computer genius who ''made'' [=VRMMORPGs=] in the first place, including the combat system]], [=XaXa's=] real body is too frail and sickly to let him effectively ''use'' a sword, and Yuuki [[spoiler: is confined to a hospital bed]].
129** Played straight by Suguha/Leafa, Kirito's cousin. In ALO she's one of the most skilled players despite technically having lower levels than one would expect, and in real life, she's an extremely skilled kendo player (national-level middle school quarter-finalist). In fact, her in-game skill comes directly from her real-life experience, and she started playing ALO specifically because it was a skill-based game rather than a level-based one.
130* ''Literature/ThatTimeIGotReincarnatedAsASlime'':
131** First of all there's [[OldSoldier Hakurou]], the elderly oni of roughly 300 years that trained the warriors of his village in swordsmanship and was considered one of the finest in the world. For reference, he was called the "Sword Saint" in his youth despite being an unnamed ogre at the time (meaning he never actually reached his full potential). After being named by Rimuru, evolving into an oni, and receiving some rejuvenation in age, his improved physical abilities allowed him to take his swordsmanship to the next level, capable of not only striking faster than the eye can track, as well as cutting down dozens of foes at once with a few swift strikes but move so fast a swordsman who could [[SuperReflexes boost his perception by 300x easily and 1000x at max]] couldn't dodge his killing strike and in fact had a delayed effect of even ''seeing'' it. Both before and after being named, he mentored many beings who would become this trope themselves.
132** Gazel Dwargo, the dwarf king of Dwargon, was one of Hakurou's students from the time he was the nameless Sword Saint. Much like his master, he can move faster than the eye can track and could easily hold his own and dominate in a mock sword fight with Rimuru, who had been recently training under Hakurou himself. In fact, Gazel expressed a desire to travel to Tempest and renew his tutelage under Hakurou upon learning of his master's naming and increase in strength.
133** Albert, the Death Paladin who served the [[OurLichesAreDifferent Wight King Adalman]] both in life and death as subordinate and friend, is an undead swordsman who was not only one of the finest knights of his time but has spent the past 1000 years honing his ability and is capable of fighting evenly with Hakurou with pure skill alone. [[spoiler:Particularly impressive since the first time they clashed, Albert managed this as a Death Knight despite Hakurou having received a power boost from Rimuru's True Demon Lord ascension and himself wielding no special weapons or gear.]] When put in the Labyrinth on Floor 60 with Adalman and given a set of special Unique-class equipment tailored to his undead status, Albert becomes a juggernaut, on his own handing a CurbStompBattle to three Otherworlders from the Eastern Empire who had previously worked as a well-oiled machine to clear all challenges on the previous 59 floors.
134** Hinata Sakaguchi of the Holy Empire Ruberios and the Western Saints Church is their finest paladin, and by extension, this makes her their finest swordswoman. Rimuru commented that her skill completely trumps his despite his continued training [[spoiler:and only his physical boosts from True Demon Lord ascension closes the gap]] and that she would ultimately beat Hakurou in a proper fight.
135** Krishna of the Eastern Empire is ranked 17th among the 100 [[PraetorianGuard Imperial Guardians]], and despite his rather minor role, he's one of the finest known swordsmen in their ranks. Wielding a set of Legendary-class equipment and armed with the power to [[SpaceMaster slice through dimensional space]], these together with his technique allow him to fight evenly with Albert in one-on-one combat during the Empire's invasion of the Labyrinth [[spoiler:and even ultimately shatter Albert's sword before claiming victory.]]
136** In the past, there was Hakurou's grandfather Byakuya Araki, a human samurai [[TrappedInAnotherWorld Otherworlder]] who passed his skills on to the ogre village he lived in (after single-handedly saving them from a dragon) as well as among the {{Tengu}} before his eventual death. His techniques in the "Oboro" sword style would form the foundation of many masters of the sword, especially through his grandson Hakurou's teachings. [[spoiler:When he reincarnated as a [[DemonOfHumanOrigin demon of the Yellow lineage]], his swordsmanship alone would take him to one of the strongest acknowledged of his kind and a personal lieutenant of the [[MonsterProgenitor Primordial Yellow Jaune]] herself despite his relative youth (in the centuries rather than the usual thousands of years of his peers) and being almost completely lacking in magical skill, which is usually the opposite of how it is with demons. After being named "Agera" and evolving, he eventually gains the ability to [[EquippableAlly become a sword]] and impart all his skill to the wielders of his choice.]]
137** But ''none'' of these hold a candle to [[ChildProdigy Chloe Aubert]]. When she and her fellow Otherworlder children get swordsmanship training under Hakurou and Hinata, while all of them improve drastically, Chloe blows them out of the water and both of her teachers believe [[SurpassedTheTeacher she will surpass them in time]]. [[spoiler:As Chloe [[TimeTravelTenseTrouble was/is/will be]] the [[WorldsBestWarrior greatest True Hero]] in the world, capable of ''[[SpaceMaster cutting through space itself]]'', they have no idea how right they are.]]
138** The one ''explicitly'' called the greatest swordsman in the whole world is one of the [[MaouTheDemonKing True Demon Lords]], the "Sleeping Ruler" Dino. He's also one of the [[TimeAbyss oldest beings in the whole setting]] and wields two Mythical-class swords, Excalibur and Caliburn. The catch? Dino is the ''epitome'' of a LazyBum and BrilliantButLazy, and so can't be bothered to actually show off how skilled he really is when he actually bothers to fight instead of taking the path of least resistance.
139* ''Manga/TokyoGhoul'': Due to the setting centering around a conflict between [[HumanoidAbomination humanoid abominations]], the eponymous ghouls, capable of producing and manipulating a razor-sharp liquid-muscle organ in several distinct forms, and humans who harvest and reverse-engineer these to produce the most cost-effective ghoul-slaying weapons, close-quarters-combat expertise is a necessary mainstay of the setting. While not all of the combat could exactly be called swordplay, as many kagune (the organs) and quinque (the reverse-engineered weapons) can resemble anything from tentacles and wings to whips and energy-guns respectively, most kokaku ghouls, whose kagune sacks are [[BladeBelowTheShoulder located below their shoulder]], will choose to wield their kagune as a sword, and most of the mass-produced, standard-issue quinque resemble Japanese traditional katana to some degree. Thus, blade-on-blade combat is common throughout the manga, with a few notable individuals standing out in particular.
140** [[TheAce Kishou Arima]], [[RedBaron the CCG's Reaper]], is the undisputed champion in eliminating ghouls and has been since he was fifteen years old. Most of the quinques he has used throughout his career take the form of swords, from the katana-like "Yukimura" to the massive {{BFS}} "Owl". Arima is skilled enough to take the strongest fighters in the setting, [[spoiler: protagonist included]], head on and come out of it unscathed, and experienced enough to chide his pupil for his reaction speed being 0,1 second too slow. [[spoiler:Of course, his [[HalfHumanHybrid half-human, half-ghoul]] physiology is responsible for a lot of that, but even among the hybrid assassins, Arima is stated to be an unparalleled prodigy.]]
141** [[AmnesiacHero Haise Sasaki]], who is being groomed to become Arima's SuperiorSuccessor by the man himself, prefers to use the quinque gifted to him by Arima, "Yukimura", instead of his powerful but mentally debilitating kagune. His fighting style is noted to be similar to Arima's, with one observer stating it to be "as smooth as water."
142** [[AlwaysSecondBest Take Hirako]], Arima's former pupil and an excellent Investigator in his own right, is notable in that, during the climax of the story, he is one of the only remaining characters who [[BadassNormal isn't a ghoul, a one-eyed ghoul, a quinx]] [[spoiler:or a half-human hybrid]], and can not only keep up with them but actually takes out countless genetically superior enemies. Much like his mentor, Hirako's quinque-of-choice is "Nagomi", which takes the form of a broad, single-edged blade.
143** [[AManOfWealthAndTaste Shuu Tsukiyama]], while not being nearly on the same level as the previously mentioned characters in terms of raw combat ability, is notable since he uses his sword-like kokaku kagune in a manner deliberately invoking fencing, as a part of his WickedCultured aesthetic.
144** [[LadyOfWar Matsumae]], the Tsukiyama family's BattleButler and Shuu's personal tutor/servant/bodyguard, is capable of arguably even more impressive feats of swordsmanship than her master. She was personally trained in the art of kagune combat/swordplay by the family's patriarch, Mirumo, from an early age, in order to effectively protect her young master. Though being capable of detaching her kagune to form a [[BarrierWarrior wall of spikes]], she prefers using it as very literal [[KnightlySwordAndShield sword and shield combo]] and is skilled enough to take on one of Arima's pupils head-on, along with several other Investigators, [[spoiler:and almost manages to win despite the odds]].
145** Yumitsu Tomoe, an [[TheSyndicate Aogiri Tree member]], known by her alias as "[[RedBaron the Grave Robber]]", is unique among ghouls in that she prefers to keep and use the quinques of Investigators she kills, since her own [[PrehensileTail bikaku kagune]], while extremely sharp, also causes her to rapidly run out of stamina. Over the years, she has gained enough skill with all kinds of quinque types to be a serious match for even experienced Investigators.
146** V, the [[SecretPolice main enforces]] of the story's AncientConspiracy, are this collectively. Since almost all of their agents are [[spoiler:[[HalfHumanHybrid half-humans]]]], none of them possess a kagune, which they more than make up for with their ImplausibleFencingPowers -- Hirako himself tells Kaneki to think of each of them as "matured Zero Squad" (Zero Squad consisting exclusively of Arima's apprentices). Interestingly, most of them seem to wield regular katanas, though they don't appear to have much trouble cutting through the infamously tough skin of ghouls, suggesting they might be [[MadeOfMagic made of "quinque steel"]].
147** [[TheManBehindTheMan Kaiko]], the ostensible leader and most prominent V agent, claims to have [[spoiler: trained with Arima]] and demonstrates his incredible skill near the end of the manga. Even when fighting four-on-one against some of the toughest fighters the protagonists can field, he initially has little trouble fending them off and manages to wound several of them. He is even able to dodge incoming blows he is physically unable to see coming, all the while effortlessly DualWielding a katana and an ornate dagger.
148%%* Balgus, Allen Schezar and Van Fanel from ''Anime/TheVisionOfEscaflowne''.
149* ''{{Manga/Yaiba}}'' is full of powerful swordsmen, including the eponymous hero by the end, [[TheRival Takeshi Onimaru]], UsefulNotes/MiyamotoMusashi, UsefulNotes/SasakiKojiro, UsefulNotes/YagyuJubei, [[NiceGuy Soshi Okita]], and [[CoolOldGuy Kenjuro Kurogane.]]
150* Hiei from ''Manga/YuYuHakusho'' cut Seiryu 16 times before his enemy knew what hit him. Keep in mind he could throw [[SuperSpeed 100 punches in a split second]]! There's also the time Hiei cut Makintaro's arm off and held said arm in the air because Makintaro had no idea what was going on. Or the time Hiei stabbed Sniper in the abdomen, intentionally missing every vital organ and muscle, making the stab just enough to put him down.
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153[[folder:Comic Books]]
154* ''ComicBook/TheAvengers'':
155** The Swordsman and The Black Knight (Dane Whitman) in the Franchise/MarvelUniverse have this as their shtick, with Dracula commenting that Dane was one of the best swordsmen of all time. The latter also has to contend with [[ArtifactOfDoom the nature of his sword]].
156** Faiza Hussain, the wielder of Excalibur, Dane's steward and eventual LoveInterest, takes ''Dracula'', King of the Vampires, in a sword fight, despite his SuperStrength and SuperSpeed and the fact that he'd just [[CurbstompBattle crushed Dane]]. While this was probably partly thanks to Excalibur's nature as a holy weapon, it's still very impressive.
157** Fandral the Dashing of Asgard, though he rarely gets the chance to show it.
158* ''ComicBook/{{Barracuda}}'' is full of characters who are experts with a blade, but Flynn is almost universally acknowledged as being the finest swordsman in the WretchedHive of Puerto Blanco.
159* Franchise/{{Batman}}:
160** The Cavalier is an expert swordsman, who sometimes wields an electrified rapier. In ''ComicBook/WhereWereYouOnTheNightBatmanWasKilled'', he claims to have killed Batman in a sword duel, and he is good enough that people are willing to give serious consideration to this claim.
161** Ra's al-Ghul has centuries of experience in this, boasting of having fenced in the courts of King Louis XII through XVI, and surviving Cossack dueling circles - right before kicking Bane's ass in a sword fight.
162* ''ComicBook/{{Blade}}'' has his name for a reason: he's an excellent swordsman.
163* [[ComicBook/DaughtersOfTheDragon Colleen Wing]] was trained in the art of the samurai sword by her grandfather.
164* ComicBook/DisneyMouseAndDuckComics examples:
165** Stories set in times where swords are a common weapon [[DependingOnTheWriter usually]] have ''WesternAnimation/DonaldDuck'' as one, capable of slicing the weapons of an entire army with ''one stroke''. Even modern Donald is no slouch but not comparable, as a stroke from his sword slices "only" a dozen or so enemy swords. Anyway, he's always the (relatively) UnskilledButStrong when compared to Mickey (see below)
166** WesternAnimation/MickeyMouse is also portrayed as one, with stories set in modern times establishing him as a hobbyist fencer with Olympic-level skills. Then there's the middle ages and fantasy stories that put him on the same level as middle ages Donald. The culmination was in "Mickey Mouse and the Invincible Sword", where he was so good that he was actually convinced he was wielding an invincible magic sword until the sword's smith explained otherwise (even re-enacting the IAmNotLeftHanded scene from Film/ThePrincessBride, with Mickey as the one who switched hands later), and its sequel "Mickey Mouse and the Sword of Time", where his opponent had an invincible sword that could block all attacks by seeing the future and he ''won by exhaustion'' (the sword made the wielder slim down until he disappeared. His opponent was [[FatBastard Pete]]... And Mickey matched him for hours until Pete realized what the sword was doing him and dropped it in horror). He's the WeakButSkilled compared to Donald, relatively weak but more skilled.
167%%* Cutter from ''Comicbook/ElfQuest''. [[MeaningfulName No, really.]]
168* ComicBook/{{Katana}} in Franchise/TheDCU. In addition to being a master swordswoman, her sword Soultaker can take the souls of those it kills, storing them inside the sword, where they can engage in limited communication with whoever wields it.
169* ''ComicBook/MouseGuard'' features Lieam, a redfur who defeats [[spoiler:an owl]] in single combat.
170* ComicBook/RedSonja's signature weapons are her broadsword and her fury, earning the name She-Devil with a Sword. At one point she meets a swordsman called Osric the Untouched because he's literally never been hit when duelling.
171* Exar Kun of ''ComicBook/TalesOfTheJedi'' is perhaps the greatest lightsaber duelist of the age, and [[TheFightingNarcissist he knows it too]]. He even defeats his master ''twice''. Unfortunately for everyone else, Kun is also very evil and he goes on to kill many Jedi after his astoundingly unsurprising fall to the Dark Side.
172* In ''ComicBook/TheTombOfDracula'' (#49), the Count defeats both Zorro and D'Artagnan with the blade. Given the age of Dracula's birth and the length of his Unlife, it makes sense that he'd be a consummate duelist; as ''Film/GroundhogDay'' showed, practice anything for enough centuries and you'll get really good. Then again, the story does leave us asking OrWasItADream.
173* Nightcrawler from ''Franchise/XMen''. Even in his original run, he was known for his mastery of European fencing, and his prehensile tail (which is as strong as his other limbs) allow him to ''[[DualWielding triple]]'' ''[[DualWielding wield]]'' swords. Combined with his teleportation, he's a LightningBruiser of deadly steel.
174* Don Cabellero, a CaptainErsatz of Literature/{{Zorro}} in Creator/DCComics western titles.
175[[/folder]]
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177[[folder:Fan Works]]
178* ''Fanfic/BloodAndHonor'': Only once does Sanguis meet someone who's nearly her equal in swordsmanship, and that is early in her career. All others - Sith or Jedi, Darths or Masters - are no match for her. She spends most of her free time improving her skills.
179* ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11962940/1/ A Brighter Dark]]'': The very first scene is of [[VideoGame/FireEmblemFates Corrin]] walking into a dungeon, arming three prisoners, and ordering them to try to kill her. At the same time. Naturally, she's able to defeat them all with barely any effort. And she's still no match compared to her brother.
180* ''Fanfic/ChildOfTheStorm''
181** Fandral the Dashing is reckoned as the best swordsman in the Nine Realms - which, considering he's a LightningBruiser even by Asgardian standards, with millennia of experience, makes him utterly lethal in close combat. His only equal, in Asgard at least, is Sif, who's the resident WarGod.
182** Both Fandral and Sif were trained by the Lady Knight, a legendary immortal warrior and unwilling time traveller (as in, she'd suddenly jerk forward several centuries without any choice or warning) who has been a LivingLegend in several lifetimes. When she finally makes her appearance, she demonstrates that her reputation is not in the least overblown by effortlessly destroying a [[ComicBook/BlueBeetle Scarab Warrior]] in a swordfight without a) [[HelmetsAreHardlyHeroic a helmet]], or b) breaking a sweat. Harry, who's watching, is left in awe, comparing her skill to Mozart or the Red Baron, explicitly states that after all this time she's ''still'' better than Sif and Fandral, and hangs on her every word when she's "teaching class."
183** Harry's quickly revealed to have a talent at the age of 13, and in Book II, while being trained by Fandral and to a lesser extent, Sif, is noted to be well on the way to mastery and becomes a textbook MagicKnight. As the Lady Knight (explicitly the best blade in the setting) notes, he has all the natural advantages you could ask for: height, strength, speed, balance, spatial awareness, lethally fast reflexes, NervesOfSteel, and a talent for improvising. His talent is compared to none other than ''[[Series/Merlin2008 Arthur Pendragon]]'' - and he was, by the Lady Knight's extremely high standards, ''brilliant''. By her reckoning, he'd have technical mastery by 17 (human standards) and 30 (Asgardian standards. Given that at the time, at about 15, he's nigh-flawlessly impersonating [[spoiler: Obi-Wan Kenobi]] at the time, well enough to duel ''another'' MasterSwordsman, [[spoiler: Anakin Skywalker]], to a standstill, [[ItMakesSenseInContext which somehow makes sense in context]], you can see her point.
184** Sir Dane Whitman a.k.a. the Black Knight, is as brilliant a swordsman as his canon counterpart. However, he's in his early 20s and is described as being young and a bit excitable, which leaves him vulnerable. Also qualifying are Sir Michael and Sir Sanya, Knights of the Cross.
185* ''Fanfic/DungeonKeeperAmi''
186** [[IronLady Commander]] [[ActionGirl Cathy]], a mercenary hired by [[ADungeonIsYou Keeper]] [[BadPowersGoodPeople Mercury]] to train her troops [[spoiler:and later Mercury herself]].
187** [[spoiler:The Avatar]]. While a lot of his powers come from the stamina and endurance the Light gives him, most of his real power comes down to well-trained reflexes, natural dexterity, experience, and pure skill.
188* As per canon, Yoda, Mace, and Dooku all qualify as this in ''FanFic/StarWarsLineage.'' Obi-Wan also deserves mention: Despite being in his early-mid 20s by the end of the series, he's an AdaptationalBadass and even more of an OneManArmy than in canon, mowing down hordes of zombies and robot tanks and very nearly matching Qui-Gon, a Jedi Master three decades his senior, in ability.
189* ''Fanfic/TheDesertStorm'' has several examples.
190** Ben Naasade a.k.a. Obi-Wan Kenobi from four years after ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith'', temporally displaced to about six years before ''Film/ThePhantomMenace''. Despite his body having been battered by about 15 years of warfare and 4 years of alcoholism (partway through the series he has to have ''practically every organ in his body'' replaced), he effortlessly dismantles pretty much every single Jedi he faces. This is especially after an open challenge is made - beat him in a duel and they get to take his padawan (ironically, his younger self, not that anyone but a few members of the Council is aware of it) to train for a month out of concern for [[TrainingFromHell his methods]]. It gets to the point where in some cases he is noted to literally be [[JustToyingWithThem just toying with them]]. Even [[spoiler: a young Darth Maul]] isn't immune, despite his vast skill and significantly greater physical advantages - Ben ends up ''dismembering'' [[spoiler: Maul]] while making a point ''not'' to kill him. It's only because of some unwanted help that [[spoiler: Maul]] escapes. In the sequel series, Cin Drallig, the Jedi Battlemaster, explains to the family of his Mandalorian Padawan that yes, in terms of pure sabre-skill, he's up there with [[LegendaryInTheSequel Ben Naasade]], but in ''battle'', Ben was something else entirely.
191** Both Yoda and Windu also qualify, with Ben being pretty open about how he's more or less certain that Yoda would destroy him. However, it never comes up as they make a point ''not'' to get involved in the above challenge because they feel it's stupid. Windu is also one of the only people to beat him, albeit in a practice duel when a still unhealthy Ben was trying to draw out his full range of skill.
192** Dooku is noted to be arguably the greatest swordsman in the Order, and it's mentioned that [[OffscreenMomentOfAwesome between stories]] he duelled Ben to demonstrate Makashi to Obi-Wan. Little is said of it other than it was an apparently astonishing combat to witness, and that Dooku is ''not'' listed among the people who have beaten Ben in a straight fight (those two being Jango, who took him hand to hand, and [[spoiler: Ni Hiella, who got up close to him and injected him with happy drugs]]).
193** Obi-Wan the Younger assumes that he's a terrible swordsman, and not a great Padawan in general, due to his master's insistence on a) training in secret, b) repeatedly drilling him in the most basic training form long after people progress past it, c) not focusing on a single style. Also, he has rampant self-esteem issues. As it turns out, Ben was invoking AchievementsInIgnorance, as when Obi-Wan actually gets in a practice duel he finds to his own surprise that he's capable of flattening Senior Padawans with most of a decade of growth and experience on him. And as he points out, while the most basic training form is one most people move past, it's also the basis for all other sabre combat and it's much less predictable when used by a Master. Later on in the series, he is considered arguably the best swordsman of any Padawan in the Order, and better than most of the younger Knights. By the second series, ''Rise and Fall'', he's [[spoiler: canonised the new Eighth form of sabre combat, Daosaan, 'the Dancing Form', designed for multiple Jedi]] and is generally considered to be one of the very best in the Order.
194* ''Fanfic/MariaCampbellOfTheAstralClocktower'':
195** Maria herself, due to being a reincarnate from ''VideoGame/{{Bloodborne}}''. She uses an aggressive DualWielding acrobatic style that overwhelms everyone she fights. When Alan finally gets a chance to see her fight, he and the king have a discussion about how she could possibly be so skilled and actually come close to guessing that she's a reincarnate.
196** Katarina, surprisingly. When she regained her past life memories when she was eight, she realized there was a strong possibility of being murdered by a sword in ten years. So she has spent every day since then diligently training in the sword. Her skills are utterly basic but also absolutely ''perfect''; her defense is unbreakable, and even though she is terrible at attacking, her counterattacks are swift and uncompromising. Even Maria is impressed with her skills.
197* ''Fanfic/TheNightUnfurls'':
198** [[HeroesPreferSwords All five]] [[HunterOfMonsters hunters]] in the story use [[MixAndMatchWeapon trick]] weapons that either resemble a sword, or have a sword mode, and they can certainly hack through any foe like a knife cutting through butter.
199** Due to his proficiency with the [[{{BFS}} greatsword]], Vault is regarded as a hero of Eostia, famed for repulsing the enemies from Eostia's borders numerous times during the ForeverWar between Celestine and Olga. His skill is best showcased in Chapter 3 of the remastered version, where he is able to trade blows with [[LightningBruiser Kyril]]. It says a lot when [[StrongAndSkilled Kyril]], after said duel, admits that a normal warrior would have trouble fighting Vault, prey worthy of hunting.
200** Three out of the Seven Shields count as this. Both Claudia and Alicia [[AsskickingLeadsToLeadership earn their prestiges through their skill with the sword]], while the DualWielding Maia is known as one of the strongest mercenaries in Eostia.
201** Several knights of the nobility, like Sir Mikhail Pantielle and Grave Levantine, are this by reputation only.
202* ''Film/TheSchoolForGoodAndEvil2022'' fanfic ''Fanfic/NotAPrince'': Lesso is revealed to be an expert at sword fighting and even hides one in her cane.
203* In ''Fanfic/TheMythOfLinkAndZeldaSurvivorsOfTheCalamity'', Link has all of his skills from ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'', and due to an AgeLift also has a couple decades more experience as a fighter. Indeed, his official title is “Master.”
204* In ''FanFic/TheWeaverOption'' Lelith Hesperax, already a master swordsman in the [[TabletopGame/Warhammer40000 source material]], is given a massive upgrade in skill due to her [[ExpansionPackPast new backstory]]. Rather than just a skilled wych thousands of years old, she is now the last surviving Aeldari from the time of the War in Heaven who has mastered swordsmanship to such a degree that she can [[RealityWarper warp space with just a slice of her blade]].
205[[/folder]]
206
207[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
208* In ''Film/TheAdventureOfSherlockHolmesSmarterBrother'', Sigerson (Creator/GeneWilder) and Prof. Moriarty (Leo [=McKern=]) boast to each other about their swordsmanship and have a duel on a high ledge in the climax. Wilder, who also wrote and directed the movie, was a champion fencer in college at the University of Iowa, making him a real-life example of this trope.
209* Blade in the ''Film/{{Blade}}'' film series slices and dices vampires with a silver sword.
210* ''Film/BlindFury'': The hero is a BlindWeaponmaster who wields a sword hidden in his cane in 1980s America. The character is an obvious {{Expy}} of Zatoichi.
211* ''Film/{{Braveheart}}'': William Wallace occasionally uses other weapons, but he always goes into war with his signature claymore and never loses a fight with it in his hand.
212* ''Film/ByTheSword'' is centered on a conflict between two fencing masters.
213* In ''Film/CaptainKronosVampireHunter'', Kronos himself and Lord Hagen Durward (whose tombstone proclaims him the finest swordsman of his day). Unsurprisingly, the film ends with a duel between the two.
214* ''Film/ConanTheBarbarian1982'' was trained for gladiatorial combat and fights with his famous Atlantean sword.
215* The eponymous ''Film/CruzDiablo''. [[spoiler: He's only defeated after he's shot in the back while running away]].
216* Danielle de Barbarac of ''Film/EverAfter'' claims that her deceased father was an expert swordsman and taught her to be likewise. Given that her father died when she was eight years old, however, it's entirely likely that she's bluffing.
217* Lancelot in ''Film/{{Excalibur}}'' is the best fighter of Arthur's round table.
218* Maximus in ''Film/{{Gladiator}}'' uses his gladius to good effect.
219* Nameless and Broken Sword in ''Film/Hero2002'' are China's deadliest swordsmen.
220* Most of the immortals in ''Franchise/{{Highlander}}'' have centuries of swordfighting experience.
221* ''Film/TheHobbit'': The Elvenking Thranduil is extremely proficient with a sword (or two). When he's surrounded by a few dozen orcs inside Dale, he slays them all while DualWielding.
222* In the ''Film/JamesBond'' film ''Film/DieAnotherDay'', there's an intense sword duel scene between Gustav Graves and 007. Both Bond and Graves display mastery with a wide range of swords they grab from the walls of the complex, including rapiers, katana, and longswords. Likewise, Miranda Frost is a former gold medal (by default) Olympic fencer and uses a sword during a climactic fight.
223* Many characters from ''Film/KillBill'', especially the Bride, Bill, and O-Ren Ishi. The Bride uses her [[CoolSword Hattori Hanzo sword]], and of course every swordsman uses a {{katana|sAreJustBetter}}.
224* Aragorn in ''Film/TheLordOfTheRings'' trilogy fights with his ancestral sword of kings and kicks ass.
225* ''Film/MastersOfTheUniverse'': He-Man and the antagonist Blade are badasses with swords.
226* Most of the characters in ''Franchise/PiratesOfTheCaribbean'' are all accomplished swordsmen. The creators ranked the swordsmen in the following order: Will is the greatest[[note]]He's also the one who remarks that he practices [swordfighting] four hours a day - and that's while he's keeping up a job as a blacksmith.[[/note]], followed by Barbossa and Norrington tied for second. Jack is the least of the four, but he is enough of a trickster to match blades with any one of the aforementioned.
227* ''Film/ThePrincessBride'' features ''two'' master swordsmen in the Man in Black and Inigo Montoya, who have a memorable duel. The film also name-drops a number of historical fencing masters during their duel, while they're commentating on (and complimenting) each other's skills.
228* PlayedForLaughs with the Arab Swordsman from ''Film/RaidersOfTheLostArk''. He's got some sweet moves with his SinisterScimitar, but [[NeverBringAKnifeToAGunFight he's no match for Indy's pistol]].
229* [[Creator/TimRoth Archibald Cunningham]] in ''Film/RobRoy'' is a master swordsman with sadistic tendencies. He spends most of the final SwordFight toying with Rob Roy, dancing around him and bleeding him slowly until he's collapsing from fatigue.
230* The "Samurai Trilogy" from Japan, starring Creator/ToshiroMifune, is loosely based on RealLife badass swordsman UsefulNotes/MiyamotoMusashi. In the first installment ''Film/SamuraiIMusashiMiyamoto'', he's shown to be innately talented from the beginning, fending off a half-dozen bandits all by himself.
231* Kyuuzou and Kambei from ''Film/SevenSamurai'' are the best swordsmen of the seven, slaying many bandits.
232* ''Film/StarTrek2009'': Sulu announces that his close-quarters fighting experience is fencing, which causes Kirk some concern until Sulu starts wrecking Romulans with a fold-out saber.
233* ''Franchise/StarWars'':
234** The Prequel Trilogy:
235*** Qui-Gon Jinn displays quite a lot of skill, and is noted as a great swordsman, but Darth Maul is better, and Maul fights Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan Kenobi to a standstill at the same time - though Obi-Wan manages to cut him in half.
236*** Obi-Wan manages to hold his own against General Grievous though must ultimately kill him with a blaster. Later he matches the newly minted Darth Vader blow for blow despite being very reluctant to fight and finally defeats him by assuming the high ground.
237*** Yoda also reveals himself to be an incredible swordsman despite appearing to be decrepit in the original trilogy. However, Darth Sidious (who earlier in the film defeated ''three'' Jedi Masters single-handedly) fights Yoda to a standstill. Sidious himself meets his match in Mace Windu, who manages to defeat him when no other Jedi can.
238*** In episode II, Dooku easily handles both Obi-Wan and Anakin. However, in episode III, after Dooku incapacitates Obi-Wan (and is forced to use the Force to do it since Obi-Wan could match him with a saber), Anakin easily overpowers him.
239*** Anakin/Vader is an example in his own right, developing from a talented but raw swordsman who gets his hand lopped off by Dooku in Episode II to demolishing Dooku in Episode III with sheer power. While he was defeated, dismembered, and burned by Obi-Wan, Anakin manages to kill many Jedi that survived the purge. In his final duel with Obi-Wan in Episode IV, Vader manages to defeat Obi-Wan, though Obi-Wan isn't exactly in peak form and essentially throws the fight in the end.
240** The Sequel Trilogy: Luke delivers a CurbStompBattle to Kylo Ren in ''Film/TheLastJedi'', dancing around him effortlessly without even landing a blow, although it's PlayedWith with the revelation that [[spoiler:Luke was using AstralProjection the whole time]], technically rendering the whole thing moot. Kylo is himself deadly with a lightsaber, taking on [[spoiler:all of the Knights of Ren]] singlehandedly. Rey is also no slouch, as she quickly adapts to the lightsaber to defeat the wounded Kylo in ''Film/TheForceAwakens'', tag-teams Snoke's imperial guards with Kylo in ''Film/TheLastJedi'', and displays roughly comparable skills to Kylo during their duel in ''Film/TheRiseOfSkywalker''.
241* Both [[VillainProtagonist Ryunosuke Tsukue]] and Toranosuke Shimada in ''Film/TheSwordOfDoom'' are the best swordsmen around, easily cutting down scores of other swordsmen.
242* Hirayama Kujuro, Shimada Shinzaemon, Kuranaga Saheita, and Kitou Hanbei from ''Film/ThirteenAssassins'' are the most skilled assassins of the thirteen.
243* ''Film/WhenTheLastSwordIsDrawn'': Protagonist Yoshimura Kanichiro was a dojo instructor in Nambu, and though only a poor samurai from the northern backcountry, he's able to hold his own when a drunken [[UsefulNotes/TheShinsengumi Saitō Hajime]] draws on him outside a bar despite having a few drinks in him himself. [[spoiler:Late in the film, he singlehandedly attacks a company-strength unit of the Imperial Army with only his katana and wakizashi, and actually survives long enough to make it back to Nambu before succumbing to his injuries the following night.]]
244* Madmartigan in ''Film/{{Willow}}'' styles himself the world's greatest swordsman and makes a strong claim.
245* Azazel from ''Film/XMenFirstClass''. Add the teleporting, and it's a deadly combination.
246* Sanjuro from ''Film/{{Yojimbo}}'' and ''Film/{{Sanjuro}}'' is a badass ronin.
247* Ichi, from ''Franchise/{{Zatoichi}}'' (and the [[Film/Zatoichi2003 2003 film]]), is one of the {{Trope Codifier}}s for BlindWeaponmaster and HandicappedBadass.
248* ''DerivativeWorks/{{Zorro}}'' is a master swordsman in all his incarnations and movies. It's helped in both the [[Film/TheMarkOfZorro1920 1920]] and [[Film/TheMarkOfZorro1940 1940]] versions of ''The Mark of Zorro'', where he's played by Creator/DouglasFairbanks and Tyrone Power, respectively, both of whom were expert fencers.
249[[/folder]]
250
251[[folder:Gamebooks]]
252* ''Literature/DemonsOfTheDeep'': the fencing instructor Cyrano, at a Skill of 11, is just one point shy of the maximum Skill a character can normally have. But where this master swordsman really shines is in teaching. Even if you are at the maximum Skill of 12, he's capable of instructing even a master of the sword and can increase you into superhuman levels.
253* ''Literature/LoneWolf'': Lone Wolf can be a master swordsman if he chooses the Weaponskill ability and picks the sword as one of the 3 weapon choices. The Weaponskill ability will later on evolve into the Weaponmastery and Grand Weaponmastery skill (these two skills in turn evolve as you go on to new books).
254* ''Literature/WayOfTheTiger'': While your character barely knows which way to hold a sword, his ArchEnemy Honoric is perhaps the greatest swordsman in the world. In his position of Marshal of the Legion of the Sword of Doom, he trains by fighting 40 of his warriors at once with a normal sword and drives them off. For him, this is a light workout before breakfast.
255* ''Literature/WizardsWarriorsAndYou'': the Warrior is both a MultiMeleeMaster and MultiRangedMaster, he's believed to be perhaps the WorldsGreatestWarrior. But his favourite weapons are swords.
256[[/folder]]
257
258[[folder:Literature]]
259* Lancelot from Arthurian myth, including literature such as ''Literature/LeMorteDarthur'' and ''Literature/TheOnceAndFutureKing'', is the greatest knight in the realm.
260* Played with extensively in ''Literature/TheBaroqueCycle''. The Earl Of Upnor is generally regarded as the finest swordsman in England, but the book and characters within it point out that what that actually means is that he's a rich psychopath who endlessly starts duels with men who don't have the faintest chance of even scratching him, essentially just ForTheEvulz but sometimes in service to his friends' political agendas. Bob Shaftoe, who has survived battlefield after battlefield but has no real skill with his sword at all, trains up to try and fight Upnor, who has kidnapped Bob's fiancee, and is very definitely about to be killed by Upnor when [[spoiler: one of his friends shows up with a long pole and unceremoniously beats Upnor to death with it, lecturing Bob all the while on the stupidity of expecting to win a fair fight with the man.]] A relieved Bob announces he will memorialize the moment; "Here lies the finest swordsman in England, [[spoiler: beaten to death in a boggy field by an Irishman with a stick.]]"
261* ''Literature/BazilBroketail'': Bazil is easily the best sword fighter in the whole series, widely known for his many victories over mighty foes like the Doom of Tummuz Orgmeen, Malacostracan Gammadion, and even the [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu Dominator]]. Some other named battle dragons like Alsebra or Burthong are particularly skilled with a sword as well.
262* ''Literature/BestServedCold'': The effete General Ganmark seems to be a "lead from the rear" type, but it turns out that he's one of the best swordsmen in the world, holding off both Monza and Cosca at the same time.
263* Telemachon in ''Literature/BlackLegion'' is acknowledged as a genius swordsman even by people who hate him. He's capable of holding back a powerful Khornate daemon, literally born of swordsmen's thoughts, with his two swords, and as Khayon puts it, if one can master DualWielding as practical art and not theatrics[[note]]Incredibly difficult feat in RealLife[[/note]], he certainly qualifies for such title.
264* There are a lot of skilled swordsmen in ''Literature/TheBrotherhoodOfTheBlackFlag'', but Michael [=McNamara=] and Captain Stephen Reynard definitely count as worthy of this trope. According to WordOfGod, Dona Catalina would be as well if she'd had the same level of training and experience -- and she's still quite formidable with a blade.
265* Benedict in ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfAmber''. Most of the male members of the Royal Family of Amber are experts with a sword, but Benedict is universally acknowledged as being the greatest among them.
266* ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfDorsa'': Joslyn is a mizana, the term for a female sword-master. She learned the art from her Ku-sai (teacher), another example, after going through intense initiation. Throughout the books she's doubtless the best sword fighter, with such feats as beating multiple opponents at once.
267* This is one of the things about Commissar Literature/CiaphasCain that makes one stop and wonder just how fair he's being to himself in insisting he's no hero. He's explicitly said to be very good at it, and all kinds of inhuman monstrosities and {{Super Soldier}}s have found their rampage stopped by one (usually secretly terrified) human officer wielding a chain sword who just won't die. The books acknowledge, in a roundabout way, that Cain [[TabletopGame/Warhammer40000 in the tabletop game]] would be considered a Commissar Lord, a unit that has better ability in melee combat than a genetically modified super-soldier. Cain proves this in the book in question twice over by holding off two Chaos Space Marines of Khorne, unstoppable juggernauts incapable of feeling anything other than pure rage.
268* ''Literature/CodexAlera'' has several characters noted for their sword skills. It's unusual in that much of this skill comes from [[ExtraOredinary metalcrafting]], magical abilities that can massively increase their focus, endurance, and pain resistance, as well as allow them to sense metal and strike with remarkable speed and force. Although (almost) everyone has Furycrafting abilities, anyone who doesn't have tremendous metalcrafting skill has no chance against someone who does in a sword fight. Since most of the [[RankScalesWithAsskicking high lords]] are excellent metalcrafters, stone knives are favored for assassination attempts.
269** The best of them is almost certainly Araris Valerian, whose abilities are advanced enough [[spoiler: that he can transform his skin into metal, something only one other character seems to be able to do]].
270** [[NobleDemon Aldrick ex Gladius]] and [[DarkActionGirl Phrygiar Navaris]] are both only ''just'' below Araris in terms of skill, and are similarly famous for their abilities.
271** Sir Miles is also up there; before his leg got crippled, he was just below Aldrick (his crippled leg is thanks to [[spoiler:his brother Araris pushing him in front of a cart so that Miles wouldn't be killed by Aldrick]]). [[spoiler: Tavi]] is also pretty good after training from [[spoiler:Araris]], being able to kill [[PsychoForHire Phrygiar Navaris]], although [[BreakingSpeech that was largely through his words]] rather than his skill with a blade.
272** The duel that took place between Aldrick ex Gladius and Araris Valerian prior to the first novel took them all around the city and lasted for several DAYS (with the help of their metalcrafting). It is continuously cited as the greatest contest of skill ever seen in Alera, although [[BerserkButton Aldrick does not share that sentiment.]]
273** Princeps Gaius Septimus may in fact be the only person to equal Araris Valerian, it's ambiguous whether Septimus is the most skilled swordsman to have lived or that Araris deliberately underplayed his abilities when sparring with the Princeps to give this illusion.
274* ''Literature/CradleSeries'':
275** Adama, the Sword Sage, was widely considered the greatest swordsman in the world -- and since this is a world where ''weak'' swordsmen can parry arrows and cut boulders in half, that's really saying something. He died before we meet him, but his disciple Yerin is a main character, and she repeatedly punches above her weight class by sheer dint of the sword skills he taught her.
276** Min Shuei, Sage of the Frozen Blade school, is the other Sword Sage, using a combination of Sword and Cold [[{{Mana}} madra]] rather than the pure Sword madra Adama used. She was also engaged to him, but he delayed their marriage until Yerin finished her training. Since he died during that training, Min Shuei is rather upset, but still considers Yerin an estranged daughter.
277* In RA Salvatore's ''Literature/TheDarkElfTrilogy'', the drow ranger Drizzt Do'Urden is one of the greatest swordsmen in the TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms, famously DualWielding scimitars. His primary disadvantage is that he is small and, while in excellent shape, not as strong as, say, an orc king or an ogre warrior. He starts training at sixteen; in most of the novels, he's around seventy or eighty, but for a dark elf that's still young. Drizzt not only had natural talent but also received personal training from his father Zaknafein, who was himself a Master Swordsman and the deadliest weapon master Menzoberranzen had ever produced.
278* In ''Literature/DesolateEra'', the most powerful swordfighters are Sword Immortals. Although many immortal practitioners use a sword, a small number actually study and comprehend the Dao of the Sword. Of those that comprehend some of it, one character notes that no one in the entire world has fully comprehended it. In particular, one Sword Immortal, Immortal Northwalker, was so strong that he single-handedly fought against a supreme clan and won. [[RenownedSelectiveMentor Immortal Diancai]], the one Sword Immortal currently in the Black-White College, had stated that he will only take as a disciple one that can commune with the sword-intent of Immortal Northwalker, which members of the College had taken to mean that Diancai would never take a disciple.
279* ''Literature/TheDinosaurLords'': The two most notable in the series are Voyvod (later Duke) Karyl Borgomirsky and Count (later Prince) Jaume Llobregat. In Jaume's case, there's no better swordman in the country of Nuevaropa and uniquely among Dinosaur Knights in mounted combat, Jaume not only still favors a sword but can put each attack in whatever target he aims at despite the incredible jostling of the dinosaur mount (most mounted Dinosaur Knights instead favor mauls or long-hafted maces to knock over enemies from their mounts). Karyl is so amazing a swordsman that he was able to go toe to toe with the superhuman Grey Angel Raguel, despite the being's inhuman size and speed, he even cuts off one of Raguel's hands before tiring out.
280* ''Literature/DragonBones'': Stala is a master swordswoman, who surpasses men much taller and stronger than she, and is therefore the trainer and head of the guard of Hurog. Her pupils Ward and Tosten, at one point in the story, show off their prowess by fighting each other with their eyes closed. The more mature adults in the group are not amused, but it ends well, proving how good both of them are.
281* Orson Gregory in ''Literature/TheDreamsideRoad'' is well known for besting the leader of city-destroying Thunderworks “blade-to-blade”. He displays his swordsmanship at the end of the Wintertide Festival arc when he battles Master Nine and his ExtraOreDinary abilities. Orson has a whole arsenal, but his swordsmanship keeps [[spoiler:Tucker]] on the ropes the entire fight.
282* ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'' by Creator/JimButcher:
283** Shiro, Knight of the Cross is only around for a single book, but in that book, we see him as being a swordsman without mortal peer. In the space of a second and a half, he kills two mooks and holds a fallen angel hostage. He is so skilled that Nicodemus, a [[TimeAbyss two-thousand-year-old]] {{Nigh Invulnerab|ility}}le villain possessed by a FallenAngel, who has killed over a hundred Knights of the Cross, is scared of him. As Michael put it, "Shiro knew fencing like Mozart knew music".
284** Michael himself is no slouch, being quite literally the only other person who Nicodemus regards as even being a decent sparring partner. And it turns out that Nicodemus was understating it - [[spoiler: all those times they fought, Michael was holding back, because the job of the Knights is to try and ''save'' those possessed by the Fallen, even if they're clearly collaborating - or quite possibly in charge, in the case of Nicodemus. When in ''Skin Game'' Nicodemus finally outright rejected Michael's plea to give up the coin and try and redeem himself, Michael went all out, and very nearly killed him, with Nicodemus only saving himself through 'sheer nerve' - he uses the Holy Grail as a shield.]]
285* ''Franchise/{{Dune}}'': The planet Ginaz is famed for training the best swordsmen in existence.
286** The most famous of the Ginaz swordsmen is Jool Noret, the first true Swordmaster. His skill with a blade was so great that no man or machine could kill him. Only a massive tidal wave finally ended him.
287** Duncan Idaho, a Ginaz-trained swordsman, bodyguard, and fencing teacher who is entrusted with protecting and tutoring Paul.
288** Gurney Halleck (who notably is ''not'' Ginaz-trained), is also a master by any standard, perhaps even moreso than Duncan. While public perception is that Duncan is clearly better (if not ''much'' better), Duncan states that Gurney beats him six times out of ten when they spar.
289* ''Literature/ElsabethSoesten'' and Brother Hieronymus both are highly skilled with the sword, the former preferring the longsword, while Hieronymus prefers the sword and buckler. UsefulNotes/EuropeanSwordsmanship is a major influence.
290* Many characters in Creator/SMStirling's Literature/{{Emberverse}}, notably Mike Havel, Norman Arminger, Pam Arnstein, Astrid Larsson, and Tiphaine d'Ath. Rudi Mackenzie and Mathilda Arminger began training with swords in adulthood, and frequently comment on how ''scarily'' competent the "kids", who are in their early twenties but have trained since childhood, are.
291* In ''Literature/TheFiresStone'', Darvish is wickedly talented with a blade, but his alcoholism interferes with it. Keeping himself occupied with it actually helps him stay sober.
292* In ''Literature/ForgingDivinity'', Taelien is a MagicKnight with sufficient swordsmanship abilities to stomp any ordinary swordsman he comes across -- or even several at once. He meets his match in [[spoiler: Myros, the local god of battle.]]
293* In ''Literature/GrentsFall'', both King Osbert and [[spoiler: the Bladecleaver]]. [[CoolVersusAwesome Naturally, they wind up dueling each other.]]
294* In Creator/DavidWeber's ''Literature/HonorHarrington'' ''Flag in Exile'', Steadholder Burdette was ranked among the top fifty swordsmen on Grayson. Unfortunately for him, he discovers the hard way that tournament rankings don't translate to skills in life-or-death battles, as it doesn't really engage the "kill or be killed" mindset.
295* Murtagh, Arya, and Oromis in ''Literature/TheInheritanceCycle'' qualify as this. Eragon runs into a problem in the last two books when he realizes that, while very good, he's still well below their level, and needs to make some serious improvements to his technique for when he needs to go blade-to-blade with opponents on this level. [[spoiler: Even at the end of the series, after making his improvements, he grudgingly admits that Murtagh is still better.]]
296* Mellar from ''Literature/{{Jhereg}}'' was so skilled at swordsmanship that he successfully fought his way into the House of the Dzur: a task that required him to defeat ''seventeen'' of that battle-loving House's best warriors in one-on-one duels.
297* Literature/JohnCarterOfMars, the greatest swordsman of two worlds, at least. He's not the only one, though, what with swordsmanship being an incredibly prized skill among the Martian races, almost all of whom are varying degrees of {{Proud Warrior Race|Guy}}. In particular, Carter complements the [[PathOfInspiration Therns]] for their swordsmanship (though it's the ''only'' thing he finds praiseworthy about [[AlwaysChaoticEvil them]]), and the Okar (Yellow Martian) elite guard Solan gives Carter a serious run for his money in the third book.
298* Alan Breck Stewart in Stevenson's ''Literature/{{Kidnapped}}''.
299* ''Literature/KnavesOnWaves'' has Captain Jacques Beaufort, widely regarded as the greatest swordsman alive. The only other contender is Captain Hargrave, and the promise of a duel between them is one of the biggest events the Empire has ever seen.
300* In ''Literature/TheLockedTomb'', Gideon is described as the best swordswoman the Ninth has ever produced, and it's no idle boast. Despite spending most of her life training with a two-hander and only having a few months to learn rapier, she easily keeps pace with and defeats opponents who were born to it. In a series full of proficient swordsmen, some of whom have spent over 10,000 years honing their craft, none of them match Gideon, and most need a significant handicap on her part (using an unfamiliar weapon, [[spoiler:being stuck in Harrow's emaciated body]]) just to survive a fight with her.
301* ''Literature/{{Lyonesse}}'': Aillas doesn't come across as someone who's even interested in fighting, but when he encounters a legendary outlaw and swordsman sent to murder him, he [[SuddenlyAlwaysKnewThat suddenly reveals]] that he's just about the best swordsman in the land. A character who witnesses the duel warns her family that "he's a demon with a sword!"
302* The ''Literature/MalazanBookOfTheFallen'', due to having a large cast, has [[WorldOfBadass quite]] a few examples:
303** The Seguleh are [[PlanetOfHats a whole race of these]]; their culture focuses on swordsmanship to the exclusion of all else, to the extent that they're ranked according to their sword skill, and as such are regarded as some of the deadliest hand-to-hand combatants in the whole WorldOfBadass. In ''Literature/MemoriesOfIce'', the Seguleh send a Punitive Army to the Pannion Domin, which consists of... three Seguleh warriors, and one of them, Senu, is [[ImprobableAge fourteen years old]]. They are confident that three Seguleh swordsmen are enough to kick the Pannion Seer's army in the butt.
304** Icarium Lifestealer is FamedInStory, though unfortunately [[PersonOfMassDestruction not for his sword skills]]. But secretly, he is very capable with both his [[KatanasAreJustBetter sword]] and his [[BowAndSwordInAccord bow]], and can take on BarbarianHero Karsa Orlong with no problem, provided he can [[UnstoppableRage stay calm long enough]].
305** Whiskeyjack is considered the best swordsman in the [[EliteArmy Bridgeburners]] and it is heavily implied that, at the end of ''Literature/MemoriesOfIce'', he would have won his duel against [[spoiler:the millennia-old High King Kallor]] had his leg not been injured.
306** Dassem Ultor used to be the First Sword of the Malazan Empire, a title equivalent to WorldsBestWarrior for the Malazans, putting him as the highest-ranked commander of the Malazan armies. He was so competent with his sword, in fact, that the [[DemBones T'lan]] [[AllCavemenWereNeanderthals Imass]] decided he deserved the ''original'' title of First Sword, which was theirs, and transferred it to him despite him being a mortal human.
307** High King Kallor is one hundred thousand years old, looks like one hundred, lugs a [[{{BFS}} huge bastard sword]] around, and is rumored to have never been defeated. However, Caladan Brood notes that this is at least partly because Kallor picks his opponents well.
308** Brys Beddict is considered the best swordsman in the Kingdom of Lether and has, by the time he is introduced in ''Literature/MidnightTides'', just recently been raised to the position of the King's Champion and personal bodyguard based on his skill and despite his unfortunate family connections. At the end of the book, he duels [[spoiler:Rhulad Sengar]] and wins despite his opponent's ArtifactOfDoom sword which enhances his abilities. Not only does Brys win, he -- while fighting -- devises a plan on how to [[spoiler:prevent Rhulad from dying and being resurrected]] by surgically targeting his opponent's tendons with his sword.
309** Anomander Rake is the WarriorPrince of the Tiste Andii and their best swordsman as well. Despite not being a Seguleh, he holds the rank of Seventh in their society after taking an afternoon stroll on their island and ending up having to fight his way off it because all the Seguleh wanted to test their skills on him. It is heavily implied that he could have gained a higher rank had he not gotten annoyed and [[MagicKnight teleported himself away]]. He is also the only living being capable of wielding the [[ForgedByTheGods forged by the Elder God Draconus]] {{BFS}} [[NamedWeapons Dragnipur]] that [[YourSoulIsMine consumes souls]].
310** Silchas Ruin, Anomander Rake's youngest brother, prefers to fight with [[DualWielding two swords]], ''Sarat Wept'' and ''Glory Goat'', but is a CombatPragmatist despite their funny names, and inclined to just kill his opponents at the first chance. Udinaas claims that if the Emperor of Lether knew who Silchas Ruin was, he would send ten thousand warriors after him.
311** Spinnock Durav is known as being an exceptionally good swordsman, one whom Anomander Rake considers his best weapon. Good enough, in fact, to [[NoodleIncident send him to hunt a dragon]]. On his scouting mission to the continent of Assail, he fought his way through hordes of its inhabitants just to be able to leave it again.
312** Nimander, Anomander Rake's son, is not even aware of how good he is with the sword, because [[TheSoCalledCoward he's used to thinking of himself as a coward]], but he -- and his entire group of Tiste Andii, in fact -- have been responsible for defending the Throne of Shadow, and in ''Literature/TollTheHounds'', he and his followers defend against [[ZombieApocalypse the Dying God's saemankelyk addicts]] without breaking a sweat.
313** Fear Sengar becomes his tribe's Weapons Master based on his skill with the sword and, at the start of ''Literature/MidnightTides'', he is said to have won the most trophies among his tribe in the Unification Wars (and since wars among the Tiste Edur are highly ritualised, skill ''does'' matter more than in any other given war).
314** Onos T'oolan used to be the [[WorldsBestWarrior First Sword]] of the [[TheUndead T'lan Imass]] before the title was transferred to Dassem Ultor. That changed nothing about his sword skills, though, and he is still able to fight off all three members of the Seguleh Punitive Army in ''Literature/MemoriesOfIce'', though not all at once. When he [[spoiler:becomes mortal again and marries into the Barghast White Faces]], he becomes clan leader based on his martial prowess.
315** Lorn is a superlative swordswoman who uses her AntiMagic otataral sword to defeat powerful foes who would otherwise rely on magic to augment their skills. However, she's completely flabbergasted when fighting a random soldier in the Crimson Guard, [[BadassBystander Corporal Blues]], and discovers that he's more than her match without any aid of sorcery.
316* In ''Literature/MenOfTheMossHags'' and its sequel ''Literature/{{Lochinvar}}'', Jack Scarlet and his pupil Wat Gordon are superlative swordsmen.
317* In the ''Literature/ModestyBlaise'' novel ''A Taste for Death'', one of the under-villains, Wenczel, is an egotistical master fencer who spends all his spare time practicing. Modesty goads him into a duel as part of her escape plan. She's not as good as him at handling a sword, but she wins by out-thinking him, and partly because he out-thinks himself (he makes things easier for her by deciding he'll show off by killing her with a single thrust through the heart, which makes him predictable and leads him to pass up opportunities to disable her less elegantly).
318* ''Literature/PercyJacksonAndTheOlympians'': Percy Jackson is said to be one of the best swordsmen in the past few hundred years. He's survived fights with four Titans, beat Ares at the age of 12 (admittedly, it was only a flesh wound, but still), and carves his way through the Roman Twelfth Legion during war games.
319-->'''Frank:''' Can you hold them off?\
320'''Percy:''' [[BlaseBoast A small army? No problem.]]
321* In ''Literature/ThePrincessBride'', Inigo spends many years trying to become a Master Swordsman. When he's finished his training, he's actually graduated to the even higher level of "Wizard." Even still, the Man in Black defeats him.
322* ''Literature/{{Redwall}}'': Anybody who wields the Sword of Martin especially counts, including Matthias, who wields the sword in battle. Matthias notably used it to kill Asmodeus the Snake when he tried to hypnotize him.
323* ''Literature/TheRiftwarCycle'' has several. Among them, Prince Arutha in the early books is well-known for his skill with the rapier; in the later books, Talwin Hawkins and his son Tyrone are both declared Champions of the Masters' Court (that is, winners of worldwide swordfighting tournaments).
324* ''Literature/TheRiseAndFallOfDODO'': The badass career soldier Tristan realizes that if he's going to survive his trips in time to Elizabethan England, he'd better learn how to properly sword fight. When he runs into a group of historical fencing enthusiasts in the park, he recruits one, [[BadassBookworm Mortimer]], to train him. With Mortimer's tutelage, Tristan becomes quite the swordsman.
325* ''Literature/TheRisingOfTheShieldHero'':
326** Eclair Seatto is the best swordswoman in Melromarc, who, when recruited to train the Cardinal Heroes on how to use their swords properly easily defeats them in sparring in spite of her vastly inferior stats.
327** {{Subverted}} with Ren, the Sword Hero, who mostly gets by the raw power of his Cardinal Weapon - and gets schooled by Eclair both in training and [[spoiler:when insane due the effects of the Curse Series]]. He initially doesn't care, as he still does his job against monsters and the Waves of Destruction.
328* Michael Cheung in ''Literature/RiversOfLondon'' is a Legendary Swordsman -- it says so on his business card. According to Nightingale, Michael's magical ImplausibleFencingPowers have been the trademark of Chinatown's defenders for generations, but the postmodern bit with the business card is new. [[spoiler: He's also training Constable Guleed]].
329* ''Literature/SecondApocalypse'':
330** Kellhus, being Dunyain, has been conditioned from birth to be nigh-superhuman. As a result, he has superlative skill in swordsmanship. He can defeat large groups of lesser opponents with computer-like precision and is able to best even the greatest swordsman of his age.
331** Cnaiur is the greatest warrior of the Skylvendi, a ProudWarriorRace. In addition to being TheBerserker who fights with UnstoppableRage, he is also a skilled tactician, allowing him to lead armies as well as overwhelm every opponent save Kellhus himself in personal combat with a sword. In one particular battle, he fights as a OneManArmy, daring the enemy to kill him and stop the horror of his wrath as he slaughters untold numbers of their soldiers.
332* There is an ancient order of Mantids in ''Literature/ShadowsOfTheApt'' known as the [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Weaponsmasters]]. While many of them prefer the [[ImprobableWeaponUser Claw]] (an ElegantWeaponForAMoreCivilizedAge), there're a good number of rapier specialists -- including [[spoiler:Tynisa]], by the end of the second book.
333* In ''Literature/ShadowOfTheConqueror,'' Daylen was always a passionate duelist, and attained the highest possible rank -- Grand High Master of the Sword, signifying that he's among the top fifty or so swordsmen in his world. His abilities atrophied a bit in old age with the weakening of his body, but his [[FountainOfYouth newfound youth]] brings them back to their peak. What startles him is that ''[[CombatMedic Ahrek]]'' also attained the same rank, with the golden mark to prove it.
334* In XVII century Poland, fencing was an important skill, so it comes to reason that most (male) characters in ''Literature/SienkiewiczTrilogy'' are at least decent at it. But Michał Wołodyjowski is repeatedly stated and shown to be cream of the crop. If you duel him, PlotArmour is the only thing that can save you.
335* Hiro in ''Literature/SnowCrash''. Says so right on his business card. The claim seems dubious at first. His success in VR seems to come from the fact that he wrote the swordfighting code himself. In the real world, however, he proves to be just about as good as he claims he is.
336* Many knights and some other characters are noted as such in ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'':
337** [[PosthumousCharacter Ser Arthur Dayne]] is generally remembered as the quintessential "greatest swordsman," aided no doubt by his ThunderboltIron sword Dawn. Jaime Lannister tells Ser Loras Tyrell, "I served with Ser Arthur Dayne, the Sword of the Morning, who could have slain [all six of the other current Kingsguard] with his left hand while taking a piss with his right."
338** Jaime Lannister himself is famed as possibly the best swordsman in Westeros in his prime. However, he may ultimately be a deconstruction of the idea, [[spoiler:due to losing his sword hand and consequently undergoing an identity crisis, as so much of his life and personality revolved around his skill in battle he doesn't know how to cope without it.]]
339** Syrio Forel is the former First Sword of Braavos, a culture that takes its fencing very seriously. He kills several armed and armored guardsmen with his wooden practice stick.
340** Ser Barristan Selmy, Lord Commander of Robert Baratheon's Kingsguard, is near the age of 60 and generally held as the last representative of a bygone age of chivalry and heroes. He's quick enough to kill two guardsmen without a weapon and is also no slouch with a quarterstaff. According to WordOfGod, Selmy in his youth could have fought even Dayne to a standstill, if the latter were armed with a normal sword instead of Dawn.
341** Qhorin Halfhand is a legendary ranger of the Night's Watch, famed for his skill with a sword. He got his nickname when the fingers of his right hand were cut off by a wildling; he sprayed the blood into the wildling's eyes and killed him. He then spent years training his left hand with the sword and became as good with his left hand as he had been with his right.
342** Prince Aemon the Dragonknight is considered the greatest knight in Westeros' history, but even he was impressed by Lord Cregan Stark's swordsmanship.
343** Daemon Blackfyre is literally considered godlike when he had the Blackfyre sword in hand. The only one who came close to beating him in a sword fight was the Kingsguard knight Ser Gwayne Corbray who fought him to a standstill for an hour.
344** Sandoq the Shadow, former pitfighter and bodyguard to Larra Rogare when she was still in Westeros, demonstrates his mastery with his curved Valyrian steel blade by pulling a OneManArmy to defend her, Aegon III and Viserys II when they were besieged in Maegor's Holdfast during Unwin Peake's coup. He was described as dancing around all of his foes and "betwixt every fresh wound he dealt Ser Amaury [Peake], he would kill one of his remaining minions".
345* In the Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse:
346** Luke Skywalker has become so skilled with a lightsaber that one villain who thinks of himself as a god admits to himself that Luke is better with a lightsaber than he is. In ''[[Literature/FateOfTheJedi Fate of the Jedi: Abyss]]'', Luke is able to pick apart a Sith teacher ''in one opening'' while facing two highly skilled attackers simultaneously, despite having been weakened for several weeks. And when lightsaber sparring with his own son Ben, no slouch despite his youth, Luke defeats him without taking out his lightsaber for a very long time, and at the start doesn't even have to take a step.
347** Darth Tyranus (Count Dooku) is the unparalleled master of Form II: Makashi, the lightsaber form that is more or less fencing, good enough to match none other than Yoda to a draw and edge out Mace Windu.
348** Anakin's preferred form of Form V: Djem So, which involves inexorable advancement and pure kinetic power, proves to be the weakness of Dooku's Makashi, though he's also physically stronger.
349** Mace Windu's swordsmanship outshines Yoda and Darth Sidious. Furthermore, due to his use of the [[GameBreaker shatterpoint]] Force ability, Mace can see the weaknesses of nearly anything in life.[[note]]It does have its own weakness: sometimes, by the time Mace ''identifies'' a weak point, the moment to do anything about it has already passed.[[/note]] These two things are what allow him to defeat Sidious. He's also one of the few Jedi, possibly even the only one, who has used the highly dangerous and corrupting Form VII variant Vaapad, and has not fallen to the dark side.
350** General Grievous is a cyborg, and takes full advantage of it and his pre-cyborg battle prowess and experience to become an absolute ''monster'' with the lightsaber: he fights with ''[[MultiArmedAndDangerous four]]'', [[BattleTrophy all taken from fallen enemies]], all moving with amazing strength and speed thanks to his mechanical body, and training under Dooku and combat experience made him extremely skilled with all the seven classic Forms of lightsaber combat. Moreover, not being a Jedi he's at a serious disadvantage being one, as they could just use the Force to injure or destroy him... So he adapted his entire style to keep them too stressed, angry, or scared to use their Force abilities and face him with the lightsaber only, where he's next to invincible, with even Mace Windu having to retreat from a fight with him.
351** Obi-Wan Kenobi is noted by Windu to be the ''ultimate'' master of Form III: Soresu, the [[StoneWall ultimate defensive saber form]], making him the best choice to take on General Grievous, who fights with ''four'' lightsabers at once, and later, a newly minted Darth Vader (who specialises in [[AttackAttackAttack Djem-So]]). Despite being reluctant to fight Vader, he matches him blow for blow without taking a scratch, manoeuvring himself into an unassailable terrain advantage, before neatly dismembering him with a single blow -- and that having ''warned him'' not to try it.
352* ''Literature/TheStormlightArchive'': Adolin Kholin is generally considered one of the best duelists on the planet, to the point where his religious purpose in life is dueling. Of course in Alethi culture, competition and being the best is everything, so many others won't admit his prowess even while doing everything they can to avoid being caught in a dueling ring against him.
353* Richard of the ''Literature/SwordOfTruth'' becomes this due to the memories magically imbued in the titular sword, accrued from every single former user of the blade. He unlocks the knowledge in battle with ''thirty blademasters''. Each one is also an example of this trope, coming from a culture that has been training for 3,000 years just to help Richard unlock the sword's power. Richard also becomes an expert with all sorts of bladed implements. His skill with the symbolic language of magic is ultimately explained by it being analogous to swordsmanship.
354* The ''Literature/ThousandSons'' have Sanakht, the greatest swordsman in their Legion. During the Literature/HorusHeresy his skills were so great that Lucius the Eternal sought Sanakht out to challenge him to a duel, in which Sanakht soundly kicked his ass. His skills have not diminished over the centuries: he is a master of DualWielding and can hold his own against daemons and other superhuman opponents with just his swords and reflexes, and his psychic powers allow him to predict what his enemies are going to do and react accordingly.
355* Literature/TheThreeMusketeers, especially the hot-blooded D'Artagnan and the wise OldMaster Athos. Porthos is prodigiously strong and Aramis is quite the BadassBookworm.
356* ''Franchise/TolkiensLegendarium'' has a ''lot'' of these. Stand-out examples are:
357** Maia Eönwë, the greatest swordsman in Arda history, received the sword from Manwë himself.
358** Turin Turambar, slayer of Glaurung, destined slayer of Morgoth at the Last Battle, and the dude that accidentally married his sister, is generally acknowledged as ''the'' greatest swordsman in Middle Earth's history. The fact that his sword is probably sentient and possibly evil doesn't help.
359** Maedhros Feanorion is one of the greatest elf swordsmen, and responded to losing his sword hand by training himself to become even more lethal with his remaining left hand.
360** Earendil the Mariner, slayer of Ancalagon the Black, the greatest dragon in Middle Earth's history, in some versions the slayer of Ungoliant (giant spider, possibly an EldritchAbomination, powerful enough to terrify Morgoth and require an army of Balrogs to chase off), and latterly Morgoth's prison guard, is also up there.
361** In the later days of Middle-Earth, Aragorn, especially while wielding Anduril, is recognised as an example.
362* In the ''Literature/TortallUniverse'', we have Gareth the Elder of Naxen, who Alanna says is the best swordsman in the kingdom. Alanna herself becomes one later -- the ''Protector of the Small'' series mentions that she's never lost a fight as King's Champion.
363* Literature/TrappedOnDraconica: In terms of skill Taurok outclasses everyone else in the setting.
364* ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'':
365** Blademaster is an actual title within the setting, earned either by being recognized as such by a group of pre-existing blademasters or by killing one in a duel. The Heron-mark sword is the symbol of a blademaster, and you're only supposed to carry one if you've earned it.
366** [[TheChosenOne Rand]] is given a Heron-mark sword by his father, Tam (who doesn't exactly say where he got it), and earns his position as a blademaster after killing [[RankScalesWithAsskicking a Seanchan High Blood]] who's a blademaster in his own right at the climax of the second book. At this point in the series, he's still not very far removed from being a simple sheepherder, so it's quite an accomplishment. He ends up as one of the best - arguably, apart from Lan and [[spoiler: Demandred]], ''the'' best - swordsmen in the series.
367** Lan is the stand-out in the series--in the prequel to the series, seven men come to kill him. He muses to himself as he faces them that only in stories does one man face seven and come out unharmed... or alive. He doesn't do the former but obviously manages the latter. There are many others, too, and having a 'Heron Marked' blade is the sign of a true master swordsman. It's notable that he's the one who trains Rand, who ends up as one of the best swordsmen in the series.
368** Other significant ones include Galad, Gawyn, and a couple of the [[QuirkyMinibossSquad Forsaken]], notably Be'lal (who helped ''invent'' swordsmanship, or at least rediscover it as a form of combat, apparently) and [[spoiler: Demandred, who proves himself in the last book to be quite possibly the greatest swordsman in the entire series, beating three master swordsmen in succession in one battle, and only dying because [[TakingYouWithMe the third was willing to take a fatal wound in order to get close enough to deliver one in return]]]]. Commonly-taught Warder history is that a Warder named Jeroam was the greatest swordsman in history; in his lifetime he supposedly fought in ten thousand battles and duels, at one time defeating ten men at once and lost only one of those fights (to a farmer with a quarterstaff).
369** Notably averted by the Aiel, who are some of the most badass people in the world, but refuse to use swords.
370* Gilbert of ''Literature/TheWitchWatch'' appears to be this. He talks about swords frequently and trained with them from a young age. [[OurZombiesAreDifferent Being able to disarm someone by letting them stab you and just turning away]] is useful, but Prince Leopold is clearly in another class.
371* Literature/{{Zorro}}, of course. In ''The Curse of Capistrano'', he easily is the best swordsman in the area, and later works only cement his status as a Master Swordsman.
372[[/folder]]
373
374[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
375* ''Series/GameOfThrones'':
376** Syrio Forel is only this by reputation, at first. Eventually showcased in "The Pointy End" when he takes out five fully armed and armored Lannister guardsmen and takes on a knight of the Kingsguard with ''a wooden practice sword''.
377** Jaime Lannister and Ned Stark both display high skill in swordsmanship, and are able to match each other blow for blow. Also, Barristan is impressed by Ned's skill. Jaime is ironically one of the few remaining knights of the Kingsguard who actually ''earned'' that position and ''isn't'' just a Lannister political appointee. However, after the loss of his hand, he's no longer as competent a swordsman as he once was.
378** For his part, Jaime Lannister describes the swordsmanship of Barristan Selmy with awe, calling him "a painter who only uses red." Ned mentions being glad they never met in combat, as the widow's life wouldn't suit Catelyn. He cut through Sons of the Harpy like they were nothing until some finally surrounded him.
379** In a flashback, Ser Arthur Dayne is shown to be quite proficient at DualWielding, cutting down several Northern men-at-arms with ease and almost killing Ned Stark, who was saved by his friend stabbing Dayne in the back. While he's clearly a very good swordsman anyway, his actual fighting style seems to be heavily reliant on constant parrying and rotating his swords to keep his opponents off guard. The Stark soldiers and Dornishmen he fights at the Tower of Joy are noticeably unprepared to face an opponent with such an unorthodox technique.
380** As of Season 6, [[spoiler: Jon Snow seems to be shaping up to become one of Westeros' most legendary swordfighters, slaughtering his way through three of the four major onscreen battles in the series, killing a white walker in single combat, and being called out by Ramsay Bolton as a living legend in the North.]]
381** The Clegane brothers Sandor and Gregor are also formidable for their combination of skill and brute strength. Sandor's style is rough, pragmatic, and ''absurdly'' brutal, abusing all his natural advantages and LightningBruiser capabilities, while Gregor just maximizes force in such a way that [[OneHitKill just one strike is unsurvivable]].
382** Brienne of Tarth also shows significant skill but is generally underestimated because of her sex. She's the winner of Renly's tourney, defeating all opponents, including Loras Tyrell, who is considered a great warrior. She quickly takes down the members of Renly's Kingsguard who try to kill her, and even the Kingslayer seems impressed when he first sees her in action. Come Season 3, she easily defeats Jaime. Granted, he was wearing manacles at the time and somewhat out-of-practice, but it's still no mean feat, particularly since near the end of their engagement, she actually looked slightly ''bored''. She also beat Sandor Clegane, who himself is one of the few people who can match his brother, The Mountain.
383** Bronn is an extremely competent swordsman, due to a combination of honest skill and ruthless pragmatism.
384* ''Series/HouseOfTheDragon'': Two Targaryens are particularly skilled with swords, Daemon and his nephew Aemond. It's even more impressive for Aemond since [[HandicappedBadass he's one-eyed]].
385* From ''Series/{{GARO}}'', we have the protagonist Kouga Saejima, his father Taiga Saejima, and his rival-turned-best friend Rei Suzumura. Later, the second season introduced [[BigBad The Man in The Red Mask]] the one-off character [[{{Samurai}} Igari Juzo]] in episode 8, Kouga's mentor Wataru Shijima and [[spoiler: Makai Priest Reo Fudou]].
386* Every Immortal in ''Series/{{Highlander}}'' becomes this with at least one type of bladed weapon, since they depend on their swordsmanship to stay alive. However, a few learn multiple types of swords and styles of combat:
387** Duncan [=MacLeod=] always prefers his [[KatanasAreJustBetter dragon-head katana]], but throughout the series, he's seen to use several other swords with some degree of skill, including a Scottish ''claidheamh mór'', a basket-hilted broadsword, a rapier, a smallsword, and a boarding cutlass. In one episode he [[DualWielding dual-wields twin wakizashi]]; in another, he fights with rapier and dagger in the style that 16th-century swordmaster Gérard Thibault called "the Mysterious Circle."
388** Amanda uses two or three different swords, and once in the short-lived spinoff series ''Highlander: The Raven'' she uses [[CombatHandFan a pair of tessen]].
389** At [[spoiler:over five thousand years old]], Methos has probably ''outlived'' whatever his first weapon-of-choice was. He's seen to use several different swords and styles in various episodes.
390** One of the villains-of-the-week, Xavier St. Cloud, was first seen using a katana, then switched to a rapier after [[spoiler:Duncan cut off one of his hands]].
391** Kanewulf the Viking is pretty good with a sword, but his preferred weapon is a Norse battle-axe.
392* Richard in ''Series/LegendOfTheSeeker'' can defeat pretty much anyone with the Sword of Truth, in large part thanks to the sword's abilities. The BigBad Darken Rahl is also pretty good with a sword, although he is known to use magic to trick his opponents.
393* In ''Series/Merlin2008,'' Arthur, as may be expected, is this trope, as is Lancelot. Aside from Lancelot, only a few other characters in the ''entire series'' ever beat him in a duel.
394* Just like their literary counterparts all of ''Series/TheMusketeers'', up to and including Captain Treville. Special mention to Athos who is considered the best in the regiment, with his protege D'Artagnan considered a likely successor.
395* Nasir in ''Series/RobinOfSherwood''. Usually uses [[DualWielding two swords at once]], but is just as deadly with only one.
396* Throughout ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' and ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'', Worf is one of the most skilled wielders of the bat'leth (a Klingon broadsword) and the mek-leth (a shortsword). He uses his skills to win a bat'leth tournament, kill numerous enemies who attack the Federation, and [[spoiler:[[KlingonPromotion de-throne Chancellor Gowron]]]].
397* ''Series/StarTrekPicard'': Elnor's favourite weapon is the ''tan qalanq'', the traditional sword of the Qowat Milat which has a ''very'' [[AbsurdlySharpBlade sharp blade]]. Thanks to the specialized training he had received from the warrior nuns who terrify the [[SecretPolice Tal Shiar]], he's so agile and deadly with it that he can [[NeverBringAGunToAKnifeFight defeat multiple opponents equipped with energy weapons]].
398* ''Franchise/SuperSentai'' and ''Franchise/PowerRangers'' have their share:
399** Hiba Takayuki from ''Series/TaiyouSentaiSunVulcan''
400** Doggie Krueger from ''Series/TokusouSentaiDekaranger''. In a police-themed series, he's the ''only'' character using a sword -- and his first scene as a Ranger involves wiping out 100 henchmen without breaking a sweat. [[Series/PowerRangersSPD His American version]] matches up.
401** All of the Rangers in ''Series/SamuraiSentaiShinkenger'' and ''Series/PowerRangersSamurai'' seem to have more of a focus on swordplay than the standard Ranger team, but especially Shiba Takeru and Fuwa Juzo in the former and their counterparts Jayden and Deker in the latter. Understandably, [[BloodKnight Juzo/Deker]] sees Takeru/Jayden as a WorthyOpponent. An interesting partial subversion in ''Shinkenger'' is that Takeru is stated to only be the third most skilled swordsman of the team (and that was before the SixthRanger for the season showed up), but his {{Determinator}} status more than closes the gap.
402** Joe Gibken from ''Series/KaizokuSentaiGokaiger''. Every member of his team starts out with a SwordAndGun but prefer to swap weapons mid-battle (except their leader). He and PirateGirl Luka are the ones who prefer DualWielding. At one point, Joe goes the extra mile by using ''all five'' heroes' swords at once.
403** The Rangers from ''Series/ZyudenSentaiKyoryuger'' and the American counterpart ''Series/PowerRangersDinoCharge'' all have access to swords, but Souji and his counterpart Riley use them ''far'' more often than their teammates, and are noted for their sword skills. This is reflected in their HumongousMecha, who become slashing weapons for the team's megazords.
404** Ollie from ''Series/PowerRangersDinoFury'' cites six years of training in fencing when thrown into his first fight, giving him an edge against the Hengemen when fighting with a Chromafury Saber.
405* ''Franchise/UltraSeries''
406** ''Series/UltramanLeo'': One of Leo's first opponents was the alien Tsuruk, who had two swords welded to his wrists that he used with deadly precision by butchering MAC members in the blink of an eye and pushing Gen through some of his most brutal TrainingFromHell in the series.
407** ''Series/UltramanEighty'': One of the '80s most infamous foes was Emperor Galtan, ruler of the Rattler aliens and wielder of a massive scimitar that he used to great skill.
408** ''Series/UltramanMebius'' tops them all with Zamusha, an alien warrior who fights to prove himself as the mightiest warrior in the universe. Although armed with [[BadassNormal nothing but his katana]] Hoshikirimaru, Zamusha has defeated countless foes and even sliced ''an entire comet'' in half with a single strike. The only person who has ever beaten him was Hunter Knight Tsurugi[=/=]Ultraman Hikari, who is no slouch himself, as he has put his Knight Blade to excellent use against many a kaiju.
409* ''Series/ObiWanKenobi'': Obi-wan Kenobi's skills are rusty at the start of the series. Vader [[JustToyingWithThem toys with him]] during their first fight, but he gets his mojo back and manages to defeat Vader in the second fight.
410[[/folder]]
411
412[[folder:Roleplay]]
413* In ''Roleplay/EmbersInTheDusk'', characters with "Master Of The Blade" trait, like Fredrick Rotbart. Some characters, like General Leopold Schwarz, are Grandmaster Swordsmen. Arbitrator Jane Oakheart takes it even further, being a Paragon Swordsman. This level of skill allows her (and anyone else at or above her level) to perform outright physically impossible feats, which, in Jane's case, is the ability to cut Warp effects. (It even works with things that aren't her sword, like random kitchen knives, as long as they are sharp enough). It also gives her a chance of a OneHitKill on anything smaller than a skyscraper.
414* ''Roleplay/FireEmblemOnForums'' has many examples, owing to the games being a WorldOfBadass. Most characters from the Myrmidon class line end up fitting this by default. For a few significant examples:
415** ''[[Roleplay/FireEmblemOnForumsChainsOfHorai Chains of Horai]]'': The Five Kingdoms, being a heavily Japanese-influenced setting, has a lot of these. The strongest in the setting is the BigBad, Empress Genmyo, who curbstomps the only somewhat-less skilled Todoroki and Madoka in quick succession. Others include Hisao, the Cursed Rooster, and Hitoshi Tokiwa, the man who taught Yusuke and Todoroki how to fight.
416** ''[[Roleplay/FireEmblemOnForumsWonderfulBlessing Wonderful Blessing]]'': Kazuto and Asuna, whose skills are a side effect of the wish they made to be like [[Literature/SwordArtOnline Kirito and Asuna]] respectively. Others include [[BrilliantButLazy Lucifer]] and [[NobleDemon Mammon]].
417** ''Final Hour'': Ketsuki, wielder of the CoolSword Galeforce and wearer of an EyepatchOfPower.
418* Admiral Harper from ''Roleplay/OpenBlue'' is a legendary swordsman. Unfortunately, at the height of his career, he was recruited as a trainer for special assignments by his government's intelligence agency. In order to justify his transfer out of the field, they faked an accident where he allegedly broke his leg. Because of his apparent lack of determination to recover from his 'injury', his reputation has since gone bad.
419[[/folder]]
420
421[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
422* ''TabletopGame/TheDresdenFiles'':
423** skills worth mentioning are usually rated from Average (+1) to Superb (+5), a one-point difference in modifiers is significant, and a two-point difference is a pretty good indication of who will usually win a straight dice-off.
424** According to his ''Our World'' writeup, Shiro Yoshimo has a baseline Weapons skill of ''Fantastic (+6)''...''plus'' easily 2-3 aspects invokable in combat for another +2 or a reroll each, assuming sufficient fate points...plus another couple of combat stunts and the usual holy powers of a Knight of the Crosds on top of that, and none of this is really figuring in the innate powers of his Sword yet.
425** The other two Knights as well as experienced Wardens like Morgan are also sword masters, though not as great as Shiro.
426* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'':
427** The kensai/weapons master class kit is a subclass of fighter who forfeits all armor in favor of sword mastery. He can take ''five'' skill levels in a single weapon (other fighter classes can take up to two) and do, indeed, crazy things with swords. For example, a level 16 Weapons Master DualWielding {{katanas|AreJustBetter}} (which he is fully proficient with) with Haste buff can land as many as 24 successful hits in one round.
428** Any fighter that specializes in a sword will get a bonus to attack and damage while using a sword, turning him or her into, essentially, a master swordsman.
429** The Duelist prestige class from 3rd Edition is a master fencer. The class focuses on combat with a light weapon (usually a rapier), with the off-hand kept free.
430** The Player's Option Guide for 2[[superscript:nd]] Edition introduced Weapon Mastery, High Mastery, and Grand Mastery for Fighters opening the door for Grand-Master swordsmen.
431** In Fifth Edition, the Battlemaster fighter is a capable battlefield controller who can disarm, knock down, or intimidate enemies through swordplay. Any class can buy into a fraction of those skills with a feat. Other frontrunners in sword skills are the Kensei, a monk path that specializes in using martial weapons, and the College of Swords Bard, a DanceBattler who can do Flourishes and fight like a Martial.
432* Solar and Abyssal ''TabletopGame/{{Exalted}}'' who favour Melee can do things with a sword that would make Miyamoto Musashi swear to be a better person for the rest of his life in exchange for just one lesson. Titan-slaying power is nice like that.
433* ''TabletopGame/FengShui'', with the right Schticks, can create a character like this. The Leaping Storm fu path in particular is based on Wuxia and specializes in high-flying swordplay.
434* According to [[WordOfGod Ed Greenwood]], the creator of ''TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms'', the top swordsmen in the Realms are in order: the human Harmel Artru of Sembia, the half-elf and son of Alustriel Maethrammar Aerasume of Silverymoon, the human Loaros Hammarandar of Narubel, the human Ember Tsartaera from Aglarond, the human Skoalam Marlgrask from Chessenta, and the dark elf Drizzt Do'Urden. Artemis Entreri, Drizzt's nemesis, ranks around ninth. Greenwood also clarified that the rankings can change very quickly given that all of them are ''so close'' to each other in skill level.
435* The advantage Weapon Master in ''{{TabletopGame/GURPS}}'' is designed for this exact purpose. Not only can you do more damage with your chosen weapon, but you're also proficient with anything similar to it.
436* In all incarnations of the ''TabletopGame/LegendOfTheFiveRings'', the Kakita and Mirumoto are entire families of master swordsmen.
437* ''TabletopGame/OldWorldOfDarkness'': Any character with five levels of the Melee skill and a specialization in "Swords" can be a master swordsman. Because the game is not as combat-focused as other tabletop games, a starting character can be a master swordsman.
438* Silthanka duelists in ''TabletopGame/RocketAge'', Silthuri who specialise in the use of the Silthanka sword, are the best swordsmen in the solar system, selling their services as champions to various royal families.
439* ''TabletopGame/WarhammerFantasy'':
440** High Elf [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Swordmasters]], an order of warrior-ascetics who wield [[{{BFS}} massive two-handed swords]] with enough speed and dexterity to deflect arrows.
441** Sword-wielding [[TheBerserker Champions of Khorne]] are masterful swordsmen but fight in a berserker rage on top of this. This combination makes them even more dangerous, and they can easily match Swordmasters blow for blow.
442** Chaos Chosen in general fit fairly well with this trope and have the advantage of [[TinTyrant superior]] [[ImplacableMan durability]] over most examples.
443** Wood Elf [[DanceBattler Wardancers]] are some of the only infantry in the game up to par with the Swordmasters, though since they focus on DualWielding they tend to be more durable and hit with more attacks than the Swordmasters at the expense of some stopping power.
444* Many more examples from ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}''. Creator/GamesWorkshop must love this trope.
445** The Dark Eldar Incubi. Unlike most Dark Eldar who fight for [[CombatSadomasochist pleasure]], [[YourSoulIsMine souls]] or [[{{Greed}} riches]], the Incubi are a warrior sect who believe [[BloodKnight the fight is the reason]]. Their [[WeaponSpecialization weapon of choice]] is a {{BFS}} which can cleave clean through [[PoweredArmor Terminator power armour]], and the Incubi wield this weapon with the grace of a cheerleader wielding a baton.
446** Lelith Hesperax, Wych Champion supreme. Well over 10 thousand years old, regularly participates in Wych arena performances [[note]]More like free-for-all bloodbaths against the most dangerous things from the galaxy and beyond that Dark Eldar manage to bring to arena. In the most artistic and painful ways, of course.[[/note]], raids in Imperial Space and internal power struggles with the latter being the most dangerous. Notable for totally abstaining from combat drugs and lacking any scars to show for her trouble. She fights with a pair of short blades.
447** Drazhar, whose name means "Living Sword". No one knows what he is, but he is wearing original Pre-Fall Incubi armor and a similar sword, never speaks a word, and can best [[RankScalesWithAsskicking the Hierarch of the Great Shrine of the Incubi]] with ridiculous ease. He's rumored to be fallen Phoenix Lord.
448** The Craftworld Eldar [[AmazonBrigade Howling Banshees]]. Armed with similar weapons (in earlier editions) and being just as skilled as the Incubi, these ladies are utterly deadly.
449** Jain Zahr, the Storm of Silence, the Phoenix Lord of the Howling Banshees. The founder of the Aspect and the single best swordsman of the Eldar race.
450** The Avatar of Khaine has a superb weapon skill on the tabletop rivaled by none ([[TheWorfEffect except when he frequently is]] in the fluff). He often fights with a longsword made of molten metal.
451** While [[HordeOfAlienLocusts Tyranid]] Hive Tyrants are already equipped with razor-sharp bone blades on their arms, [[GeniusBruiser The Swarmlord]] takes this to an even greater degree, wielding [[MultiArmedAndDangerous four]] swords at once and creating an impenetrable wall of whirling blades to anything that tries to engage it in melee.
452** The Tau are more known for their power at long-range combat, but they have produced a few skilled close-quarters combatants. [[DefectorFromDecadence Commander Farsight]]'s AceCustom Crisis battlesuit is armed with a huge sword, the Dawn Blade, [[spoiler:speculated to be of Necron, Chaos, or Eldar origin]], and he's good enough with it to have fought the previously-mentioned Swarmlord to a draw.[[note]]Don't try this in the game though, Farsight ''will'' get brutally slaughtered.[[/note]] The [[CoolOldGuy Ethereal Aun'shi]] is a master with the ritual Honour Blade; in one battle where a mining colony was under attack by Orks, TheCavalry arrived just in time to find him at the gates to an Ethereal shrine, surrounded by Ork corpses, his Honour Blade slick with blood.
453** The [[SuperSoldier Space Marines]], both Loyal and Chaos, often wield swords of various kinds and are extremely proficient at wielding them. Specific examples include:
454*** Abaddon. Joke about his arms all you want, he is the only living thing in M41 that comes close to the might of the Primarchs. His sword, Drach'Nyen was witnessed to destroy a Land Raider and flay souls of those it touched. It's an EldritchAbomination in sword form.
455*** The Blood Angels Chief Librarian Mephiston is one of the best swordsmen on the Imperial side. His stats including his weapon skill are crazy enough, without him being able to buff himself and attack his opponent with psychic powers. He's one of the only things in the game that can actually kill Abaddon reliably.
456*** The Grey Knight's Brotherhood Champions ignore all other forms of combat to focus on their sword skill. Castellan Crowe takes the cake though, being so impossibly skilled that he can pierce any armor and wound anything, ''without'' using any of the near-infinite evil powers of his daemon blade, making it no different from a regular sword so long as he doesn't tap into these. Because he knows the moment he caves in and tries, the blade will probably corrupt him.
457*** The Primarch of the Emperor's Children, Fulgrim, is a consummate Master Swordsman in keeping with his perfectionism. Both times he dueled a fellow Primarch he has come out on top: Ferrus Manus lost his head and Roboute Guilliman got a SlashedThroat (and fatally poisoned).
458*** Lucius the Eternal, Slaanesh's Chosen Champion, follows in his Primarch Fulgrim's footsteps and is also an incredibly gifted swordsman. His reputation as a duelist is such that the above-mentioned Lelith Hesperax wants to duel him, thinking he'd be a perfect WorthyOpponent.
459*** Sword wielding worshippers of Khorne also fall into this category, but are uncommon as they generally prefer axes over swords.
460** [[PraetorianGuard Necron Lychguard]] take such pride in their skills with swords (or Warscythes) that they suffer a VillainousBreakdown if they fail to kill a target with a single strike.
461* There's quite a few in ''TabletopGame/YuGiOh'', but a standout card that exemplifies this is ''[[https://yugioh.fandom.com/wiki/Gearfried_the_Swordmaster Gearfried the Swordmaster]]'', a Level 7 Light/Warrior monster that can only be summoned by the effect of a related spell card. As it is, his 2600 Attack and 2200 Defense is only respectable...however he has the ability to destroy one monster on the field upon being given any equip card.
462[[/folder]]
463
464[[folder:Video Games]]
465* Ezio Auditore from ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedII''. Certainly, one who can consistently strike the weak points of plate-clad opponents in a stand-up fight is no slouch.
466* Edward Kenway in ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedIV'' is skilled enough to DualWield swords.
467* Shay Patrick Cormac, the Assassin-turned-Templar protagonist of ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedRogue'' is likewise a dual-wielding swordsman in the vein of Edward, but favours a sword and dagger combo.
468* Royal Guards and Elvish Champions from ''VideoGame/BattleForWesnoth''.
469* ''Chakan the Forever Man'' was a Sega Genesis game where Chakan, a man who was the world's greatest swordsman, had duelled Death and won. With that he won the prize of [[BlessedWithSuck a cursed immortality]]. Now he's putting his swords to use for Death in the hopes of getting back his mortality.
470* A great many of them across the ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'' franchise, though many of the enemies you fight are a shadow of what they once were. In spite of this, the near-mindless Artorias nevertheless retains a vast set of skills and techniques that will force you on the defensive for the entire fight [[HandicappedBadass while fighting using his off-hand and without his signature greatshield]]. Dark Souls II upped the ante with Raime, Sir Alonne, and the Ivory King; all exceptional swordsmen who ''don't'' suffer from the mental handicaps Artorias did. ''VideoGame/DarkSoulsIII'' has probably the most understated example, as the best duelist in the game can be found just outside of Firelink after you fight the first boss.
471* ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry'':
472** Dante wields his [[{{BFS}} massive claymore]] with style and skill. Starting from ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry3DantesAwakening'', he has access to a [[StanceSystem fighting style]] called "Swordmaster".
473** Dante's brother and rival Vergil is a katana-wielding, lightning-fast IaijutsuPractitioner.
474** ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry4'': [[TheDragon Credo]] is a master swordsman and is the one who trained Nero in sword fighting.
475* Several of the units in ''{{Franchise/Disgaea}}'' start off with swords as their most effective weapons and definitely become this by the time you've learned all their moves.
476* ''VideoGame/EldenRing''
477** Malenia's biggest claim to fame is that she is possibly ''the best'' swordswoman in the Lands Between; she has several Talismans dedicated to her prowess with the sword (Prosthesis-Wielder Heirloom, Winged Sword Insignia, Rotten Winged Sword Insignia, Millicent's Prosthesis) and lore about her repeatedly talks about the beauty and deadliness of her bladework. She's ''so'' good with her katana that she was considered possibly the most powerful Demigod in [[GreatOffscreenWar The Shattering]] despite being a MagicallyIneptFighter going up against {{Magic Knight}}s... oh, and being a [[DelicateAndSickly blind and deathly ill]] [[DisabledDeity triple amputee]]. If you fight her yourself, you'll find that she has a complex moveset with the ability to chain individual moves into combos, will dodge ranged attacks if she can, can cancel her staggers whenever she damn well pleases, and has a special move called the Waterfowl Dance that consists of three steps of BladeSpam attacks -- and due to how she moves during the attack, dodging it is difficult and counter-intuitive. Oh, and did we mention she heals upon hitting you? Because she does that, too. And all of this is just ''phase one!'' [[spoiler:In phase 2, she decides you've crossed the GodzillaThreshold, unleashes the [[MysticalPlague Scarlet Rot]] instead of [[WillfullyWeak holding it back]], becomes ''much'' more aggressive and gains new attacks with [[DamageOverTime Rot]] build up.]]
478** Malenia learned all she knew from the Blind Swordsman, a HeroOfAnotherStory who used the Flowing Curved Sword to seal away the God of Rot long ago. He's credited with inventing the Guard Counter technique to compensate for his blindness, allowing him to retaliate once the enemy had given away their position. If the items related to him in-game are any indication, he wore light armor (he's associated with the Blue Cloth Set, and the Blue Dancer Charm made in the image of his fairy companion raises attack power the lower your equip load) and focused on [[FragileSpeedster remaining mobile]] and taking advantage of opportunities (such as when he guard-countered an opponent) to strike as hard as he could.
479** Starscourge Radahn couldn't match Malenia in pure technique, but even with his mind long rotted away, he's a terrifying fighter who is capable of smoothly integrating gravity magic and dual-wielded greatswords into his fighting style, and when he and Malenia faced off in the Battle of Aeonia, he was able to duel her to a stalemate that she could only "win" by crossing the GodzillaThreshold and making sure ''everybody'' lost.
480** Bloody Finger Okina is a hearkening back to the concept of a "Shura" (a swordsman who was consumed by bloodlust and became a murderous demon) from ''VideoGame/SekiroShadowsDieTwice''. He's considered one of the best swordsmen to ever come from [[{{Wutai}} the Land of Reeds]], and he has completely dedicated his life to mastering his katana. In-game, he's a late-game invader who has a habit of shredding the unprepared with his constant use of the Corpse Piler weapon skill.
481** Maliketh, the Black Blade, is TheDreaded of the setting, not so much for his swordsmanship skill as the fact that his sword is [[ImmortalBreaker Deastined Death]] itself, but you really have to give the guy credit for being able to leap around like Yoda while wielding a sword as big as he is and probably heavier as well.
482* ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'':
483** The series' various [[InGameNovel In-Game Books]] mention several.
484** Each installment post-''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIDaggerfall Daggerfall]]'' features numerous trainers who let you upgrade your skills, including swordsmanship, for a fee. Only a single master trainer, however, can usually max out a particular skill: the [[ThePaladin Buoyant Armiger]] Ulms Drathen (Long Blade) and Redguard [[CloakAndDagger Blade]] Todwendy (Short Blade) in ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind Morrowind]]'', Alix Lencolia in ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion Oblivion]]'', and the [[BarbarianHero Orc Warchief]] Burguk (One-Handed) and the Inner Circle Companion [[GeniusBruiser Vilkas]] in ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]''. Unless the respective game's PC maxes out their swordfighting skills, these individuals are generally acknowledged as the Master Swordsmen of the respective region.
485** This is the "[[PlanetOfHats hat]]" for the Redguards, a ProudWarriorRace of [[ScaryBlackMan dark-skinned]] [[HumansAreWarriors humans]] whose [[CultureChopSuey culture is a blend]] of the [[ArabianNightsDays Moors, Arabs]], and ''[[EverythingsBetterWithSamurai Samurai]]''. They are acknowledged as the most masterful swordsmen in Tamriel, with their race's SacredScripture being a treatise on ''sword techniques''. Even among the Redguards, there are some who take it to another level:
486*** The [[TheOrder Ansei, or "Sword Saints",]] were an order made up of the greatest "sword singers," [[{{Precursors}} Yokudan]] warriors who follow "The Way of the Sword," a martial philosophy on blade mastery. So great was their mastery of the blade that they could [[SpontaneousWeaponCreation manifest a sword from their very soul, known as a Shehai or "Spirit Sword"]]. Ansei of the highest ranks had Shehai which shined brighter and were much deadlier. Described as an "unstoppable weapon of great might" that could cut down foes like "a scythe through wheat", disarming such an Ansei could only be done by severing their head or taking their mind. (However, there was some evidence to suggest the Shehai of an Ansei could be shattered, leaving behind only its essence.) The greatest Ansei could use a technique known as the "Pankratosword," which allowed them to "[[FantasticNuke cut the atomos]]" with their Shehai (and may have been responsible for the [[DoomedHometown destruction of Yokuda]]). Considered to be a DangerousForbiddenTechnique, the Pankratosword has since been lost to history. ([[UnreliableNarrator If it ever actually existed at all]].) While the Ansei came with the Redguards to Tamriel, their numbers dwindled over time. There hasn't been a known Ansei warrior since the 2nd Era, and by the 4th Era, they are considered a myth.
487*** Frandar Hunding was perhaps the greatest of the Ansei. Says Allena Benoch, another Master Swordsman, of Hunding and swordsmanship in general:
488--->''"Frandar Hunding lists thirty-eight grips, seven hundred and fifty offensive and eighteen hundred defensive positions, and nearly nine thousand moves essential to sword mastery. The average hack-and-slasher knows one grip, which he uses primarily to keep from dropping his blade. He knows one offensive position, facing his target, and one defensive position, fleeing. Of the multitudinous rhythms and inflections of combat, he knows less than one."''
489*** Frandar is believed to be one [[GodInHumanForm manifestation]] of the [=HoonDing=], the Yokudan/Redguard spirit of perseverance and "[[TheJuggernaut Make Way God]]". The [=HoonDing=] has historically manifested whenever it is needed to "make way" for the Yokudan/Redguard people. In all known forms, the avatar of the [=HoonDing=] has excelled at swordsmanship.
490*** Another was Gaiden Shinji, a 1st Era leader of the [[TheOrder Order of Diagna]] and founder of the [[GladiatorSubquest Imperial City Arena]] (where he served as the first "Blademaster"). For Shinji, the title was not cosmetic.
491* ''VideoGame/FateGrandOrder:''
492** This is a requirement to be summoned as Saber, the Knight class specializing in the use of swords. That said, the restrictions have evidently gotten looser with this installment, as there are several UnskilledButStrong Servants included, such as Elizabeth Bathory (Brave) and [[WalkingSwimsuitScene Frankenstein (Summer)]]. That said, not all of the examples in the story end up as Sabers.
493** The Shimousa pseudo-singularity focuses on this, as the primary antagonists are the Seven Heroic Spirit Swordmasters, seven peerless Japanese bladewielders. Albeit, [[NonindicativeName most of them don't actually use a sword]]. Musashi, the most famous swords[[HistoricalGenderFlip (wo)]]man in all of Japan, ends up getting her DayInTheLimelight in this arc as well.
494* Miyamoto Iori of ''VideoGame/FateSamuraiRemnant'' aims to be this in the story, [[BornInTheWrongCentury but is unable to reach the heights of his potential due to being born in Sakoku Japan]]. Thanks to the Waxing Moon Ritual, he gets to truly test himself by crossing swords with powerful Servants, roving bandits, foreign mages and supernatural creatures, in addition to having [[Characters/FateGrandOrderSabersGToM the Servant version of his adopted father]] continue his training where the last one [[spoiler:and Kojiro]] left off. Towards the end of the tale, he manages to defeat Berserker Musashi despite the fact that his mastery of Niten Ichiryu is still lower than hers, thanks to [[spoiler:integrating Sasaki Kojiro's Tsubame Gaeshi into his two-sword style]]. As she's Rayshifting away, she declares him unparalleled under the heavens.
495* The ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' series has plenty of them:
496** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV'': Cecil and King Baron (Who gets to show them off as the Eidolon Odin).
497** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'': Cyan.
498** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'':
499*** Sephiroth's swordsmanship and overall prowess stand out even among the series' characters, which include several notable swordsmen. In one of ''[[VideoGame/CrisisCore Crisis Core's]]'' [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l6ZaSipHuO4 cutscenes]], Sephiroth was able to casually fend off attacks from both Genesis and Angeal[[note]]both were SOLDIER First Class[[/note]] ''while holding back''.
500*** Cloud Strife, although never an official member of SOLDIER, becomes an extraordinary swordsman over the course of the series. He starts out casually wielding [[{{BFS}} the Buster Sword]] [[OneHandedZweihander with one hand]] in the original game and by the time of ''[[Anime/FinalFantasyVIIAdventChildren Advent Children]]'', he's capable of expertly using a composite BFS composed of [[BifurcatedWeapon six component swords]], either individually or in DualWielding combos. Easily the 2nd best swordsman, and while Sephiroth is subject to hubris, Cloud is the only one skilled enough to take advantage of that hubris.
501*** In the prequel ''VideoGame/CrisisCore'': Genesis, Angeal, and (to a lesser extent) Zack Fair each attained the top rank of [[ColonelBadass First Class]] in SOLDIER, Shinra's elite paramilitary unit, which is entirely composed of highly trained, [[BioAugmentation bioaugmented]] [[SuperSoldier supersoldiers]]. Each of them could fend off a small army with their sword skills alone.
502** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII'', Squall and Seifer are renowned for being the only two to ever master using a gunblade, the awkward combination design of which makes it very difficult to learn to use effectively. This is reflected in [[GameplayAndStoryIntegration the game mechanics]] by both characters having [[{{Cap}} 255%]] accuracy with the most basic models of their gunblades right from the start of the game, ensuring that they will never fail to land an attack.
503** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX'': General Beatrix and Steiner.
504** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'': Auron.
505** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII'': Basch.
506** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'': Lightning.
507** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'': The Samurai Job; while several Jobs use swords (Red Mage, Dark Knight, Paladin, and Gunbreaker) they all supplement it with either magic, brute force, or some combination thereof. Only the Samurai relies on pure skill with the blade.
508** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXV'': Noctis and Gladiolus.
509** ''{{VideoGame/Dissidia|FinalFantasy}}'': [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyI Warrior of Light]].
510** [[Literature/TheEpicOfGilgamesh Gilgamesh]] [[ThatOneBoss in]] [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyV all]] [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII of]] [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX his]] [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII appearances]].
511* ''Franchise/FireEmblem'':
512** In general, the Myrmidon and the Swordmaster classes are portrayed as unparalleled fighters known for their speed and grace. In addition to wielding all types of swords, several games grant them either extra critical hit rate and/or damage output to complement their status. Since the inclusion of skills, the Swordmaster class is associated with the [[DeathOfAThousandCuts Astra]] skill.
513** Ayra, Shannan, Larcei, and Scáthach in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemGenealogyOfTheHolyWar'' belong to the Od bloodline, known for their swordsmanship and the legendary technique, Astra. Their lineage allows their exalted, like Shannan, to wield Balmung, one of the twelve Holy Weapons wielded by their ancestor that ended the Holy War against the Loptous Empire.
514** Karel from ''VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBindingBlade'' and ''VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBlazingBlade''. In ''The Blazing Blade'', he's reviled and admired as the infamous [[BloodKnight 'Sword Demon']], but, after [[spoiler:the death of his sister]], he becomes OlderAndWiser by the time the events of ''The Binding Blade'' occur, and changes his title to 'Saint of Swords'.
515** Greil in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemPathOfRadiance'' was once a mighty swordsman and the renowned general of Daein under the name "Gawain." [[spoiler:However, he gave up the sword when he cut a tendon in his sword arm out of guilt over murdering his wife in a chaos-infused madness]]. He has since passed his sword technique to his son, Ike, and his pupil, now known as the BlackKnight.
516** In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemRadiantDawn'', Altina, one of Ashera's Three Heroes and sole Beorc of the group, was revealed to have wielded ''both'' Ragnell and Alondite when Ike and the Black Knight, respectively, could wield only one.
517* Tricolour in the second ''VideoGame/FreedomForce'' can take on the Nazi Army and keep up with Freedom Force's super-powered heroes with just Olympic-level fencing.
518* Several from the ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'' series, which shares many characters with ''Franchise/FinalFantasy''. Though the main characters wield giant Keys, they are functionally magic swords. In that vein, WesternAnimation/MickeyMouse and Riku are Master Swordsman, as well as Terra, Xehanort, and Eraqus from the prequel. You also have [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyX Auron]], {{WesternAnimation/Mulan}} eventually, [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII Cloud]] and [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII Leon]], and [[Franchise/PiratesOfTheCaribbean Jack Sparrow and Hector Barbossa]]. However, the main character, Sora, comes to eclipse them all due to the sheer amount of experience he has whacking {{Eldritch Abomination}}s and Disney Villains with his Keyblade.
519* ''VideoGame/JitsuSquad'' have both the hero, Hero, and TheDragon, Dash, being capable swordsmen who can slice and dice through their enemies like no tomorrow. [[ItsPersonalWithTheDragon Appropriately enough, they're sworn enemies towards each other]].
520* Meta Knight from ''{{VideoGame/Kirby}}'', although this characteristic is developed further in the [[Anime/KirbyRightBackAtYa anime adaptation.]] Also Kirby himself, at least when he has the Sword copy ability. ''VideoGame/KirbyAndTheForgottenLand'' even has an upgrade for the Sword ability to give Kirby some of Meta Knight's special abilities.
521* The various Links in ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'' series all become master swordsmen sooner or later (depending on the game). After all, they ''do'' wield the ''[[CoolSword Master Sword]]'' at one point or another.
522** In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask'', there is a sword school in West Clock Town run by an OldMaster Swordsman, who can teach Link sword techniques for a fee.
523** In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker'', Orca is an old man living on Outset Island who spent his life studying swordsmanship. He teaches swordsmanship to Link and gives him the Hero's Sword. He grades Link's ability until Link surpasses him.
524** In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess'', Link's mentor is Rusl, who is another master swordsman. There's also the Hero's Shade, who passes up to seven secret sword skills to Link. He's a previous incarnation of Link, having been the [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Hero of Time]] himself.
525** In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword'', Eagus has the role of teaching the students of the Knight Academy everything about swordfights. As expected, Link is one of those students.
526** Link is explicitly referred to as such in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'', several diaries make it a point to say just how skilled with a sword he is. Zelda's personal diary even mentions he was able to best fully grown opponents whilst he was still just a child.
527* In ''VideoGame/TheMatrixPathOfNeo'' there's Neo himself after having the [[PowersAsPrograms sword skills]] downloaded. Along with the A.I. sword master who tests Neo's skills. "I was told a man legendary with a blade would come. Are you worthy of the blade, can you beat me?"
528* From the ''VideoGame/MegaManX'' and ''VideoGame/MegaManZero'' series, Zero's primary weapon is his signature [[LaserBlade Z-Saber]], with which he is able to do many advanced techniques like a ThreePointCombo and a [[RollingAttack Rolling Slash]]. By comparison, when X attempts to use it in ''X6'', he swings it much slower and is much weaker with it.
529* ''VideoGame/{{Metal Gear Rising|Revengeance}}'' has Sam, who comes from a long line of sword martial artists. He is never seen using another weapon aside from his sword. Among other impressive displays of skill, his most notable technique is a super-fast draw with a gun-like mechanism built into his scabbard, allowing him to draw and slash his weapon with insane speed and force.
530* Travis Touchdown from ''VideoGame/NoMoreHeroes''. He can deflect automatic gunfire with his sword, slaughter scores of mooks at a time, and is able to defeat virtually every other swordsperson he encounters.
531* ''VideoGame/{{Overwatch}}'':
532** Genji, the resident CyberNinja, is clearly a master swordsman. He regularly [[AttackReflector deflects bullets, arrows, explosives]], even a storm of bullets from Bastion's [[GatlingGood Gatling Gun]] can't touch him... [[ImprobableUseOfAWeapon And he fires it all right back at them.]] ''With a [[KnifeFight wakizashi.]]'' His Ultimate Ability has him draw his actual katana, which he can cut through anyone and anything, doing the highest melee damage in the game. Killing four to five people in one Ult is not unknown of.
533---> [[PreAssKickingOneLiner ''Ryūjin no ken o kurae!'']]
534** Genji's older brother Hanzo was one of these back in the past, and was apparently so skilled that he could [[AlwaysSomeoneBetter match and probably defeat]] Genji's current cyborg self. However, after nearly killing Genji on orders from the clan (which resulted in Genji needing to become a cyborg to survive), Hanzo hung up the sword and took up the bow and arrow.
535* ''VideoGame/PathOfExile'' has Daresso, the Sword King, who was in life the greatest champion of the Grand Arena of Theopolis. He is still revered over a century after his disappearance, with both Vagan the Weaponmaster and the Duelist player character speaking of him with awe. He also provides a pretty challenging boss fight being [[LightningBruiser fast and strong]] and always on your grill with slows and blades to catch you off-guard.
536* In ''VideoGame/QuestForGloryI'', the fresh-off-the-correspondence-course would-be Hero, at least when classed as a fighter, has the opportunity of learning from the Baron's Swordmaster. The Hero fights with a sword and shield, while the Swordmaster fights with just the sword (and insinuates that the Hero is inferior for using a shield...[[JerkAss several times]]). By the end of the game, after both training and practical experience, the Hero is able to defeat the Swordmaster, who claims that he slipped, that it didn't count, and that he's still superior, before he runs away, never to be seen again. Throughout the course of the series, the Fighter (and later Paladin) Hero continues to improve and is eventually a world-class Swordmaster...who is still outshone by Elsa Von Spielburg in the fifth game.
537* ''VideoGame/RuinaFairyTaleOfTheForgottenRuins'': Laban is capable of learning most of the skills from the Swordmaster class. [[spoiler:He's also an expert in Uryu's particular swordplay, allowing him to counter her moves easily if the player chooses to have him duel this boss.]]
538* The Sword Master, Carla, in ''VideoGame/TheSecretOfMonkeyIsland''. Guybrush must defeat her in order to [[AndAllIGotWasThisLousyTShirt win a T-shirt]] and impress the pirate leaders -- through [[YouFightLikeACow superior repartee]].
539* Isshin Ashina, the Sword Saint, from ''VideoGame/SekiroShadowsDieTwice'', is a legendary warrior known throughout Japan and was one of the only ''things'' that was stopping the Central Forces from steamrolling the Ashina clan. By the time you meet him, he's about 90 years old, looked shriveled up as a [[VideoGame/DarkSouls Hollow]], and [[spoiler:is mere ''hours'' from just dying from old age]], but can still fight with incredible skill. [[spoiler:And when you fight him in his prime, you learn the hard way that [[IAmNotLeftHanded it's not only swords he's good at using...]]]]
540* {{Tykebomb}} Ramirez from ''VideoGame/SkiesOfArcadia''. Coupled with his magic sword, Fina claims he is able to cut ''photons'' in half. His special ability involves him ''cutting a hole in time'' and using the moment of timelessness to beat up your entire party.
541* In ''VideoGame/StarWarsTheOldRepublic'', the Jedi Knight and Sith Warrior player characters are reputed as the best in their faction for the entire ''galaxy'' by the end of their storylines. This is partly helped by the defeat or death of many of the other greatest swordsmen in the progression of the game's story.
542* ''VideoGame/{{Suikoden}}'': the Falcon Rune is a good indicator of the really skilled, accomplished swordsmen among the Stars of Destiny. Standout examples are Valeris (''VideoGame/SuikodenI'' and ''VideoGame/SuikodenII'') and Belcoot (''VideoGame/SuikodenV'').
543* ''VideoGame/SuikodenV'': Georg Prime. He has nations across two continents calling him [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast "Deathblow"]] like it's his first name. There's [[CrutchCharacter a good reason]] that, in [[VideoGame/SuikodenII one of these games]], you don't get him until pretty close to the end, and in the [[VideoGame/SuikodenV other]], he spends about 2/3 of it unavailable to your party because he's on some 'secret mission'.
544* ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsX'': [[Anime/MashinHeroWataruSeries Shibaraku]] as usual in his series, though he oversees both [[Anime/CodeGeass Suzaku]] and [[Anime/AuraBattlerDunbine Shou]]'s training in this game as well.
545* The old ''Tales'' character cameo {{superboss}} in the ''VideoGame/TalesSeries'' coliseums will invariably be billed as either a stupendously skilled foreigner or the greatest swordsman in the world. There are also these in actual canon, and often they will berate the BookDumb main character for their crude self-taught technique instead of a "real" style. Early examples: Ras to Ried in ''VideoGame/TalesOfEternia'', Kratos to Lloyd in ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia''. Though in the case of the latter [[spoiler: Lloyd manages to become one himself as he wins the last DuelBoss against Kratos, ''without'' him holding back.]]
546** ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'''s [[BigBad Van]] [[WellIntentionedExtremist Grants]] is confirmed to be this. [[TheHero Luke]] beating him at the end confirms he has become one.
547** In ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'' [[BadassNormal Yuri Lowell]] fits this in a [[TechnicianVersusPerformer Performer]] fashion; the only one that beats him is [[OldMaster Don]] Whitehorse who's a Master Swordsman of even more experience. His comments about how he never could beat [[ChildhoodFriend Flynn]] [[KnightInShiningArmour Scifo]] (at least until the DuelBoss with him) suggests he's also one of some calibre. Considering [[FinalBoss Duke]]'s CoolSword and how he uses it, and his [[OneManArmy reputation]] he also fits this.
548** ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia'''s [[ActionGirl Milla]] [[GodInHumanForm Maxwell]] is ''heavily'' implied to be this. Though she at first relied on the Great Spirits to do anything (leaving her unable to [[GameplayAndStoryIntegration even combo]] for a time) she's later shown, only a few months later, to have progressed to an advanced understanding of sword techniques.
549** ''VideoGame/TalesOfBerseria'' has [[BigBad Artorius Collbrande]] and [[{{Samurai}} Shigure]] [[BadassNormal Rangetsu]]. [[spoiler: Even after Rokurou wins against Shigure near the end, he admits he still has a long way to go; he needed ''three'' swords to match Shigure's one.]]
550* ''Tower of Winter'' from ''Tailormade Games'' has the Wandering Blade, a female samurai who's said to be the finest swordsmaster from the East. She's also the most expensive character to unlock and with good reason. She's a LightningBruiser who can earn herself free turns with her unique trait "Gale" which builds up ''priority'' when she attacks (her main defensive skill also earns priority). If she maxes out Gale, its synergistic trait Quickness and the trait Swift (which randomly gives a free attack), she could get so many free attacks that most enemies die without having a turn. Sometimes if she has maxed out Gale and Quickness, there may be a chance that she finds the rune for the trait "Flash" this replaces both Gale and Quickness and gives her enough priority to get 7 free turns before the enemy starts - plus she could end up learning Gale and Quickness again!! With this many free attacks, it's fairly easy to kill the final boss "Heart of Winter" without it even getting a turn.
551* Several people in the ''VideoGame/TrailsSeries'' are this trope. Examples include [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsInTheSky Cassius Bright, Loewe the Bladelord]], [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsFromZeroAndTrailsToAzure Arios MacLaine]], [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsOfColdSteel Victor S. Arseid, Aurelia Le Guin, Rufus Albarea]], and by ''Cold Steel IV'', [[spoiler:[[TheHero Rean Schwarzer]].]]
552* Rafe Adler, the BigBad of ''Videogame/Uncharted4AThiefsEnd'' is very skilled in fencing. As he notes in the final battle, it's the only thing he has ever achieved on merit in his life. When the two fight, Nate is clearly outclassed by Rafe and he only wins due to sheer luck and Rafe's EvilGloating.
553* In ''VideoGame/{{Warframe}}'', Excalibur is noted as being a "master of [[SwordAndGun gun and blade]]", being the first Warframe ever made. Excalibur deals more damage with swords of all flavors and has sword-themed powers. "Slash Dash" rockets him forward slashing enemies in the process, "Radial Blind" [[BlindedByTheLight blinds enemies]] with light from his sword, "Radial Javelin" has him [[SwordPlant slam his sword]] into the ground, spewing out ethereal swords than pin enemies to walls, and "Exalted Blade" summons an energy sword that sends out waves of destructive energy with every slash.
554[[/folder]]
555
556[[folder:Visual Novels]]
557* Peko Pekoyama from ''VisualNovel/Danganronpa2GoodbyeDespair'', being the Super High School Level Swordswoman [[spoiler:and Fuyuhiko Kuzuryuu's bodyguard.]]
558* A few characters in the ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight''-verse are explicitly referred to as master swordsmen, and all of them are different.
559** The Saber class, by definition, comprises ''nothing but'' Master Swordsmen. Every individual ever summoned in this class at the bare minimum is one of the most renowned swordsmen of their era.
560** The Saber that features in Fate/Stay Night, in particular, is noted to be the best of the entire Saber Class. Seeing as she is actually [[spoiler: the verses' version of Arthur Pendragon]], this makes sense. This is further confirmed in ''VideoGame/FateGrandOrder'', where it is implied that [[spoiler:Arturia qualifies for the Grand Saber class, which is ''[[NotHyperbole literally the greatest Saver to ever exist]]'']].
561** The standout example, ironically enough, however, is Assassin -- actually some nobody who only got summoned ''because'' he was a master swordsman. He was the only person who ever really learned Tsubame Gaeshi (the technique later attributed in legend to [[UsefulNotes/SasakiKojiro Sasaki Kojirou]]) -- this being a technique that uses 'dimensional refraction' aka ''the Second Magic'' to let him deliver three simultaneous strikes. Assassin achieved this not through some magical artefact or hidden superpower; he just trained really hard for a really long time and was rewarded with this beast of a technique, on par with a Noble Phantasm all by itself. In-universe, Tsubame Gaeshi is classified as True Magic, meaning that Assassin managed to break into the parallel worlds not via magic or divine miracles, but just by training the same sword strike over, over and over again until the universe gave in. Further, only having the bare minimum above-human physical prowess needed to qualify as a servant, he scares Lancer and would have beaten Saber (who uses bursts of mana to stand toe-to-toe with LightningBruiser Berserker), only his sword bent. In Unlimited Blade Works it's mentioned he successfully fended off Lancer, Rider, and ''Berserker himself'', again using nothing but his own ludicrous sword skill. In ''VideoGame/FateUnlimitedCodes'', he defeats and kills Berserker. Bear in mind that Berserker's "God Hand" ability means he has to be killed twelve times to permanently die, and he becomes immune to any previous method used to kill him. Meaning that Assassin had to take him down eleven times ''without'' Tsubame Gaeshi. In short, Assassin's swordsman skill is the ''only'' thing he has going for him compared to other Servants, but it's just ''that'' good.
562** Taiga Fujimura, of all people, is noted to be extremely skilled with a blade. She's nowhere near the level of a Servant (she challenges Saber at one point and is almost instantly defeated), but she is recognized as a world-class swordswoman (who, according to WordOfGod, is on par with [[Literature/TheGardenOfSinners Ryougi Shiki]]) despite her rambunctious personality.
563** The prequel novels ''Literature/FateZero'' add another to the roster, specifically Berserker aka The BlackKnight aka [[spoiler:Lancelot]]. He has a skill called 'Eternal Arms Mastery', only awarded to the most masterful Master Swordsperson in his or her era, which means his skill with a sword (or indeed anything else) is so great that the insanity that comes with the Berserker Class, which would usually rob him of all tactical and combat skill, doesn't affect it. How good is he? His first appearance has him fight his way through the StormOfBlades coming from Gilgamesh's Gate of Babylon without a scratch, ''using only weapons stolen from the Gate while they were flying at him''. This is with random weapons he's picked up -- using his own personal weapon, [[spoiler:Arondight]], he's even better -- good enough to completely overwhelm Saber within ten seconds, though she was suffering from [[HeroicBSOD handicap]] at the time.
564** [[SanityHasAdvantages Had he not lost his skills due to Madness Enhancement]], the original game's Berserker, AKA Herakles, would have qualified. This is discovered when Shirou copies his 'sword' and the skills coming with it and whips out his ultimate attack Nine Lives, that is ''three Tsubame Gaeshi executed at the same time''. To add insult to injury, that's actually an inefficient adaptation, as Nine Lives was originally an ''archery'' technique that would strike ''one hundred times per arrow''. In the [[AdaptationalBadass anime version of Unlimited Blade Works and Heavens' Feel]] his skill is actually so ingrained it overrides the madness enhancement, allowing Herakles to still fight with remarkable form.
565** Archer considers himself neither a true swordsman nor a true bowman-indeed, Lancer claims his swordsmanship "lacks pride" -- and deems himself a mage first and foremost, but this does not take away from the fact that his skills with a blade and bow ''are'' highly advanced, such that he can put up a good fight against both Saber and Assassin. This makes sense too, as his ace in the hole is basically a pocket dimension with an endless supply of magical blades- rather useless if one was not able to actually use said blades. His skill with these many weapons neatly contrasts Gilgamesh, whose Gate of Babylon gives him an endless supply of vastly superior blades, but since Gilgamesh is only decently skilled at swordsmanship and can't bring out their full power he prefers to just magically fire them from a distance.
566[[/folder]]
567
568[[folder:Webcomics]]
569* Fighter from ''Webcomic/EightBitTheater'' is this. Despite having failed the school's philosophy, he's a natural-born master of both sword and his creation: [[InstantChucks Sword-Chucks]]. His skill is so great he can use swords like shields, ranging from blocking pure dark energy [[HowIsThatEvenPossible to the planet itself.]]
570%% low context* ''Webcomic/ChevalierTheQueensMouseketeer'' Chevalier is a master swords-mouse.
571* ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'': [[SuperSoldier Jägergeneral Goomblast]] was seen during the Siege of Mechanicsburg, cornered by six Wulfenbach soldiers with poisoned swords, and proceeded to whip out a smallsword and kill all six ''with their own weapons''.
572* Yu Mi-Ra of ''Webcomic/TheGodOfHighSchool'' is this, having sufficient skill to take on foes meant to slay ''gods'' with [[AbsurdCuttingPower a blade sharp enough]] to cleave through ''mountains, clouds, and buildings that are nowhere near the target of the attack.''
573* ''Webcomic/{{Gosu}}'': As the successor to the Soseondang's [[ImplausibleFencingPowers Flying Flash Sword Style]], Soh Jinhong is naturally a master of swordsmanship being able to effortlessly cleave through trees and solid rock as if they were paper.
574* [[TrainingFromHell Bro Strider]], [[TheAce Dirk Strider]], [[MagnificentBitch Terezi]] and [[HeroKiller Jack Noir]] of ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}''. Bro's [[ImplausibleFencingPowers feats]] include slicing a meteor in half with a katana and cutting the disc on Dave's shirt without cutting the shirt itself. Dirk's proven to be no slouch as well holding his own against [[TheBrute Hegemonic Brute]] and [[MechaMooks an army of imperial drones.]] Jack Noir however takes the cake, dueling Bro to a standstill [[spoiler:and later defeating him outright]]. Terezi is capable of wielding her [[SwordCane Cane Swords]] quite effectively. [[BlindWeaponmaster While blind.]]
575* ''Webcomic/KillSixBillionDemons'':
576** PosthumousCharacter Meti ten Ryo was the best swordswoman -- or for that matter, the best ''fighter'', period -- in the entire comic. Having depended on mastery of Sword Law and CharlesAtlasSuperpower in her youth, to the degree that she could fight a hundred men and win, she evolved honing a style based on pure KillingIntent to the degree that she became [[CleanCut Master of the Principle Art of Cutting]] and obtained Royalty. Meti's deeds from this period, amongst others, includes fighting and defeating ten thousand men at once while ''naked''. However, having spent her whole life living by the sword, she knows better than anyone that swords are worthless hunks of metal and their wielders idiots. The training manual she authored instructs its readers to perform WaxOnWaxOff, and then, having mastered many domestic skills, to spend the rest of their lives doing something productive instead of learning to use a sword.
577** Mathangi ten Meti (or "Mathangi Mantra" pre-apprenticeship, a name meaning [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Murder The Gods And Topple Their Thrones]]) was Meti's apprentice and Student of the Principle art of Cutting. She manages to cleave through an Angel, the rest of the room, a significant portion of Mottom's floating palace, and [[BreakingTheFourthWall the comic frame's border]] in one stroke using the broken stub of a sword. Like Meti, she regrets ever picking up a sword, and wishes she'd stayed a simple noodle vendor.
578** Meti had another student beside Maya, [[spoiler:Incubus]], who is also implied to be no slouch with a sword even if he does not ''quite'' reach Maya's standard. [[spoiler:Meti is implied to have taken him on [[RightWayWrongWayPair only to show Maya what not to do;]] namely, using his skill to become a self-serving killing machine.]]
579** The main competitor to Meti in the lore is the [[PostHumousCharacter similarly deceased]] sword master Lord Intra, who was known as the "Sword-Saint" for his singular mastery of the blade. Similarly to Meti he is known to have obtained Royalty, had a highly odd outlook on mastery of the sword (his own technique was based on StrategySchmategy), and communicated mostly in {{koan}}s. Also like Meti and Maya he refused to live by the sword and became a wandering mendicant instead. According to WordOfGod, a match between Meti and Intra would lead to "one of them cutting down the other and losing".
580* Julio Scoundrél, Elan's mentor in the ways of the Dashing Swordsman, in ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick''. Roy's grandfather is even better than he is.
581* In ''Webcomic/SuitorArmor,'' Sir Baynard was the kingdom's undefeated champion swordsman until a suit of AnimatedArmor was entered into the latest royal tournament and trounced him through sheer might, being literally MadeOfIron.
582* Arie Hon from ''Webcomic/TowerOfGod'' developed a [[SignatureMove unique style of swordsmanship]] that WordOfGod stated can only be defeated by either [[AlwaysABiggerFish overwhelming power]] or by [[AlwaysSomeoneBetter someone else being more skilled]] [[TakesOneToKillOne in the sword style]]. As the creator of the style (among other things), this naturally makes Arie Hon the greatest swordsman in the Tower.
583[[/folder]]
584
585[[folder:Web Originals]]
586* ''Literature/InTheCastleOfTheNight'' has [[BigBad Count Nicolai Gabriel von Krolock]], one of the few villains in ''Literature/TheKindnessOfDevils'' who can handle himself against Hardestadt in a proper swordfight.
587[[/folder]]
588
589[[folder:Western Animation]]
590* Rattleballs from ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'' is an old robot swordsman whose skill with the blade greatly surpasses [[KidHero Finn's]]. He can do a "Shadow Thrust", which can [[LightningBruiser swiftly]] cut objects around a person without hitting them, and in the fight against the Banana Guards, he manages to take them all down without fatally harming anyone. Finn is so impressed with his skill that he convinces Rattleballs to train him.
591* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'':
592** Master Piandao. {{Backstory}} has him retiring from the Fire Nation Army when he grew sick of war. The Firelord sent a hundred soldiers to force him to rejoin or kill him. He sent them all back, and the Firelord decided to not force the issue again.
593** Jet is capable enough with his dual blades to take on Fire Nation soldiers and outfight Aang at one point. It's worth noting that he's not a classically trained swordsman and uses a lot of ConfusionFu to give himself the edge.
594** Zuko is also a great swordsman, being trained to use twin dao swords by Master Piandao. He used this skill in his alter ego as the Blue Spirit and once surprised Jet by dueling him to a draw without bothering to use his firebending.
595* ''WesternAnimation/BlueEyeSamurai'':
596** Mizu is a self-taught one, having watched the men her master forged swords for practice and imitated their moves, giving her a distinctively eclectic blend of different sword styles to draw from.
597** Abijah Fowler is a strong and capable swordsman for someone his size and age, to the point that even Mizu remarks on the cleanness of his cuts.
598** Taigen is one by reputation, but he is outclassed by Mizu. He just seemed to be an up-and-coming swordsman because he was a decently talented fighter training at a dojo whose style was trash.
599* Jack from ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack'' definitely qualifies. He's a master of just about every weapon and martial art known to man, but his primary weapon is a sword. The Scotsman qualifies as well, by virtue of matching him blow-for-blow for three days on end without taking one scratch.
600* [[LadyOfWar Pearl]] of ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'' prefers a spear in battle, but that sword collection of hers isn't just for show. Fencing is shown to be an avid hobby of hers, and she's skilled enough to teach Connie how to follow in her footsteps.
601* The Duelist in the ''{{WesternAnimation/Thundercats 2011}}'' episode "The Duelist and the Drifter," a man who goads less experienced swordsmen into duels, and uses his skill to divest them of their swords, which he keeps as trophies.
602* ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsRebels'':
603** Shortly before the Original Trilogy, Obi-wan Kenobi shows his swordsmanship by defeating [[spoiler: Maul]] in approximately five seconds, despite the fact that [[spoiler: Maul]] is still capable of gleefully curbstomping three Inquisitors at once.
604** Vader, meanwhile, treats everyone not called Ahsoka Tano as a passing amusement at best, and even she can only match him - and wound him - for a short while.
605* ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'':
606** Obi-Wan later matches the MultiArmedAndDangerous General Grievous (an infamous Jedi-killer) multiple times, fights evenly with an older and more powerful Darth Maul, and routs both Maul and Savage at the same time with two sabers, removing Savage's arm and sending them running for their lives.
607** Anakin shows that he's matured into a juggernaut capable of matching Dooku for periods and curbstomping almost everyone else.
608** Dooku repeatedly handles Anakin and Obi-Wan comfortably enough and pretty much anyone else who comes up against him, even when blinded and outnumbered three to one.
609[[/folder]]
610
611[[folder:Real Life]]
612* Four are name-dropped in ''Film/ThePrincessBride'': Rocco Bonetti, Ridolfo Capo Ferro, Gerard Thibault d'Anvers, and Camillo Agrippa.
613** Capo Ferro was an Italian fencing master who, oddly enough, is well regarded today but was largely ignored during the Renaissance when he was active.
614** Thibault was a Dutch fencer who wrote a highly detailed fechtbuch about his unorthodox style of swordsmanship. He was also a [[GeniusBruiser brilliant mathematician]] and wrote that a knowledge of geometry is essential for true fencing mastery. Oh, and he wrote books on [[HermeticMagic ritual magic]] too.
615** Agrippa was an Italian polymath of the Renaissance and a renowned fencing theorist. His ''Treatise on the Science of Arms with Philosophical Dialogue'' made radical changes to the fencing of his time, including the focus of turning the rapier into a thrusting weapon. His work is considered the foundation for Jeronimo Sanchez's ''Destreza''.
616* UsefulNotes/MiyamotoMusashi, widely considered the greatest Japanese swordsman. He is legendary for perfecting the Niten Ichi-Ryu, or DualWielding a katana and wakizashi or two katana style. He wrote ''Book of the Five Rings'' on swordsmanship and was quite the CombatPragmatist.
617* UsefulNotes/SasakiKojiro was renowned for inventing several sword techniques, most famous of which being the Tsubame Gaeshi, or the "Swallow's Tail."
618* [[GeniusBruiser Johannes Liechtenauer]] is often described as the grandmaster of western swordsmanship, though his mastery included a variety of weapons. Said to have been born in Liechtenau or Liechtenstein, Germany in the 13th or 14th century, he toured Europe to study various armed combat techniques under a variety of masters. The puzzle poem he wrote unified all these concepts and techniques and provides us with the earliest example of such an efficient sword art in the West. Many later fencing masters would go on to directly reference Liechtenauer and many who didn't clearly retain elements of his art.
619* Hans Talhoffer was a German fencing master who was probably a student of Liechtenauer. He wrote a fencing manual that clarified many of Liechtenauer's concepts and may have been a founding member of the Brotherhood of St. Mark, one of the most prominent and influential fencing schools in Europe.
620* Sigmund Ringeck was a student of Liechtenauer whose own fechtbuch is one of the earliest known to translate the poems into a form that can be used for practical teaching, and therefore is the foundation of the modern understanding of German martial arts.
621* [[GeneralBadass William Marshal]] is widely considered the most skilled knight in history. He earned fame and fortune fighting in tournaments, where he claimed to have defeated 500 knights and even killed the horse from under the future King Richard the Lionheart [[note]] because Richard wasn't wearing armor, and William didn't want to kill an unarmed man[[/note]]. He prosecuted a number of wars for various lords and kings and was still leading from the front lines at the age of 70.
622* [[DashingHispanic Don Jeronimo Sanchez de Carranza]] is often called the Father of Spanish fencing, ''Destreza''.
623* Salvator Fabris was a storied Italian fencer who served as the instructor of Christian IV. He also produced a very popular fencing manual.
624* Luis Pacheco de Narváez was the fencing master of Philip IV of Spain, as well as one of the most prolific fencing authors in history.
625* Francisco de Quevedo was one of the most prominent poets of his age as well as a pugnacious and highly skilled swordsman. His novel ''El Buscón'' lampoons a duel he fought with Luis Pacheco de Narváez, during which he knocked the fencing master's hat off.
626* Vincentio Saviolo, though an Italian, produced the first fencing manual written in English.
627* Fiore dei Liberi was a Medieval fencing master who wrote ''Flower of Battle'', one of the oldest and most comprehensive fighting manuals in existence. New research suggests that Fiore may even have been a student of Johannes Liechtenauer, further spreading the latter's influence into the Italian school.
628* Achille Marozzo was an Italian fencing master of the Dardi school, whose style was extremely influential in the 16th century.
629* Giacomo di Grassi was one of the foremost masters of the Elizabethan age, whose style was highly influential for its use of the smallsword, [[DualWielding the use of a dagger as a defensive weapon]], and the emphasis of defense in general.
630* Francois Vivonne, a celebrated swordsman of his day, is best known for being on the receiving end of the original "coup de jarnac." He was defeated in a duel by the [[CombatPragmatist Baron of Jarnac]], a far inferior swordsman who learned a tricky cut to the leg from an Italian dueling instructor. Today, "coup de jarnac" is a French idiom for a deceptive or underhanded action. However, at the time of the actual duel, Jarnace was praised for his skill and even mercy, trying (unsuccessfully) to get the king to stop the duel before his opponent bled to death and both men were praised for their courage in fighting.
631* During the end of the Bakumatsu era, the samurai Kawakami Gensai, Kirino Toshiyaki, Tanaka Shinbei, and Okaa Izo became known as "the Four Hitokiri of the Bakumatsu", ''hitokiri'' translating into "manslayer" or "assassin." They were considered more or less impossible to defeat by normal swordsmen.
632* Supporting the Tokugawa shogunate during the Bakumatsu era were Okita Souji, Nagakura Shinpachi, and Saito Hajime, who were all captains of UsefulNotes/TheShinsengumi and the three best swordsmen in that group. Nagakura is said to have later described Okita as a "sword of valor" and Saito as a "sword of invincibility."
633* Aladar Gerevich, a Hungarian fencer, is the only Olympian to win gold in the same event six times, and one of only two athletes to medal in six different Olympic Games. This is all in spite of ''missing two Olympics'' due to World War 2.
634* Fencing master Nedo Nadi won five gold medals in the 1920 Olympics. He held the record for most gold medals won in a single Olympic games for 68 years, having won gold in every event he entered.
635* An unlikely example is UsefulNotes/JosipBrozTito before he became the communist leader of former Yugoslavia. In his youth, during UsefulNotes/WorldWarI, he won the silver medal at an Austro-Hungarian army sword-fighting championship.
636* The [[BadassFamily Yagyu Clan]] produced many of these in the Japanese feudal era and were the official katana instructors for the Tokugawa Shoguns. Their most famous member is UsefulNotes/YagyuJubei, but his father Yagyu Munenori, grandfather Yagyu Munetoshi, and cousin Yagyu Hyogonosuke were all master swordsmen.
637* UsefulNotes/JulieDAubigny, a.k.a. [[SpellMyNameWithAThe La Maupin]], is a rare example of a master swordswoman. She was trained in fencing by her father and supported herself while on the run by singing and giving demonstrations of her skills for audiences. She was a professional duelist and a superb opera singer. On two separate occasions, she defeated three men at once - [[RefugeInAudacity once over kissing a girl at a ball, in public]].
638* [[MartialPacifist Yamaoka Tesshu]] was a swordsman who lived at the end of the Edo era, and was briefly a supervisor to the Shinsengumi. After the end of the Edo period, he taught a style of swordsmanship in which purity and mastery of technique is everything since there were no swordsmen left to fight.
639* Robert Roy Mac Gregor was a well-known swordsman and fought in a number of sword duels even before he got into his famous dispute with the Marquis of Montrose. At the time, it was often claimed he was invincible with a sword. Some attributed his skill to his long arms.
640* Sir William Hope was a famous Scottish fencing master who published many fencing manuals dealing with different kinds of swords.
641* The Chevalier de Saint-George was a mixed-race musician and conductor in 18th-century Paris as well as one of the finest swordsmen of his day. He beat a fencing master who had insulted his race while still a student.
642* [[RealMenWearPink The Chevalier d'Eon]] was a famous 18th-century soldier, spy, and crossdresser who spent the second half of his life as a woman. He was also quite a swordsman, defeating the much younger Chevalier de Saint-George in an exhibition match while wearing a dress, though St George may have thrown the match.
643* Explorer, soldier, and all-around RenaissanceMan Sir Richard Francis Burton studied swordfighting with the same enthusiasm he pursued his many other areas of expertise. He wrote ''A New System of Sword Exercise for Infantry'' as well as his uncompleted ''The Book of the Sword''.
644* George S Patton was the first United States Army soldier designated as "Master of the Sword." He innovated the military's swordfighting techniques, redesigned the Army's saber (giving us the Patton saber), and taught his techniques to other officers, including his superiors.
645* Hollywood swordmaster Bob Anderson. Chances are, if there was a swordfight in a film during his 50 years in action, he probably choreographed it. ''Franchise/StarWars'', ''Franchise/{{Highlander}}'', ''Film/ThePrincessBride'', ''Film/TheLordOfTheRings'', ''{{Film/Scaramouche|1952}}'', that's all him. He also served as a stunt double in many scenes he choreographed, filling in for the actors in wide shots or with his face obscured. He passed away at the age of 89 while teaching fencing to actors for ''Film/TheHobbit''.
646* According to Bob Anderson, the greatest swordsman he ever taught was ''Creator/ViggoMortensen'' (a.k.a, Aragorn). He was able to learn the techniques incredibly fast, which is a big reason why Aragorn's fights looked so good. The other stuntmen were actually scared if him because of how good he was at swordfighting, and [[MethodActing because he would often act like he was in a real fight.]]
647* Jean Baptiste le Perche Du Coudray was a French fencing master of the 1600s. He was considered the first "modern" fencer, emphasizing the importance of the riposte.
648* Isao Machii holds world records for a number of iaido stunts, including "most martial arts sword cuts to one mat (suegiri)," "fastest 1,000 martial arts sword cuts," "most sword cuts to straw mats in three minutes," and "fastest tennis ball (708 km/h) cut by sword." He can also cut airsoft [=BBs=] out of the air.
649* The tenth Sikh Guru Gobind Singh is remembered as a master of ''śastravidyā'', the Sikh "knowledge of the sword." He was the Guru who introduced the mandate that all Sikhs carry a Kirpan, a curved sword, on their person at all times.
650* Alasdair Mac Colla was a Scottish master swordsman who is thought to have invented the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highland_charge Highland charge]], the Scottish tactic of sprinting into English musket lines to hack the soldiers apart with broadswords before they could affix their bayonets.
651* William Machrie was known as "Judge and Arbitrator of all who make any publick Trial of Skill in the Noble Art of the Sword, within the Kingdom of Scotland" in the 17th and early 18th centuries.
652* As a very credible crossover with BadassBookworm, René Descartes was a noted duelist (and, amusingly enough, [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dualism dualist]]). Descartes' 17th-century biographer Adrien Baillet recounts that the philosopher studied fencing in Paris, might have written a now-lost treatise on the art, and fought a duel with a man over a woman. He is said to have disarmed the man and spared him so as not to upset the lady in dispute.
653* George Silver was a 17th-century gentleman and fencing master who championed the English system of swordsmanship. He heavily criticized Italian rapier fencing and wrote his own system focusing on the backsword, ''Brief Instructions on my Paradoxes of Defence'', that was used centuries later to train soldiers in the Boer War.
654* Alfred Hutton was a Victorian military officer who was regarded as the best fencer in the British military from a young age. He helped improve fencing techniques in the army and popularize the revival of historical fencing.
655* Pietro Monte was an Italian fencing master and instructor who was described as "the true and only master of every form of trained strength and agility." None other than Leonardo da Vinci consulted him when working out the calculation of trajectory.
656* Baba Deep Singh is a hallowed Sikh martyr and a ferocious swordsman who, at the age of 75, is said to have personally led a defense of the Golden Temple. Both versions of the legend have him continuing to fight after being mortally wounded in the head. In one version of the tale, he fought with his ''severed head'' in his off-hand. His enormous ''Khanda'' sword is considered a holy relic.
657* Donald [=McBane=] was regarded as the best swordsman of his century. A career soldier, he participated in over two dozen battles and fought over 100 private duels. He also fought 37 times as a [[FightClubbing gladiator at London bear gardens]] against notable fencers of the era. He is now remembered for his colorful memoirs, ''The Expert Sword-Man's Companion'', which provided the basis for Scottish fencing.
658* James Figg, best known as one of the fathers of modern bare-knuckle boxing and the first English champion, was also a skilled swordsman who fought a number of duels in the bear gardens of London.
659* According to legend, the Montenegrin Serb Aleksandar Lekso Saičić was serving in the Russian army during the Russo-Japanese War when, on the eve of a battle, the Japanese army unexpectedly challenged the Russians to send over a swordsman to fight their champion, even though swordfighting was largely extinct from modern warfare. An avid fencer and career soldier, Saičić volunteered for the bizarre challenge and killed the Japanese champion in the ensuing duel. His sword is now enshrined in a Moscow museum.
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