->''"Sans maîtrise, la puissance n'est rien."'' (without mastery, power is nothing)
-->--'''Old Pirelli commercial for tires''', probably quoting something else.

%% One quote is sufficient. Please place additional entries on the quotes tab.

Some characters have it easy. They're a BornWinner with TheGift and a winning ticket for the SuperpowerLottery, have the BiggerStick or SwordOfPlotAdvancement making them an InvincibleHero or KarmaHoudini, and [[HardWorkHardlyWorks never have to train]] because they're just that good. TheRival will be frustrated and driven to ever more extreme TrainingFromHell, but it doesn't help them beat the smug bastard.

Who should come along to challenge this powerhouse but a [[BoringButPractical totally bland]], if not [[PintSizedPowerhouse small]], [[CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass unassuming opponent]] who seems no stronger than a typical InnocentBystander. The powerhouse laughs and says [[TemptingFate there's no way]] they could ''ever'' hope to beat him... but then ''they do!''

This is a character who, despite being physically weaker than their opponent, is able to beat them because they are amazingly skilled. They'll prove HardWorkHardlyWorks is a false premise, and even [[FlawExploitation exploit]] the stronger opponents' sloppy technique and {{Pride}} to win.

If the Weak But Skilled character is TheProtagonist, they will usually be an expert at DeadlyDodging, a fast thinker, and generally [[GuileHero win through cleverness and strategy]] that involve TryingToCatchMeFightingDirty and GeoEffects to win. If they aren't the protagonist, then they're very like a {{Mentor|s}}, TheRival, or TheLancer. They'll usually start out much stronger than the hero overall but [[CantCatchUp won't keep up]] once the hero starts gaining skill himself in the use of his powers. They'll occasionally bail out the protagonist but force them to finish their battles, and urge them to train their power to stop the bad guy, whom this character can't take out because the bad guy is both strong ''and'' skilled.

[[OldMaster A character who grows old and weak]] will often become this, having decades of experience to compensate for their lack of youth, though it becomes subverted if they grow StrongerWithAge and thus have nothing to compensate for. This is a common justification for how {{Badass Normal}}s can keep up with more powerful characters in a setting or inside an ensemble. DeathOfAThousandCuts may also come into play.

Compare with DavidVersusGoliath, CombatPragmatist, DifficultButAwesome and, metafictionally, CherryTapping. Contrast SacrificedBasicSkillForAwesomeTraining. WillfullyWeak may be invoked to bring this about. One explanation behind the power of a BadassBystander. Despite their skill, may fall prey to IDontKnowMortalKombat. The rare villainous examples may fall into VillainousValor, depending on their presentation. For characters with [[WhatKindOfLamePowerIsHeartAnyway questionably useless powers]] within the superhero community proving otherwise, see HeartIsAnAwesomePower.

Contrast BiggerStick and UnskilledButStrong, the latter being the inverse trope.

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!!Examples:

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[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
* The main character from ''AnatoliaStory'' herself, Yuri Suzuki. She's a complete weakling physically speaking and can't do a thing when she's being sexually assaulted, but being from the future has its advantages. She is revered as Ishtar because she rode a horse, something that's common nowadays, but in ancient Turkey was unheard of. She also recognized an iron sword (and used it against Zuwa), which is not so valuable today as it was back then.
** Similarly, Carol Reed from OkeNoMonshou has zero fighting skill, but her almost encyclopedic knowledge of AncientEgypt comes off ''very'' handy when she needs to get the upper hand in the middle of constant power struggles in Pharaoh Memphis's court.
* Hyunckel from ''DaiNoDaiBouken''. At the beginning of the series he is portrayed as relatively strong and extremely skilled, but in the last chapters he's actually one of the weakest characters in the main cast, power-wise (though his skill level remain above average). He even develops a special technique allowing him to [[spoiler: use his life as a weapon, in order to compensate his lack of sheer power]]. It quickly becomes one of the strongest skills in the series.
* Gouta from ''BusouRenkin''. His Arms Alchemy, Motor Gears, is a pair of tiny chakrams, but he utilizes them in creative ways. He was even able to defeat [[{{Ninja}} Shinobu Negoro]], a senior alchemist, through AwesomenessByAnalysis.
* Char Aznable of ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam.'' While [[TheHero Amuro]] has greater PsychicPowers, [[ArchEnemy Char]] is a much more experienced pilot, so the two are evenly matched.
** Amuro's eponymous [[SuperPrototype Gundam]] is also much stronger than Char's [[LawOfChromaticSuperiority re-painted]] {{mook}} units, at least at first, but as Char receives more powerful mobile suits, Amuro's piloting skill increases proportionally. Eventually, Char receives a Gelgoog, which is an even match for the Gundam, and finally the Zeong, which ends up reversing their roles by being ''more powerful'' than the Gundam.
*** When they return in ''Char's Counterattack'', Amuro has had at least as much experience as Char had at the beginning of the original series and stronger PsychicPowers to boot. Once he answers Char's Sazabi with the Nu Gundam, The Red Comet CantCatchUp.
**** Amuro had significantly more experience in ''Char's Counterattack'' than Char had in the original series. Char was only 20 when he faced off against Amuro for the first time. Amuro was 29 in CCA.
** Hayato. He piloted the Guntank, a pretty sub-par Mobile Suit that had horrendous mobility, slow reaction time, and was pretty much useless in terms of close combat; yet he still managed to use it well, and survive the One Year War.
* A similar situation occurs in ''{{Gundam 00}}'', early in the series there are a few veterans that can completely outmatch the Gundam pilots as far as skill is concerned, and best the Gundams in one on one combat. But the Gundams are so strong they can just shrug off the attacks.
* ''Gundam'' fans also ascribe this quality to ''[[{{Gundam0080}} 0080]]''[='s=] Bernard "Bernie" Wiseman. By his own admission, he's only ever piloted once and he got shot down very quickly, but in the final episode he uses strategy, tactics, and traps to defeat a Gundam superior to Amuro Ray's[[note]]albeit with a less skilled test pilot behind the controls[[/note]]. And he does all this in a Zaku II, which is the poster child for MechaMooks.
* ''KenichiTheMightiestDisciple'' CreepyChild Chikage Kushinada (and her teacher, Mikumo) adheres to this trope. She's a grade school girl but is shown to be at least on par with the teenage characters because she has enough skill to fight and defeat normal adults. She is noted as being a fighter of 100% skill, 0% power, rather than split between the two. What is actually meant by this is that Chikage applies no force of her own during a fight, but uses the enemy's force against them, a tactic used in multiple martial arts. While most fighters are a combination of strength and skill (strength being striking power, skill being throwing power or technique-related ability) Chikage is all skill--she only throws her enemy in such a way as to use their own weight, momentum, etc., against them, rather than create an impact herself. As usual, this stems from the manga taking a martial arts concept to its absolute extreme.
** Also Miu, as pointed out to Kenichi at the beginning of his training.
* Kenta Kobashi from ''HajimeNoIppo''. Compared to Ippo, he's a weakling, and he's got no badass knockout techniques. In fact, he's never scored a knockout in his career... and yet, Kobashi gives Ippo a run for his money by playing mind-games, making frequent use of clinches, and using a stance that allows him to easily reach with point-getting jabs, while sacrificing his ability to score heavy blows. Definitely ''not badass'', and the audience hates him, but by playing with the rules, Kobashi manages to win most of his matches. He would've beaten Ippo too, if he hadn't tried to finish him with a knockout.
** Also Ichiro Miyata. His own physical strength is pathetic when compared to other boxers, and he has a FatalFlaw in the form of a glass jaw... but he also has ''huge'' speed and does what he can to use counters to his benefit.
* Syuusuke Fuji of ''PrinceOfTennis'' fame. He eschews physical fitness and outright strength in favor of counter techniques that require outrageous (impossible) amounts of skill to perform. He later gains some strength in a filler training camp in the anime, but this never happens in the manga. Either way, it stops being addressed as the series delves into further ludicrousness.
** Also Eiji Kikumaru, ho has a flashy and fun style of playing yet is plagued by low stamina. [[spoiler: Unlike Fuji, his TrainingFromHell that makes him go from FragileSpeedster to LightningBruiser happens in ''both'' anime and manga.]]
* This trope is pretty commonplace in ''RanmaOneHalf''. Ranma defeated Prince Herb, who far outclassed him in pretty much every way possible, by using a technique to gather up all of the energy Herb was giving off and turning it against him. Happosai is a frail old man, but he can easily toss far stronger opponents through walls or over the horizon by redirecting their momentum with a pipe.
* Kenshin Himura of ''Manga/RurouniKenshin'' fits this trope. Kenshin is a short, skinny and relatively weak man, so much so that he eventually has to give up swordmanship because his kenjutsu style is meant to be used by stronger men and overusing it damaged his muscles. Despite this handicap, he is able to take down the most powerful warriors in the series (aside from his own master) because he's just ''that damn skilled''.
** Well, technically, Kenshin is on the stronger side of "athletically fit," at the very least he's a wiry bastard. The downside is, as stated, the fact that his style of choice was designed for much larger, stronger, more durable men. Essentially he's a FragileSpeedster trying (and self-destructively succeeding) to be a LightningBruiser.
* Chrono of ''LyricalNanoha'', who's explicitly mentioned in the first season to be weaker in PowerLevel compared to Nanoha and Fate, a comparison he scoffs at, stating there's more to magic than that. He then proceeds to prove his point during the penultimate episode of the first season where he pulls a OneManArmy in [[BigBad Precia's]] [[StormingTheCastle Garden of Time]] while everyone else needed to charge in as a team, and again [[ComicBookAdaptation in the manga volume set immediately before the second season]] where he effortlessly defeated an improved Fate in record time when she had to battle him for her Mage Exam.
** An even better example is Nanoha and Fate's OldMaster, the original Head Trainer of the [[TheFederation Time-Space Administration Bureau]]. Despite being a lowly [[RandomPowerRanking AA-ranked]] mage using standard bureau equipment, [[ComicBookAdaptation the third season manga]] revealed that she managed to beat the [[RankInflation AAA-ranked]], BiggerStick-equipped Nanoha and Fate at the same time when they entered the TSAB training school.
** Yuuno Scrya is quite possibly the weakest -- or at least just ''definitely'' the least well-armed -- combatant in the series. However, his mastery of binding and barrier magics make him the most {{Badass}} NonActionGuy ever. He's also demonstrated the ability to force someone to be teleported against their will, which, when you think about it, is probably the single most lethal ability ever shown in the series. The unpleasant [[TeleFrag possibilities]] for it are endless, but sadly never explored.
** Shamal is in the same position as Yuuno, only she does have a powerful Device backing her up. She debateably has the most impressive record in the series at standoff combat, nearly paralyzing Nanoha from at least a half-mile away, and in every battle she's had a part in her opponents did not know she was there until attacked. Her skills with barrier, portal, and teleportation magic have endless tactical application that the series never explores, from making people run into instant magical walls at several times the speed of sound to portaling them off somewhere unpleasant. Yuuno would be capable of the same tricks if he had a copy of her Device.
*** There is the part in the final battle of ''A's'' where she locates the defense program's core and, with the help of Yuuno and Arf, teleports it to outer space, where the Arc-En-Ciel can be fired at it without destroying much of Uminari city; scrying, binding and teleportation magic succeeds where {{Wave Motion Gun}}s can't completely do the job.
** Teana in ''[=StrikerS=]'' often worries about her own worth as a mage, noting that she has no unique skills and not that much magical power compared to the other members of Section 6. However, she eventually learns how to put her illusion magic to good use in conjunction with her sharpshooting skills, and [[spoiler:defeats three of the Numbers Cyborgs by use of perfectly timed attacks and some help from Vice]]. Not to mention that she is apparently Nanoha's best student, as she is the only canon character whom Nanoha taught her signature [[WaveMotionGun Starlight Breaker]] spell (well, Reinforce also used it but she merely [[PowerCopying copied Nanoha]]). There is a subtle meaning to this fact: Starlight Breaker's quirk is that it isn't powered by the caster's mana but rather, the [[SuckingInLines magical energy dispersed in the environment]]. In other words, it is the ultimate achievement for a WeakButSkilled mage, allowing her to unleash powers way over her head by skillfully managing the available resources.
** Veyron from ''Manga/MagicalRecordLyricalNanohaForce''. In the mostly UnskilledButStrong Huckebein family, he's the only one who cannot [[SuperMode React]]. Nevertheless he can hold his own against Riot Force 6's operators and actually defeats a Reacted enemy Eclipse infectee in direct combat.
* Shikamaru from ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'' fits it completely if not for that fact that actually doesn't put in much training and consistently facing opponents that are older and more experienced then him (one of his biggest enemies actually put this forward as his biggest advantage). As he is wonderfully described by some troper "Watching Shikamaru fight is like watching an acrobat work without a net."
** Itachi Uchiha is known to have been [[spoiler:severely weakened by a terminal illness]] in the second Naruto series, yet still [[spoiler: manages to completely obliterate his perfectly healthy genius brother in their proverbial duel of fate.]] Even before the diminished capacity [[spoiler:derived from his illness is brought up,]] he is said to have less than average power/endurance, which his parter Kisame Hoshikagi hints at my reminding Itachi that he shouldn't use his exceptional ocular powers more than a few times a day, less he be completely drained. What Itachi lacks in quantitative power, he more than makes up for in qualitative.
** For that matter, Neji Hyuuga is one of the most dangerous of the Konoha 12 and the first to make Jonin, despite having relatively low physical strength. His mastery of the [[PressurePoint Gentle Fist]] and Heavenly Spin render him capable of crippling opponents far stronger than him. For instance, he was able to fight on equal terms with Naruto during the Chunin exams and was even favored to win that fight, even though Naruto completely outclassed him in terms of raw power.
* This is the explicit reason Evangeline [=McDowell=] was able to reach the quarterfinals during the first TournamentArc of ''MahouSenseiNegima'' despite being BroughtDownToNormal. Even a [[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld ten-year-old]] girl can do some damage when she has been practicing [[WaifFu aikijutsu]] since before most of the competition's grandparents were born (she only had to break out the [[PeoplePuppets strings]] against Setsuna).
** It is heavily implied that she learned straight from either Morihei Ueshiba or Takeda Sokaku (respectively, the creators of Aikido and Aiki-Jujutsu.)
** Takahata is unable to cast spells but still manages to be BadAss within a society of mages with his [[YinYangBomb Kanka]] ([[RedBaron his title]] is "[[StoicSpectacles Death Glasses Takahata]]").
** The most straightforward example is probably Nodoka, who has very little actual combat experience or magical skill, but still does a number on [[spoiler: a RealityWarper who had been erasing people from existence]], simply by skillful use of [[{{Telepathy}} her artifact]]. Her artifact is a diary that can read a person's surface thoughts if she knows their name. Not impressive, by itself, but handy. When she TakesALevelInBadass, she teams up with a group of artifact hunters and grabs two things: a ring that, when pointed at a person, reveals their true name, and a doohickey that lets her read books without opening them. The most major villains in the series have been defeated by "What are you planning?", "Where can I find X?", or "How do I escape from this situation?"
* {{Kekkaishi}}'s Tokine builds her combat style on this trope. Comparatively speaking, the barriers she can create have nowhere near the explosive power as those made by Yoshimori, nor can she make them as big. The solution? Just use the barriers you have [[http://www.mangareader.net/144-9466-16/kekkaishi/chapter-45.html in really awesome ways...]]
* Usopp and Nami from ''OnePiece'' are the crew's LovableCoward and [[TheChick Chick]] respectively, and have little ability in physical combat. WordOfGod has even stated that Usopp will ''always'' be the weakest fighter of the crew. However, both are highly skilled in their specific fields of sharpshooting and navigation. Usopp, an amateur GadgeteerGenius, has also built various weapons for himself and a WeatherControlMachine for Nami with the specific intent of using their brains over their brawn to win battles. And he has proved that he's no pushover; when he goes all-out, he's capable of giving ''Luffy'' a run for his money while his entire body is injured and bandaged up. And as for Nami...well, ''the weather'' is her weapon.
** [[BadassBookworm Robin]] would also qualify. While her physical strength is minuscule compared to the majority of foes that come her way, her extensive experience as an assassin as well as having two decades to work out the uses of her powers ensure that she's still very much a serious threat to most people. Furthermore, the nature of her powers allow her to apply what strength she has almost infinitely, limited only by the surface area of what she is grabbing. She has used this to twist a giant's arm behind its back with a giant arm made of other arms. Through smart use of her powers, she's one of the most dangerous Straw Hats and often lumped in with the far physically stronger 'monstrous trio.'
** For a villainous example, Foxy. He's not exactly "weak" per se, but he's a total joke compared to Luffy when it comes to raw power. He makes up for it with surprisingly clever use of his Devil Fruit power, as well as cheap tactics and low blows.
* [[VinlandSaga Thorfinn]] fights like this when he's got his head on straight. When he doesn't, he turns into a ScreamingWarrior and proceeds to lose rather spectacularly. Askeladd fights like this as well, all the time, but with him there's a slight subversion. Despite the tactics he employs physically he's still one of the strongest characters in the series.
* Chiko, of ''Manga/TheDaughterOfTwentyFaces''. Being just a pre-teen girl, she's physically weaker than pretty much everyone else she ever fights. However, she possesses impressive agility, quick wits, and clever resourcefulness, having been trained by a GentlemanThief.
* Sagara Sousuke from ''Lightnovel/FullMetalPanic''. Both when in hand to hand combat (with men who are a lot more muscled, no less), ''and'' when he's fighting in his [[HumongousMecha AS]] (although this trope is more pronounced when he's in an inferior AS). There have been numerous times where he was piloting an old, worn down model of AS while fighting against new, far superior AS. And while everyone underestimates him and thinks he'll never win, he ends up taking down the opponents easily by using his skill and strategies. Of course, it also helps that he's a CombatPragmatist.
* Kaku Kaioh in the ''BakiTheGrappler'' series. Was once very physically strong, until he came to believe that this was the superior way to fight, as his strength would fade with age, but skill would not.
* Sano from ''TheLawOfUeki'' has two powers: to turn towels to steel and his Level 2 [[spoiler: make the towel steel supermagnetic]]. From this, towel-boomerangs, towel-swords, towel-gags and at one point [[spoiler: charging at extreme speeds using a towel MAGLEV TRAIN]].
* ''Franchise/DragonBall''
** In the original ''Manga/DragonBall'', there's a bit where Goku goes back in time and meets Master Roshi's old teacher, Mutaitou. By this point Goku is far stronger than the OldMaster, including having killed the monster that wiped out both the master and all of his dojo except Roshi and his EvilCounterpart {{rival}}, Tsuru. However, when they spar Goku's moves are so reckless and sloppy that Mutaitou manages to counter all his attacks with ease.
** This was also how his first meeting with Mr. Popo went.
** This trope is the bane of the human Z-Senshi's existence. It's entirely possible that Krillin, Yamucha, and Chaozu might be able to keep pace with the Saiyans in terms of actual fighting ''skill'', but the uber-powerful foes the Z-Senshi face mean that the humans typically end up as benchwarmers, or are simply beat up as per TheWorfEffect. Even if it's only anime {{filler}}, Tenshinhan, Yamucha, and even Chaozu did get their own personal CrowningMomentofAwesome in ''Anime/DragonBallZ'' when they faced the Ginyu Force while being trained by King Kai. North Kai's training methods, which were so good they allowed Goku to utterly thrash [[TheDragon Nappa]] when he returned to Earth, proved just as effective for the humans in that it allowed them to keep pace with Frieza's elite troops, and come out on top.
*** The reason this rarely works in Dragonball is because generally powerful characters are simply incapable of being harmed by anything that isn't at least somewhat close to their power level. They will just laugh it off. Even if a weaker opponent has the skill to get around their defense and hit them 100 times before they can react it doesn't matter, because none of the those 100 blows will hurt them. Krillin struggled to hurt Vegeta when Vegeta was deliberately standing there wide open so Krillin could injure him so he'd require healing because Vegeta was that much stronger.
* Yugi Mutou, from ''Anime/YuGiOh'', seems an ineffectual wimp who, in spite of being a gutsy little mite, would be about as much use in a fistfight as a squashed watermelon. But in a universe where Card Games are SeriousBusiness, Yugi reigns supreme. (Regular Yugi fits this trope better since the Other Yugi has HardWorkHardlyWorks going for him, whereas Yugi slowly but surely develops his abilities to the point at which he [[spoiler:can and ''does'' actually defeat the pharaoh.]]
* In ''Manga/PokemonSpecial'', Red and Blue's main Pokémon have levels that range from the 80s to 90s, while only Green's main powerhouse Pokémon has the level of 80 and everyone else is around 60-70 (her Granbull is only in its 20s). However, she rarely engages in direct combat as her victories are contributed to her skilled use of [[GambitIndex gambits]].
** Yellow counts too, when she's not using her [[SuperEmpowering level-booster powers]]. By base level alone, she is by far the weakest of the Dex Holders. She can think up of a few sound strategies during battle to make up for her lack of strength (since overusing her powers rapidly exhausts her), but the flaws of this trope are pointed out to her when she works out a complicated scheme to get past Lance's primary defense but is unable to actually break through his secondary one due to simply not having enough power.
* ''OokikuFurikabutte'' - [[PlayingWithATrope Invoked]] - Momome points out that despite Tajima's exceptional speed and accuracy, he just doesn't have the build to be a power hitter in baseball. While he has been holding his own so far, there are signs that as the series goes on [[spoiler:he will struggle to progress as a result of this handicap while the other players like Hanai overtake him in usefulness by virtue of their superior power and range.]]
* Clare from ''{{Claymore}}'', despite being in theory the weakest of all the warriors, has learned every trick and tactic there is to kill Awakened Ones. Normally, she's [[CripplingOverspecialization cripplingly overspecialized]], but as the series progresses, Awakened Beings start coming out of the woodwork. [[spoiler: And then subverted horribly when she finally meets up with Priscilla after years of searching. Priscilla is by far the strongest character currently in the series and all the skill in the world can't put a scratch on her]].
* Until he TookALevelInBadass, Yuki of ''MiraiNikki'' usually just let his {{Yandere}} ActionGirlfriend do the fighting for him. However, he is the most skilled at utilizing the power of his Diary and anticipates moves in combat or finds very specific information from the future.
** Said girlfriend is the polar opposite of Yukki, but still manages to fit this trope. She is very strong and skilled, but her Diary is the weakest, only able to predict one persons actions and her own Dead End.
* ''InitialD'' gives us Takumi and his [=AE86=] Trueno. Although his Trueno pales in comparison to more powerful cars like the RX-7s and Skylines, his skill with the Trueno is what allows him to, to the shock of those who haven't seen him in action yet, hold his own against such more powerful cars.
* ''ShamanKing'' has Yoh's father, who tends to say "It matters not who has the most furyoku, but who uses it properly". He can defeat his overpowered son and friends with his technique alone, but then again, Yoh and friends don't seem to understand that in the anime.
** There's also the fight against Lee Bai Long. To stop him after he goes berserk once Jun's spell tag is destroyed, Anna summons the ghost of Bai Long's deceased master, who possesses Yoh in order to put the raging [[OurZombiesAreDifferent zombie]] down. Bai Long's master died a decrepit old man - [[CurbStompBattle and still kicks Bai Long's ass.]]
* Lelouch Vi Britannia of ''Anime/CodeGeass'' uses his intelligence and tactics as counter his AcePilot rival, all while being an average pilot and outright pathetic ground-pounder himself.
* Just about any human in ''Manga/BeetTheVandelBuster'' capable of threatening a high star Vandel, including the main characters. Slade in particular fits this, he is small but quick, his special weapon is invisible rather than being an obvious representation of power like usual, and he is fond of advanced techniques involving intricate timing.
* InfiniteStratos: Maya Yamada, the assistant homeroom teacher, goes up against two students in Ace Customs, using a training IS... and effortlessly curbstomps them.
** In the same vein, Charles [[spoiler:aka Charlotte]] Dunois. Having explicitly stated to pilot an outdated 2nd Generation IS Rafale Revive II (the same type that Yamada-sensei uses), albeit customized, she can and has gone toe-to-toe with more modern 3rd generation machines such as Blue Tears and Schwarzer Roegen.
* Kisiragi of ''{{Eyeshield 21}}'' is a weak pretty-boy with little stamina and only average speed. Yet he manages to be CoDragons with [[ManipulativeBastard Marco]] alongside the UnskilledButStrong [[TheJuggernaut Gaou]] due to his ability to knock the ball out of a reciever's hand just after they get their hands on it. With only this skill, and his own stubborness, Kisiragi shuts down Monta, the best Wide Reciever in-series, and helps his idol, Gaou, take down Hiruma, possibly the smartest Quarterback around.
** Compared with his junior teammates, who are very large and powerful, quarterback Osamu Kobanzame from the Kyoshin Poseidons is basically a pushover. He's short, he's not particularly fast or strong, and he's a coward. However, because he don't want to become a burden for his teammates, he strives to perform to the best he can. As result, he became quarterback with great short-pass precision, with no interceptions during the tournament thanks to his cautious playing. And [[SelfDeprecation despite his own misgivings]], [[CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming his junior teammates actually greatly valued him]].
** The Devil Bats have Manabu Yukimitsu. He's only about as strong as [[FragileSpeedster Sena]], and slightly faster than [[MightyGlacier Kurita]]. What he does have is the brains to be a master of the option route with [[MagnificentBastard Hiruma]] as his quarterback, and the {{determinat|or}}ion to pull it off.
* The [[OurHomunculiAreDifferent Homunculus]] [[TranquilFury Wrath]] [[spoiler: a.k.a. King Bradley]] in ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist''. He cannot [[HealingFactor regenerate]] like the other Homunculi and he's also turning sixty, something he likes to remind us often, downplaying his combat performance as well as the effectiveness of his [[EvilEye Ultimate Eye]]; a [[CombatClairvoyance skill]] that lacks the sheer power of, say, Lust's [[WolverineClaws Ultimate Lance]] or Greed's [[MadeOfIron Ultimate Shield]]. Finally, [[GunsVsSwords he uses swords in a world where firearms]] and [[FunctionalMagic long range alchemic attacks]] are fairly common. All in all, he shouldn't pose a significant threat to our heroes, right?...[[BadassGrandpa W]]-[[ImplacableMan R]]-[[ImplausibleFencingPowers O]]-[[HeroKiller N]]-[[OneManArmy G]].
* ''SamuraiChamploo'': While Jin is definitely not physically weak, he's a lot more reliant on technical skill than his rival Mugen. This trope is most evident in the fight against [[spoiler: Kariya]]; Jin's actually very close in skill with him, but outclassed in sheer power and Ki-Attacks.
* Kuroko of ''Manga/KurokoNoBasuke''. He doesn't have the talent or the build for basketball, but because of his highly refined and practiced skill at misdirection, he was able to be considered the "Phantom Sixth Player" of the legendary Generation of Miracles, his middle school team which took the national championship three years in a row.
* In ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'', [[DarkMagicalGirl Akemi Homura]] is eventually revealed to be a version of this. [[spoiler: Her actual powers are fairly limited; her status as one of the most accomplished warriors in the series comes from her creative applications of them. As well as a ''lot'' of [[MoreDakka Dakka]].]]
* Sniper from ''Manga/YuYuHakusho'' more or less fits the trope. Physically, he's a normal human who could easily be knocked out from a mere tap by any of the main characters, yet he's dangerous enough of a psychic and marksman to give ''Genkai'' the chills. And sure enough, Yusuke stood no real chance against him during their "fight." [[spoiler:Fortunately for Yusuke, Hiei was lurking about.]]
** Kuwabara also fits this trope to an extent. He's the weakest of the main cast by a fair margin, and his overall skill isn't as great as the others. Despite this, he is incredibly gifted in energy manipulation, winning or coming close in a great many of his fights [[WhenAllYouHaveIsAHammer through his many impromptu variations of his Spirit Sword]], even managing to defeat somebody roughly two spirit classes above him.
* ''Manga/KamisamaKiss'' gives us Nanami, an ordinary human turned PhysicalGod. She has plenty of divine power and she's both intelligent and cunning, but she is still only a human in terms of physical strength and endurance.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Comic Books]]
* {{Batman}}. He's a guy with a funny suit and a bunch of neat toys who runs around with people who can bench-press planets. And, whenever there's a conflict, ''he wins'', because he's the most skilled. It helps he's CrazyPrepared and keeps Kryptonite on his body at all times in the off chance Superman is a danger. Let alone his other plans...
** SelfDemonstrating/TheJoker. He might be a normal, rather fragile human, but he can concoct poisons and create gadgets that regularly overcome metas on a routine basis. Add in the fact that he would pretty much sell his soul for a box of cigars and massacre a kindergarten class on a whim, and you've got a guy whom almost every other DC Supervillain fears.
** Tim Drake, the third Robin, shows off how much he's learned by employing the same tactics. In the last issue of his solo series, he's challenged to a duel to the death by Lady Shiva, ''the'' deadliest assassin in TheDCU, who trained him in the first place. After what appears to be a SingleStrokeBattle, Tim is stumbling, with three broken ribs, while Shiva is standing confidently... [[spoiler:until she falls to the ground, paralyzed. Tim spiked some hotel chocolates with a paralytic poison, activated by a heightened heart rate, ''before she even wrote the note challenging him''.]] Standing over her, Tim then explains this trope: If he can't match someone with skill or strength, he'll beat them with his smarts.
* SquirrelGirl, who has the powers of [[WhatKindOfLamePowerIsHeartAnyway talking to squirrels while having squirrel agility]], takes down Marvel powerhouses, including the Cosmic Powered Thanos, by [[WeaksauceWeakness exploiting their one weakness]], being just that good, or having PlotArmor.
** RuleOfFunny is also a factor.
** This trope probably applies to the entire GreatLakesAvengers team. They get no respect from the other superheroes, and their powers are...weird. Yet they still save the day now and then.
* Averted in ''CalvinAndHobbes''. Calvin once attempted to use this on Moe the school bully -- or at least explain its mechanics -- only to be beaten as easily as usual.
* This is Karate Kid's (''Comicbook/{{Legion Of Super-Heroes}}'') entire schtick: although he technically doesn't possess any super-powers, he can still hold his own against Superman thanks to his knowledge of every martial art in existence.
* Cassie from ''HackSlash'' is a BadassNormal always fighting against undead monsters many times stronger than her.
* Believe it or not, SpiderMan in relation to the rest of the MarvelUniverse. Sure his powers are pretty impressive to a normal person, but he's a lightweight compared to the some of the guys he normally hangs out with. However, by using his brains, all his powers, and [[{{Determinator}} absolute refusal to give up]] he can, and often does, take down even literal {{Physical God}}s.
** Doesn't hurt that his {{Unstoppable Rage}}s are quite possibly the most legitimate in Marvel, next to [[TropeCodifier the Hulk]] himself.
** Most of his rogues' gallery is stronger than him, and many of them can break his webbing, so Spider-man has to outthink all of his opponents. One of his favorite tricks is to hit an enemy with a strand of web, even though said villain is physically stronger and heavier so Spider-man cannot throw him. When the enemy tries to yank Spider-man towards them, he uses the momentum to deliver a nasty kick or punch.
** It also doesn't hurt his physical abilities are some of the most well balanced around. There are stronger, but they usually have no where near his speed and agility and those who are more agile and even faster are nowhere near as strong.
* Jesse Custer from ''{{Preacher}}'' is this compared to [[UnskilledButStrong Cassidy]], and has notably kicked his ass. As Jesse puts it, "Fella taught me to fight was the same piece of shit shot my daddy dead in fronta my eyes. That'll tend to focus your concentration".
** One of Jesse and Cassidy's fights hilariously subverts this. Cassidy throws a punch in a rage, which Jesse blocks; Cassidy is cowed and leaves. Jesse immediately asks Tulip and Amy to drive him to the hospital, as the punch broke every bone in his hand.
** Tulip also fits this trope, being a talented gunfighter who routinely goes up against both normal humans several times her size/strength and supernatural creatures. Of particular note is the time she [[spoiler:shoots Cassidy out of a window and into the sunlight]]. Bonus points for doing it with one hell of a hangover.
* This is pretty much the schtick of Reed Richards of the ComicBook/FantasticFour. He's physically the weakest member, but his mind makes him the most dangerous by a long shot.
* [[ComicBook/{{Hellblazer}} John Constantine]] is, by his own admission, terrible at fighting. He will more often than not lose out in a straight-up fist fight and doesn't really use any magic outside of rituals, and then only when absolutely necessary. Regardless, anyone who decides to piss him off better watch their backs, because chances are that he will be arranging some spectacularly terrible fate for them somewhere down the line.
* On paper, CaptainAmerica isn't all that impressive. He's listed as the height of human potential, but a good chunk of his enemies are ''way'' beyond that. Unfortunately for most villains, he's more than skilled enough to make him one of the top A-list heroes in Marvel. On at least one occasion, he's actually beaten TheHulk.
** In one instance Captain America lost the strength and agility that was given to him by the Super Solider serum, turning him back into that skinny kid from Brooklyn. While being intimidated by some newly super-powered thugs, Cap tells them that while the serum gave him physical strength, his skills are the result of years of training and discipline. [[CurbStompBattle He then demonstrates.]]
* Comicbook/{{Empowered}} has shown signs of this. While her supersuit really is pretty powerful, it is easily damaged and rendered useless, making her an extreme GlassCannon. However, unlike 99% of the other superheroes in her universe, she actually thinks, and this has allowed her to beat villains that others were not able to. She also notes that as cool as throwing a car looks, you'll do much more damage [[CarFu by just driving it into them.]]
* Comicbook/DoctorStrange (yes, really), when up against the [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt caliber of threat that will get a Sorcerer Supreme involved]], is almost always overpowered and outclassed. He still wins through a combination of luck, knowledge, and the [[GuileHero clever use of what he has]].
* Amy from SonicTheComic She never gains the raw power of Sonic or Knuckles, but her smarts and ranged combat abilities allow her to be almost as effective under the right conditions.
* Hideko Takata was a member of the Hulkbusters in the late 1980s. She's a normal, overweight, middle-aged woman, who manged to ''throw the Hulk to the ground,'' by expert use of judo.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Fan Works]]
* There's an entire magic style built around this principle in ''Fanfic/GameTheory.''
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Film]]
* In ''TheThirteenthWarrior'', one of the thirteen picks a fight with a younger, bigger, stronger mook and lets him beat him up for a while before hacking his head off to show that the thirteen are stronger than they seem.
* ''{{Robocop}}'' combines this with WeaksauceWeakness: The cyborg defeats ED-209 by ''knowing how to climb stairs''.
* In ''Forbidden City Cop'', Ling Ling Fat inherited a position in the imperial bodyguards, but doesn't actually know any martial arts. Instead, he's a clever RenaissanceMan who uses his wits and inventions to outfight his enemies.
* ''{{Zatoichi}}: The Blind Swordsman''. He's old, blind, feeble, and homeless. He practically hobbles up to his opponents, and then cuts them down.
* Hit Girl (ChloeMoretz) of ''KickAss'' is an 11-year old girl, but is capable of killing multiple adult opponents due to her superior training in martial arts, weapons and firearms [[MST3KMantra (just go with it)]]. Notably, in unarmed combat against an opponent who is an equally skilled martial artist, his significant advantage in terms of weight means that she actually has trouble keeping up with him.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Literature]]
* Karrin Murphy of ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles''. While not exactly physically weak, she's a [[PintSizedPowerhouse tiny]] BadassNormal up against a lot of supernatural creatures who could in theory mop the floor with her. She's an expert martial artist and marksman, [[AttackItsWeakPoint makes sure to remember and implement any weaknesses she learns]], and is willing and able to improvise - at one point she takes down a chlorofiend (read: plant monster) with a ''[[ChainsawGood chainsaw]]''.
** Anastasia Luccio, the Captain of the Wardens, is this by necessity, due to a [[GrandTheftMe body swapping incident]] with a necromancer. Her new body just doesn't have the same magical talent her old one did, forcing her to constantly conserve her energy with her spells. That being said she can use the same fire spells as Harry as needle-thin beams of exteremely precise and intense heat and cast mass-concealing veils to hide people. Harry says that even with the decrease in power he wouldn't want to fight her.
** In ''Ghost Story'' Harry's apprentice Molly has gotten in on the act--again, she doesn't have nearly Harry's raw destructive power, but she's gained ''enormous'' skill in illusions that let her evade and fool multiple attackers at once, sometimes tricking them into killing each other.
** The Archive is a human receptacle for all human knowledge, and it is also hereditary, passing from mother to daughter at birth. This means that that tiny girl know more than any other individual in the world. And she puts that knowledge to good use, holding her own against several Denarians without much apparent effort.
*** Although in normal conditions, Ivy has both skill ''and'' power; the Denarians trapped her in a circle that cut her off from using more than a tiny fraction of her magical power, and she still cleaned their clocks pretty thoroughly.
* In ''EndersGame'', Ender Wiggin killed several larger opponents in hand-to-hand combat.
* ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' has Cohen the Barbarian (and the rest of the Silver Horde). It says a lot about his skills that Cohen is in his eighties, has been a barbarian hero his entire life, ''and is still alive''. Whenever you have five centuries of combat experience distributed among half a dozen guys, expect a lot of this.
** [[Discworld/ThiefOfTime Always remember Rule 1: Do not act incautiously when confronting a little bald wrinkly smiling man.]]
** In "The Sea And Little Fishes" Mrs Earwig, saying Granny Weatherwax shouldn't enter the Witch Trials because she always wins, suggests Granny should be grateful for her [[TheGift natural talent]]. Nanny Ogg quickly replies, "I'm the one with natural talent, Esme just works bloody hard."
* One of the 'viewpoint' protagonists in the light novel series ''FateZero'', Emiya Kiritsugu, is presented as this. While he is an [[ColdSniper expert marksman]], most of his successes come from [[CombatPragmatist exploiting]] [[ShootTheHostage his targets' weaknesses]] and [[TryingToCatchMeFightingDirty generally fighting very methodically]]. Whenever he is in a direct confrontation, he will ''always'' be the one running away, while waiting for the best time to put his plans into action.
* In ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'', Mat Cauthon outfights two stronger and more practiced opponents at the same time, while recovering from a serious illness. He's ''really'' good with the [[SimpleStaff quarterstaff]].
** Mat is also a [[RealityWarper Ta'veren]]...a low grade reality warper. Further, he had 3,000 years of battle data crammed into his head by beings from an alternate dimension.
*** In the interest of fairness, it should be mentioned that at this point in the plot he'd not yet come into possession of the ancient memories. While he certainly has supernatural luck, it was established that the more random the conditions, the better it worked (And the outcome of a fight is hardly random). He was, in fact, really bloody good with that staff.
** Another example from ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'' are some of the weaker channelers in the series. Although among the Aes Sedai, [[AuthorityEqualsAsskicking the strongest channelers are always given authority over those weaker]], but some of the weaker ones manage to make a name for themselves. Particularly notable are:
*** The Wise One Sorilea who can just barely channel, but has such a sense of authority about her that when she says "jump" even other Wise Ones ask, "How High!"
*** Androl, who's probably the weakest channeler in the Black Tower, but has an incredible talent for making gateways.
* Jasmine from ''DeltoraQuest'' is tiny, and basically has this as her fighting style throughout the series, even winning a fighting tournament with it in the fourth book. Lief also uses it to an extent, he's at least average in size and strength, but most opponents are still bigger and stronger.
* David from Literature/TheBible ([[DavidVersusGoliath in his fight against Goliath]]) is the [[TropeCodifier quintessential]] weak but skilled character; one stone slung in the right place and the fight was over.
* {{Elric}}, until he acquires Stormbringer
* Downplayed in the Detective's Story in Dan Simmons' ''Literature/{{Hyperion}}'', where the protagonist notes that while WeakButSkilled is sometimes good enough, it can't stand up to Strong ''And'' Skilled.
* Hrathen from ''{{Elantris}}'' is hardly ''weak'', being a BadassPreacher ''par excellence'', but he's nowhere near as physically powerful as a magically-enhanced Dakhor Monk. He's still able to hold his own against them because he's an incredibly skilled swordsman, while their power has made them arrogant and sloppy.
* In ''DarkRendezvous'', Scout is a Jedi Padawan. The Force is weak with her; she makes up for it with determination, quick thinking, and endless training. She's got HeroicResolve in spades and bloody-minded determination, and in a book full of concern about almost every other character maybe one day turning to the Dark Side, no one believes Scout will, not even herself, because she fights so hard to be the best Jedi she can be. Just to drive home the point of how good she was: she survived ThePurge that killed most of the full Knights and Masters of the Jedi order. In her non-Dark Rendezvous appearance the author had other Jedi look down on her for having weak powers, but it only takes one line to see that that author was just not doing the research.
-->'''Yoda:''' "Too few Jedi have I already. But even had I a crop of thousands, small one, I would not let you go without a fight. Spirit and determination you have. Between the stars, so much darkness there is. [[CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming Why would I throw away one who burns so bright?]]"
* In ''DuelOfSorcery'', Serroi succeeded as a ''[[AmazonBrigade meie]]'' by way of quick reflexes and sheer determination.
* In the DaleBrown novel ''Sky Masters'' a small Filipino group using outdated ships is able to trounce a larger, modern Chinese flotilla to the point that the BigBad admiral in charge of said Chinese flotilla is pushed over the GodzillaThreshold.
* Deconstructed in ''[[Literature/TheActsOfCaine Heroes Die]]''. When [[ActionGirl Talann]] fights [[TheDragon Berne]], she initially holds out, but Berne has some mean skills of his own too, and her inability to close the power gap [[spoiler: gets her killed.]]
* LordPeterWimsey is particularly noted to be this, when it comes to a test of strength he'll get taken out, but there's been several a villain who's been surprised that the short, thin, well-dressed man in spats has insanely fast reflexes and a considerable knowledge of martial arts that will make an opponent's bulk a disadvantage.
* Tavi from ''Literature/CodexAlera'' has no access to fury power, while everyone else in Aleran society does. It forces him to become very skilled at kicking people's butts all on his own power. The teacher even has him deliberately pretend to be horrible at it so he can serve as a counterexample for the other students in fight training. [[spoiler:''Then'' he starts developing his furycraft powers...]]
* In the MythAdventures series, Skeeve is just an apprentice magician and his mentor Aahz has been completely BroughtDownToNormal. Nevertheless, thanks to each being quite the GuileHero, they regularly trounce or otherwise deal with vastly superior foes, leading to Skeeve enjoying a public reputation as a sorcerer with an almost godlike power level.
* ''Literature/LegacyOfTheDragokin'': Benji inherits his mother's superpowers ''and'' the skill to use them but he doesn't have her stamina or her strength. He compensates with guile.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Live Action TV]]
* ''Series/DoctorWho'' The Doctor, aside from a handy [[AppliedPhlebotinum screwdriver]] and a parlor trick regarding [[DeathIsCheap kinda-sorta-not-really dying]], is for all intents and purposes, a mortal being no more powerful than any other sharp-witted human male. And yet, he has engineered the downfall of entire races by being merely ''smarter than them.''
* ''Series/MacGyver'' lived and breathed this trope. He generally loses straight-up fistfights with larger or stronger opponents. He always needed to attack from advantage, [[AHandfulForAnEye throw sand]], or use some gadget to win. What keeps him from being a CombatPragmatist is that he DoesntLikeGuns and never uses them.
* Ethan Rayne from ''Series/{{Buffy|the Vampire Slayer}}'' can't take Giles in a fight, but he has a flair for magic-induced chaos.
* Wesley from ''Series/{{Angel}}'' is easily the physically weakest male member of Angel Investigations. Yet he managed to kill Skip, capture and cage up Justine and faced Vail in "Not Fade Away".
** While testing Ilyria's powers, Spike (who is usually no slouch in the strength department) gets knocked around the room constantly by her godlike strength, commenting that she hits "like a mack-truck". Over time he begins to adapt and dodge her blows and even gets a few shots in. Ilyria disparages him as being weak for adapting and compromising, to which Spike retorts that it is a strength because he is ''learning''.
* [[ProfessionalWrestling Rey Mysterio]] is the smallest and physically weakest regular male competitor on the WWE roster, usually outweighed by a good 30-40 pounds even in the Cruiserweight division. Yet he competes almost exclusively in the Heavyweight division and he's won more titles than 90% of the other guys.
* ''Series/{{Farscape}}'' - D'Argo is huge, strong, used to be a Luxan warrior, and has the ability to knock people out with his ''tongue''. Aeryn Sun is slender, smaller, female, with a species weakness which means she starts dying whenever it gets too hot. But in any battle where D'Argo doesn't surprise her, ''guess who's tougher''?!
* ''RescueMe'' had strong, young firefighter Franco training as a boxer. His first sparring partner was a man with decades of experience, who was way over 70 years old. Guess who won?
* Ben Linus from Series/{{LOST}} hardly looks dangerous, but he is fully capable of taking you down. He managed to destroy two Middle Eastern guys on horseback and armed with machine guns using only a telescoping baton and the element of surprise as weapons. There there's the fact that he's also a {{Chessmaster}} and a MagnificentBastard and can play GambitRoulette like few others...
* The Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|Reimagined}} is a 50 year old bucket which was being turned into a museum when the Cylons hit, having been rendered obsolete by newer battlestars. Yet, thanks to its Commander, (eventually) hardened pilots and a TrueCompanions mentality, they were able to survive the holocaust and the four years of ordeal. There is a reason why many fans believed ''Galactica'' could take out ''Pegasus'' despite the former being heavily outgunned by the latter.
* A curious example of this pops up in the form of [[RobotGirl Cameron]] in ''TheSarahConnorChronicles''. While she's [[CuteBruiser far from the weakest member]] of the main cast, she's still much physically weaker than other machines, being very small and lightweight. In a straight slugging match, she tends to lose. However, Cameron is intelligent and adaptable, making use of her surroundings, {{Improvised Weapon}}s, and outmaneuvering opponents to defeat them.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
* Rogues in ''DungeonsAndDragons'' are practically the patron saints of this trope. Not only can they apply their dexterity to weapon skill instead of strength like most classes, but they also learn much more quickly than their counterparts. Even low intelligence rogues will have a healthy set of skills, while a high intelligence human rogue will quickly become the team's ninja historian animal taming demolitions expert.
** The rogue's signature sneak attack ability was also changed from a damage multiplier in 2.0 to deal consistent bonus regardless of the rogue's strength or size of his or her weapon in 3.0 so that rogues do not particularly suffer from low strength or lightweight weapons.
** A Rogue-friendly prestige class in v3.5 called Invisible Blade applies this trope more narrowly to combat. The rogue becomes incredibly skilled at fighting with [[KnifeNut daggers]], and can now apply his Intelligence bonus to armor class as well as to skill points. As a trade-off, the Invisible Blade cannot wear any armor. To qualify for the prestige class the rogue must defeat a WorthyOpponent in single combat using nothing but a dagger.
* The [[LightEmUp Haos]] attribute from {{Bakugan}} absolutely thrives on having lower power levels by having cards that give the weaker Bakugan a tremendous advantage (The wider the margin, the better). Probably the only game where people get into arguments over who has the ''weakest'' of something.
* In [[MagicTheGathering Magic]], Weak But Skilled tends to be an advantage. A creature having high power or toughness stats and no other special traits or abilities is utterly unremarkable (after all, the most common creature-removal spells simply kill or otherwise remove creatures without looking twice at their size). However, some of the most valuable creatures to have are small ones (in terms of power and toughness) with useful abilities like [[http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=198383 the ability to retrieve any Equipment from your deck, and put any Equipment in your hand into play for a low, fixed cost]] or [[http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=185749 the ability to give you extra mana just for putting more lands onto the battlefield, especially in formats where the ability to do so more often is commonplace]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Video Games]]
* The player deliberately invokes this in any LowLevelRun.
** Also can be invoked in multiplayer games, with players deliberately using [[JokeItem horrible items]], [[JokeCharacter characters]], or just generally [[SelfImposedChallenge limiting themselves to very weak tactics]], yet still come out on top.
* In the first ''HalfLife'' game, the player character Gordon Freeman is a scientist who theoretically isn't cut out for the kind of mayhem caused by the resonance cascade. He has to make do without any firearms at first, and, given a skilled player controlling him, could be said to either take a quick, practical [[TookALevelInBadAss level in badass]] or just discover that he's naturally skilled as a fighter.
** The second game [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]] it with a speech by Breen to the troops:
--> "How could one man have slipped through your forces' fingers time and time again? How is it possible? This is not some agent provocateur or highly trained assassin we are discussing. Gordon Freeman is a theoretical physicist who had barely earned the distinction of his Ph.D. at the time of the Black Mesa Incident. I have good reason to believe that in the intervening years, he was in a state that precluded further development of covert skills. The man you have consistently failed to slow, let alone capture is by all standards just that--an ordinary man. How could you have failed to apprehend him?"
* Metafictionally speaking, in games with [[CharacterLevel leveling systems]], early-to-middling bosses (particularly [[WakeUpCallBoss difficult]] [[EarlyBirdBoss ones]]) are WeakButSkilled: They often have access to a variety of skills/spells/attacks/whatever and a complex AI script, however, in the big scheme of things their actual statistics are unimpressive and will probably be beaten out by the RandomEncounters of the later game--which, in turn, tend to be UnskilledButStrong.
** Also metafictionally speaking, in many games that allow you to create your own character class (like Franchise/TheElderScrolls or VideoGame/{{Fallout}}), you can choose to sacrifice actual strength and endurance for having, amongst other things, high agility or intelligence, creating a character who [[GlassCannon could easily be killed if the enemy can get to him, but the enemy never lives long enough to try.]] Especially if the game has a OneStatToRuleThemAll that isn't strength or endurance.
* You, in ''VideoGame/{{Mabinogi}}'': A good player with half-decent skill ranks can annihilate mighty bosses while taking only ScratchDamage, while an incompetent player with mighty stats will be [[CurbStompBattle curb-stomped]] in short order.
* The vast majority of {{Boss Battle}}s will make the PlayerCharacter an example of this.
* Pretty much any top down[=/=]BulletHell ShootEmUp such as ''{{Ikaruga}}'' or ''BeatHazard'' requires that the player be this.
* You, in ''NetHack.'' Your only hope of survival is good tactics, but with proper preparation you can survive the wrath of a GOD.
** {{Roguelike}}s in general.
* You, in ''VideoGame/DeusEx''. Even when you get the laser sword, super speed and inhuman damage soaking. You'll still get taken down by most enemies if you don't think carefully.
* In ''{{Okami}}'', Waka fights Amaterasu twice, and though he loses he urges her to get stronger. It's clear that he's far stronger than Ammy through most of the game's beginning and middle because he [[spoiler: shows up to help in the very final fight, and manages to block a full strength blast from Yami long enough to deliver a FinalSpeech. It helps he's been awake and active for 100 years while Amaterasu was weakened SealedGoodInACan, but he's still just a mortal and survives fighting gods.]]
* In the ''VideoGame/MegaMan'' games where he is playable, Proto Man is an example of this. [[spoiler: Due to a defect in his power system, he is in constant pain, and]] ingame tends to take fewer hits because of it. Avoiding hits and fighting smart is his only option to take on enemies.
** Mega Man, himself, at least to begin within his games. His arm cannon (and later Mega Buster) is vastly inferior in terms of power to his opponents. Only by the end of the game, when he's a walking arsenal of doom, does he go to the other side...and then ''still'' require skill, because he's still just a small robot facing huge massive weapons of destruction.
** VideoGame/MegaManX fits even more than Mega Man, considering the fact that he's almost always smaller and less technically able than the opponents he faces, but he's goddamn unstoppable once he starts. Add the fact that ''every game'' still manages to have ThatOneBoss even ''after'' he gets his 'Ultimate' armor.
** It's stated in canon that adherence to this trope is entirely voluntary for all incarnations of Mega Man. With their [[TropeNamer signature]] [[MegaManning adaptability]] and intellect, any Mega Man could easily become powerful enough to wipe the floor with the rest of the cast combined and quite rightfully fear the [[ComesGreatInsanity corruption]] this could lead to.
* Certain ''AceCombat'' [[ThatOneBoss One Bosses]] display the ability to kick your ass despite using statistically weaker planes (such as Espada Team using a ''starting'' fighter and a "multirole" fighter-bomber in a pure air-to-air mission)... to an extent that might be considered the computer CherryTapping ''you''.
** On the other side, you have, canonically at least, Mobius One in his Raptor against up to six Wyverns and Gryphus One against the Fenrirs, as well as Cipher and Talisman in (Strike) Eagles against [[spoiler: Solo Wing Pixy]]'s Morgan and Ilya's Nosferatu respectively. While neither the Raptor nor the Eagle are objectively "weak" in-game, they are statistically outclassed by these superfighters. Nevertheless, the protagonists still pull off wins. Then you get to the CherryTapping examples...
* In the first two ''VideoGame/{{Fallout}}'' games, it's possible to take an at-creation trait called Skilled, that makes your character into one of these. You gain perks (miscellaneous, but potent benefits) less often but get a bonus to all your skills (medicine, gun skills, etc). It's generally considered inferior to its counterpart trait since skills are easy to raise and specialize in, but perks come only with level gains.
** It makes a comeback in ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'' where it instead means that you get 10% less experience points, but instead gain 5 experience points in every skill. Here it becomes a trait to cherish, as while it takes more time level up, a low level character with Skilled can be more effective than a high level character.
** New Vegas actually has another example, in unarmed combat. since (excepting the ballistic fist) most unarmed weapons only require 2 strength to be used properly, a character can have only 2 strength (pitifully low) but still have vast unarmed combat abilities, capable of punching people across rooms. The learnable combat moves take this up to eleven, allowing enemies to be knocked down, disarmed, and countered without "strength" factoring into it at all. possibly averted in that unarmed combat is based off of "endurance", a measure of how resistant you are to attacks, which could be thought of as "strong"
* Garrett from the ''{{Thief}}'' series is very much like this. He's reasonably athletic (he can run and mantle with the best of them, although he's no ninja), but in strength and combat is no match for the muscular bruiser guards or straight-out superhuman monsters he's regularly faced with. Instead, he relies on smarts and stealth to outmaneuver and outwit them all.
* Faith from the 3D {{platformer}} ''MirrorsEdge''.
* Little Mac in ''PunchOut'', particularly in his NES incarnation. Pint-sized guy vs. title holders who are many times bigger and more muscular than him, anyone?
** It should be noted that his Star Punch is only acquired by hitting the opponent at a moment of opportunity, and tends to be less powerful than many later game opponents' punches, which clearly shows how much the players must rely on tactics and be more efficient than their opponents.
* In ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights2'' this is a fundamental part of the conflict between Sand and Qara. It is implied that Sand has no extraordinary aptitude for magic, and yet though training and dedication, he's an accomplished wizard when you meet him, knowing both the theory and practice of magic. As a sorceress, Qara comes by her power naturally, but doesn't bother to learn to ''do'' anything with it beyond the apparently all-purpose application of "Blow Stuff Up".
* In ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4'', Solid Snake has aged considerably but is still able to fight effectively against physically and technologically superior opponents using his elite covert warfare skills.
** This is in fact a major theme of the first and fourth games: experience and skill trumps pure strength. Snake repeatedly triumphs against the Genome Soldiers of the first game, and the [=PMCs=] of the fourth game, because he knows what he is doing and has the confidence and ability to pull it off, while the other side is relatively unskilled but has a significant numerical and technological superiority.
* Luanne Lui from ''BackyardSports'', mostly due to her speed.
* A rare villianous example from ''GuildWars'' - High level [[BeastMan Charr]] are still not at a particularly high level compared to most enemies you face at maximum level, but still manage to be some of the hardest enemies in the game due to the fact that they have better thought out combinations of skills then most enemies and [[ThePowerOfFriendship being a lot more coordinated]].
* Doctor Mordin Solus in ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'' was a member of the Special forces of his Race. He's small, but can take out several mercenaries by himself.
-->'''Mordin:''' Not always been a doctor, can handle myself. Advantage of being Salarian. Turians, Krogan, Vorcha all obvious threats... *[[VerbalTic sharp inhale]]* Never see me coming.
** Most salarian soldiers do this. Salarian are not a strong race, so they use their heads to fight.
** Shepard in the original ''MassEffect'' was a regular, ordinary human, who ''still'' managed to take down Krogan, Thresher Maws and even Reapers. Technically this makes them ''more'' badass than they are in the sequels, as the Lazarus Project meant they were now MadeOfIron.
* Another pair from BioWare: [[KnightsOfTheOldRepublic Mission Vao and T3-M4]]. They have the lowest hit points in the party, but they're the best when it comes to disabling mines, hacking computers, picking locks, or turning the security systems against your enemies. Mission also has a nasty sneak attack ability while T3-M4 can be equipped with stun guns and flame-throwers in addition to blasters.
* You as Gene in ''GodHand''. Sure, between the [[SuperMode Unleash]] and the [[LimitBreak Reel/Roulette]] you do have a lot of power, but the other 80% of the time when you're building up to the former, even simple mooks can tear you a new breathing hole very fast. Dodging and knowing when and how to retaliate are very important. It's a NintendoHard game, folks.
* ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'''s Spy class is [[FragileSpeedster one of the weakest classes in a straightfoward fight]], however, if you [[DifficultButAwesome learn to play him to his stealth genre strengths in this otherwise FPS]] a Spy is the stuff of your opponent's worst nightmares, being [[MagnificentBastard a silent killer who's like a lethal version of Batman, instilling fear and terror into the enemy as they breath their last breaths.]]
** It can be argued that the Sniper is shades of this trope as well. While the Spy has [[CloakingDevice invisibility]] and [[PaperThinDisguise disguises]] to aid him, the Sniper has only his rifle, his wits, and his marksmanship to take down his opponents. And more often than not, he does.
* The Swordmaster Class of the FireEmblem series, at least in the games they appear, tend to be this, but the class that epitomizes the trope would be the even rarer class, Assassin. Swordmasters have high speed and skill with a relatively low strength cap, but also gain a boost anywhere from 15% to 30%, depending on game, to their critical chance. Assassins tend to have the lowest strength cap in any given game they're in for final class promotions, but also have the highest skill cap, and are the only class with a one hit kill move that deals death even if they'd normally not even do damage with a normal attack.
* This Trope is played ''very straight'' in the ''ShinMegamiTensei'' series. With a proper usage of [[StatusBuff status buffs]], [[UselessUsefulSpell instant death spells]] and [[AttackItsWeakPoint exploiting your opponent's weakness]], you can easily trumph over a more powerful opponent. Of course that, being NintendoHard, the same principle applies to your enemies.
* ''VideoGame/BlazBlue'' gives us [[HighlyVisibleNinja Bang]] [[RatedMForManly Shishigami]]. "Weak" as in being one of the few pure humans in the series, and thus having no genetic or eldritch empowerment, he also lacks an empowered weapon with which to do battle with these beings. [[spoiler:He actually has a powerful Nox Nyctores, but has no idea how to use it and that thing has been in dormant state.]] "Skilled" as in his long years of ninja trainings which includes various ninja skills, including the hidden technique [[SuperMode "Fu-Rin-Ka-Zan"]] (yes, that can be attained through training) and most importantly creative uses of them... especially the last one, since with that, he could survive against both members of the game's super-powered BigBadDuumvirate. And with all those skills, he can handle himself just fine against various superpowered other characters in the game.
* Old and ill and all, [[BadassGrandpa Gen]] of StreetFighter can still pack quite a punch against younger, healthier and physically stronger fighters than himself. If Akuma is to be believed (and why shouldn't he be?), Gen's age and illness are the '''only''' things that make it remotely fair (in-story) for him to fight any of the other characters.
* From ''VideoGame/ValkyriaChronicles'', [[TheEngineer Engineers]]. In combat, they're [[MasterOfNone Masters of None]] who lack the speed and movement range of [[FragileSpeedster Scouts]], the toughness of [[StoneWall Lancers]] and [[MightyGlacier Stormtroopers]] and the long-range fire-power of [[GlassCannon Snipers]]. However, given the fact that they can repair [[TankGoodness the Edelweiss and Shamrock]], rebuild sandbags, replenish ammunition and grenades, [[StuffBlowingUp carry three grenades instead of one]], [[LandMineGoesClick defuse mines]], and [[CombatMedic heal squad members at double efficiency]], means that Engineers are some of the most versatile squad members in the game.
* In ''WorldOfTanks'', the match making can place very low tiers in matches with the bigger, nastier high level tanks. A skilled pilot, however, will stay hidden, reveal the enemy to his artillery, manage to destroy the enemy artillery and even capture once the dust has settled down. In fact, a pilot that is good at this will do more to help win than his strongest teammates without firing a single shot.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Oddworld}}: Stranger's Wrath'', Stranger decidedly qualifies as a {{Badass}}, despite being "kinda shrimpy [[spoiler:for a Steef]]".
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Visual Novels]]
* {{Lampshaded}} in ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'', with the comment that fighting technique is used to compensate for weakness. The context, however, is an [[InvertedTrope inversion]], pointing out that Berserker, consumed with magical bloodlust, is so damn fast and strong that he doesn't ''need'' skill.
** A straight example would be Archer. Archer has one of the worst statistics of all the servants in the Grail War and has no divine blessings, super-powerful LimitBreak weapon techniques, or anything like that. However, he is immortal, and has spent a ''lot'' of the time he has fighting and devising tactics that maximize his strengths. Consequently he's able to stand up to epic legends and demi-gods like Saber and Berserker. In spite of his Servant class designation, Archer is actually closer to being a JackOfAllStats than the GlassCannon that would otherwise be implied.
*** More than that! First off, Archer specifically says that he wasn't originally a warrior or a hero or anything like that; [[spoiler: he's actually a mage, the most fragile class there is]]. Whereas other [[spoiler: mages]] have all sorts of cool tricks [[spoiler: or spells]] they can pull out for most everything, Archer [[spoiler: only knows two types of spells, [[WhenAllYouHaveIsAHammer though what spells they are]]]]!
*** Moreover, unlike virtually every other participant in the Grail War, Archer [[spoiler: is not actually a traditional Heroic Spirit]]. This makes him virtually inscrutable since he has no notable weaknesses or famous AchillesHeel for others to exploit.
** Also Assassin, who is fast but not very strong and is wielding an essentially normal sword. His magical energy is not only low, it only declines because it cannot be restored. However, he fights on more than equal terms with Saber herself and only loses because his sword is bent from blocking an attack of hers. Even Lancer, who thinks nothing of fighting several other Heroic Spirits at once so long as he is on the defensive, highly dislikes the idea of having to fight Assassin.
** [[spoiler:Souichirou]]. He trained in a martial arts style [[ConfusionFu so strange that when people fight him for the first time they have no idea what he's going to do next]]. Because of this he is able to to almost kill Saber (second strongest Servant in the Grail War) during their first encounter, [[BareFistedMonk unarmed]] with a strength-boosting enhancement given to him by Caster.
* The Nanaya Clan is revealed in [[{{Tsukihime}} Kagetsu Tohya]] to have next to no supernatural abilities at all nor superstrength or ''anything'' but pure assassin skills. The most badass of them all, Nanaya Kiri, only has the ability to sense the thoughts and emotions of others. Normally, they go up against horribly dangerous monsters at the likes of Vermillion Akiha or worse. Akiha's who actually know how to fight, that is. And they win. Just think if Shiki had actually grown up with them before they were wiped out and ''then'' gotten his Mystic Eyes. How much training can a six year old really have received anyway? Yet he still takes out Nero Chaos, Roa, Walachia, Satsuki and at least one more of the 27 top Dead Apostles before they even notice he's there.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Webcomics]]
* While Bun-Bun from ''Webcomic/SluggyFreelance'' is hardly weak, he ''is'' still a mini-lop rabbit, and relies on this trope when taking on particularly tough opponents like [[http://www.sluggy.com/daily.php?date=990404 Mecha Easter Bunny]], [[http://ads.sluggy.com/daily.php?date=020630 evil Aylee]], [[http://www.sluggy.com/daily.php?date=031221 Alien Santa Claus]], or [[http://www.sluggy.com/daily.php?date=060112 the]] [[http://www.sluggy.com/daily.php?date=060113 dread]] [[http://www.sluggy.com/daily.php?date=060115 pirate]] [[http://beta.sluggy.com/daily.php?date=060118 Black]] [[http://beta.sluggy.com/daily.php?date=060119 Soul]].
* [[GeneralProtectionFault Fooker]] while protecting Ki from [[spoiler:Sam]], who is a football player, as he apparently had been "moonlighting with the UGA" at the time and knew martial arts well enough to win. This also comes up when he fights [[spoiler:his counterpart in the Nega-Verse]]; he doesn't fare quite as well in this case, but manages to gain the upper hand when his opponent gets distracted.
* Jason in the WalkyVerse is exactly this. He once said he grew up a "mortal among gods"
* ''Webcomic/{{Inverloch}}'' gives us an uninintentional CripplingOverspecialization subversion. Raul is the smartest headmaster ever at the Wizarding Academy, but he has almost no magical strength.
* Gote, from the long-defunct webcomic ''Dominion'', is an millenia-old immortal with no magical powers and more importanly ''no healing factor.'' How? In an email, the creator of said webcomic responded to that very question: "''When somebody punches you multiple times, you learn to duck. They do it ENOUGH, you learn to hit back. Do this for a few thousand years, and you can do it damned near PERFECTLY. ;)''" His nemesis Mack (the actual protagonist ironically enough) was by contrast a DBZ-grade superhuman.
* ''KeychainOfCreation'': Ten Winds (an [[{{Exalted}} air-aspect Terrestrial]])is, in terms of raw power (or in Secret's case, potential power), the weakest of the FiveManBand. But he's also a former member of what's essentially an Exalted Seal Team 6; an extremely skilled fighter, frequently shown taking on Exalted who should (in theory) be able to steamroll him.
** Nemen Yi (a Sidereal Exalted) mocks the Messenger Gods for their inability to fight, since "they don't even get perfect attacks". She is immediately knocked out cold by something they ''do'' get: Perfect Delivery... of a letter wrapped around a rock.
* The eponymous Nodwick has no magic, no fighting talent, and no special abilities that don't relate to carrying stuff. His companions are a warrior, mage and cleric of considerable power. But he's responsible for more of their victories then not. The dark god Baphuma'al wants vengeance on the three conventional adventurers, but he just wants to avoid Nodwick. Vengeance there isn't worth the risk.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Original]]
* Sensei Ito, the aikido instructor at Whateley Academy in the WhateleyUniverse. He ''is'' this trope. He's a little old man with NO superpowers who starts each term by demonstrating this point. By picking the most powerful mutant in the class and then ''beating the crap out of him'' in front of everyone.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* Bruce Wayne in ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond'' is like this considering that he's older and more physically frail.
** Terry too; The batsuit might enhance his strength compared to a normal human, but considering the sort of opponents he tends to go toe-to-toe with, he still is usually outmatched in terms of sheer physical force.
* [[WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes Bugs Bunny]] pretty much exemplifies this trope. He managed to win a heavyweight wrestling match against the aptly named [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Crusher]] through sheer pluck.
* Disney/{{Aladdin}} generally falls into this trope in the various movies and TV series he appears in.
* ''WesternAnimation/DarkwingDuck'': The title character is a master of the martial arts and beats other lightweights around with ease, but every time he tries to use his skills against a large, strong character, he might as well be punching a stone wall. Then he says LetsGetDangerous
* The title character of ''SpongeBobSquarepants''. The guy is so weak he can't even lift a barbell with stuffed toys, yet he is an expert in karate, and one training session with Sandy Cheeks had the park cut in half from the practice they had.
* Sokka of ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender''. InAWorld where most of the main characters can [[ElementalPowers control the various elements]] he's still the most Normal of the BadassNormal characters. To deal with that, Sokka often uses [[CombatPragmatist strategies]] and his weapons to bring down his enemies. He's also very resourceful and a fast learner - see 'Sokka's Master' and how quickly he picks up swordsmanship having not been shown to have any prior experience in that particular weapon. He has, also, grown up in a tribe which relied on non-bending forms of combat for decades and picked up a lot on his own before being formally trained. That would have helped a lot when he met Piandao.
*** Aang could be considered this, especially before he learns the other Bending skills. Airbending itself mostly relies on evading. Bumi lampshades this;
--> '''Bumi''': Typical Airbender tactics, avoid and evade. I was hoping the Avatar would be a little less *kicks a rock at the Avatar* '''PREDICTABLE'''.
* Contrary to traditional, mostly-equal power levels, the Autobots of ''WesternAnimation/TransformersAnimated'' are almost universally weaker than all but the lowliest Decepticon. They manage to get around this through a combination of team-based tactics and resource management that, while not entirely closing the gap, grant them some measure of advantage over their better-armed-but-less-organized counterparts.
** This applies not just to the main cast, but the Autobots on a larger scale as well: while the Autobots used the [[PersonOfMassDestruction Omega Sentinels]] to actually win the Great War, the reason they got that far in the first place was because their ''logistics'' were vastly superior to the Decepticons thanks to their [[PortalNetwork Space Bridges.]]
* Princess Sally in Season 1 of [[WesternAnimation/SonicSatAM SatAM]]. She [[TookALevelInBadass takes a level in badass]] somewhat in Season 2.
* Beck from ''TronUprising'' definitely qualifies. He has spent a lifetime roof-hopping, dueling, and racing bikes - thus is an exceptionally agile and fast enough to hold his own in protracted battles with Paige and Tesler, who are trained combatants with a lot more power to throw around. Beck rarely wins any battles, but he always gets away. And this all before he officially begins his uprising or gets any form of training.
* Bioborg villain, Easel from ''WesternAnimation/SkysurferStrikeForce'' is the shortest, least imposing and most human looking of the borgs, but his [[Mad Artist Mad]] ArtAttacker powers are invaluable to Cybron's plans.
* TheTeam in {{WesternAnimation/Young Justice}}. They aren't very strong on their own, but they are very good at working together, using the environment to their advantage, working out {{plan}}s, and using their powers in diverse ways. [[spoiler:The first season finale has them fight the mind-controlled Justice League, and win. Even if the League was limited by whoever was pulling their strings, it's still an impressive feat.]]
* Rook from Ben10Omniverse. He is one of the few aliens in the franchise to lack any ability that could qualify as a superpower, and his weapons, while [[SwissArmyWeapon extremely versatile]], is pointed out to lack power. Yet, he is skilled enough to stand against much more powerful ennemies and defeat them. ''Predators And Prey'' even have him defeating one of the major antagonists in a hand-to-hand fight.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Real Life]]
* This is basically humanity's [[PlanetOfHats hat]] when compared to all other species on Earth. We aren't the fastest, the strongest, the toughest, or the most numerous; in fact, we're pretty much [[HumansAreAverage average]]. What makes humanity truly exceptional is our ability to make and use tools, the extent of which is unrivalled by any other organism on this planet. Even the most basic of tools (like a pointed stick or a rock) makes us far more efficient at performing a variety of tasks, including the construction of more advanced tools.
* Increased efficiency is sort of the point of martial arts.
* The Gracie family used this principle to win several of the early UFC and other NHB tournaments despite being generally smaller, lighter and weaker than many of their muscular powerhouse opponents through proper application of techniques with which the other fighters were unfamiliar, and in fact Royce Gracie was chosen to represent the family in the early UFC for this reason (as opposed to a larger relative). When the rest of the world became familiar with Brazilian Jiu Jitsu the advantage disappeared.
** Roger Gracie both subverts and plays this trope straight; while he is renowned for his skill and technique, some observers and opponents believe that his physical attributes -- specifically a mix of his long limbs (he's 6-foot-4) and functional strength -- play a substantive role in his ability to implement them. Also, only one of his losses in the 21st century was to a grappler in his own weight class; all of his other known losses were to lighter opponents.
* The martial arts are full of stories of elderly, weak or physically slight people defeating larger, stronger opponents. Though they are often exaggerated, many of these stories are substantively true.
** Just don't go around thinking those people can knock out bulls while they are too weak to tip over a glass of water. They don't have to be stronger than their opponent in order to defeat them, but certainly strong enough. Also if you ever get your hands on a tai-chi stone ball, a ten-foot pole or a bagua saber, you'll understand that those people are certainly NOT weak in the arm.
*** Dear Lord, they aren't. Tai chi is still a martial art, even if it moves slower than others, and still builds power. Underestimate practitioners at your own risk.
**** It only moves slower during practice - that's ''how'' it practices, it's a form of isometrics. In a real fight taijiquan calls one of its hand strikes "single whip" for a reason.
*** Further example: this editor studies tai chi, and his master is a fifty-four-year-old arthritic woman... who could steamroll him any day of the week.
*** This also applies to Wing Chun. It is easy to disparage as something you can "sting" all day with little effect, but those wooden practice dummies are tough, so you can imagine that the masters who can break them are no weaklings.
* Also applies to 'hard' martial arts like boxing, karate and so on, despite what one might think. Timing, endurance and footwork are more important than sheer physical strength in these arts, and a strike to the jaw is generally a knockout even without exceptional force behind it.
** Boxer Paulie Malignaggi has excellent handspeed, good skills, and a decent chin, but can't crack an egg with his punches and suffers from hand problems. He has 27 professional wins, but only five of them have been by knockout.
** RandyCouture, former UFC Heavyweight and light heavyweight champion, became famous again in a comeback win where he defeated current Heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia, who outweighed him by about 55lbs, by simply out timing him and picking apart his opponents weak striking technique. He's come back to the sport a second time and despite being in his 40's is doing quite well by relying on his skill and experience to out strike his opponents, although a noticeable drop in power means he's stopped fighting in the Heavyweight Division. This is all the more impressive when one realizes Couture was originally a wrestler.
*** His wrestling is a large part of why Couture is still competitive at 47 years old in a sport filled with 20-somethings. His particular striking style (save for in the Sylvia fight) relies on "dirty boxing," using his greco roman wrestling skills to control opponents in the clinch while freeing one arm or the other to strike with. This allows him to stifle the movement of faster, more explosive strikers with his grappling skill, and throw submission artists off their game by throwing power punches in a range of combat where hand strikes are usually less dangerous. Couture makes up for the limitations of speed and chin due to his age by bridging the gap between striking and clinch grappling with his skill in both areas.
** However, not having a strong enough punch can be a serious problem in boxing unless you're supremely skilled and masterful in technique, like a Bernard Hopkins, Floyd Mayweather, Pernell Whitaker, or the great Willie Pep. Otherwise, you simply don't have the power to keep guys off of you, who'll otherwise walk through your punches. Against a guy that, stylistically, Malignaggi would have had a distinct advantage over in Ricky Hatton, Malignaggi was dominated.
* This applies in non-fighting sports as well. For example, heavyweight and lightweight rowers on crew teams have fundamentally different rowing styles. The heavyweights rely more on power, while the lightweights focus more on technique and row at a higher rate of strokes per minute. Individual rowers within boats in both classes also fall into this, depending on where they're sitting. Rowers at either end of the boat are responsible for turning and pacing and tend not to be as strong as the rowers in the middle seats, who are the main power.
** A demonstration of this is frequently used for taking strong but inexperienced rowers down a few pegs. Once the 13 stone block of muscle has been beaten in an erg race by a 9 stone guy a foot shorter than him, he soon starts to take technique seriously.
* Two words: [[{{Tennis}} Roger Federer]]. Sure he's not super thin and wiry but he's not OVERLY tall like some in {{Tennis}}, nor is he massively built like other giants of the game like Nadal. He doesn't rely on massive serves, power volleys or other such tactics to win-- just sheer skill.
* This also applies to a lot of female {{Tennis}} players like [[{{Tennis}} Maria Sharapova]]. However considering that the most successful female tennis players such as the Williams sisters, Stefi Graf, Martina Navratilova etc etc all have a more muscular built, you have to question the validity of this.
* In warfare, it is not enough to have overwhelming power both numerically and technologically. Tactics can and have allowed smaller, weaker forces to wreak havoc on apparently superior ones. In modern war, accuracy and tactics are every bit as important as weaponry and individual strength.
** Subverted more often than not. Battles in the Modern Age are decided by [[LightningBruiser small forces with superior firepower]] that operate like scalpels instead of swords. Or just bombing the crap out of stuff.
** Both wars between Finland and USSR demonstrate this.
** Israel's military history is rich with examples. The six-day war was Israel versus Egypt, Jordan, and Syria. The three latter states also received support from several other countries. The attack failed despite an overwhelming numerical advantage, and Israel actually ''gained territory.''
*** It is historically confirmed however those wars were actually one-sided as they were actually weak whenever facing an opponent... Whenever they lost it was actually when they had the advantage... So it's a bi-polar case. In any war they've been in, the war almost always had a weak army that won.
* [[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/earthnews/3353107/Mouse-bites-snake-to-death.html Mouse wins epic boss battle]] against venomous snake with "barely a scratch on him".
* Wayne Gretzky. To quote the other wiki: "Gretzky's basic athletic abilities were not considered impressive. He was 6 ft (1.83 m) tall, weighing only 160 pounds (73 kg) as an 18-year-old NHL rookie in 1979, and 185 pounds (84 kg) at the end of his career in 1999. At the beginning of Gretzky's NHL career, many critics opined that Gretzky was "too small, too wiry, and too slow to be a force in the NHL". On the other hand, his intelligence and reading of the game were unrivaled, and he could consistently anticipate where the puck was going to be and execute the right move at the right time. It was said that he "seems to have eyes in the back of his head" and had a knack of "rolling with a check".
* Essentially the role of aggressor pilots in the US Navy and in Top Gun, during the Cold War. Flying outdated F-5 Tigers and A-4 Skyhawks, the more experienced aggressors regularly curbstomped pilots in the Navy's newest Cool Planes: The F-14 and F/A-18.
** This is due to the agility of the outdated aircraft and the fact that these engagements always occur within visual range. The F-14 especially was designed to fight at extremely long distance with is advanced radar and long range missiles, in close it was too large and couldn't accelerate fast enough. In the case of the F-18 it was purely due to pilot skill as the F-18 is also quite agile but is still slightly inferior. In addition the instructors are truly some of the best fighter pilots in the world.
* Contrary to popular belief, Bruce Lee never embraced weak but skilled, rather he [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_Lee#Physical_fitness_and_nutrition built a training regime that made him ridiculously strong and fast, while limiting the development of bulky muscle]]. If anything he was a small, slender LightningBruiser.
* In UsefulNotes/{{Baseball}}, there are quite a few pitchers who can't throw above 85-86 mph (91-93 is considered normal) but have the ability to get hitters out consistently due either to perfect pitch placement or outstanding movement on their pitches. The so-called 'crafty lefties' like Jamie Moyer and Mark Buehrle are a good example of this; then there are knuckleball pitchers, who combine this trope (knuckleballs have very little velocity, hence take relatively little arm strength to throw, but take take absolute mastery to pitch consistently), with LethalJokeCharacter (knuckleballs are notoriously [[UnpredictableResults unpredictable]] so a wild pitch is as likely as a strike), BadassGrandpa (the best known knuckleballers like the Niekro brothers, Charlie Hough, Tim Wakefield and R.A. Dickey didn't come into their own until their mid-thirties, when most pitchers hit the downward slope) and GlassCannon (the pitch is dependent on the pitcher's fingernails to throw properly, so an injury that most other players wouldn't notice will wreck a knuckleballer).
** Greg Maddux was one of the best pitchers of his time, but had a comparatively weak (mid to high 80's) fastball compared to his contemporaries. He compensated for this with his impeccable ball control and trick pitches.
* The Italian Soccer team is traditionally this: its players, while well above average, are usually outclassed by the ones of high-end teams like Brazil, Germany and Spain, but the team is one of the best in the world due excellent teamwork, tactics and creative use of the basics, plus one or two exceptional players to force the other team to either deal counter the good tactics and let the champion free to roam or block the champion and let the rest of the team free to drive them crazy.
* Similarly, spin bowlers in {{Cricket}}. A spin bowler normally bowls at about half the speed of a good fast bowler, but uses a set of elaborate techniques to make the ball "swing" in the air and bounce in improbable ways instead.
* Steve Largent, a wide receiver for the Seattle Seahawks, was small (under 6 feet tall and 180 lbs) and not particularly strong or fast. His strengths were his incredibly sure hands and his ability to read defensive coverage like a book. By the time he retired, he'd set almost every receiving record in the book. Unfortunately for him, Jerry Rice came along a few years later to break most of them.
[[/folder]]
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