History Film / OneArmedSwordsman

''The One-Armed Swordsman'' is a 1967 Hong Kong martial arts movie starring Creator/JimmyWangYu as titular OneArmedWarrior. While produced by the Creator/ShawBrothers, the movie is DarkerAndEdgier than the Shaw Brothers's prior wuxia works as its lead is a male hot-blooded AntiHero who gets into violent sword fights against his enemies.

* EvilLaugh: Long-armed Devil and Smiling Tiger are fond of this especially while scheming together.
** This leads to the BigBad's undoing. After one of his javelins hits Fang Kang, he gloats and laughs at his apparent victory, allowing Fang Kang to recover and catch him off-guard, ending him once and for all.

* WeaponSpecialization: Qi Rufeng and his disciples use a distinctive, specially designed sword. {{Deconstructed|Trope}} since the BigBad creates a specially made tool to counter it.
* WreckedWeapon: Fang Kang's father's sword breaks when he is protecting his master. After losing his arm, the broken sword becomes Fang Kang's main weapon.

''The One-Armed Swordsman'' is a series of Hong Kong martial arts films produced by the Creator/ShawBrothers Studios between 1967 and 1971. The films follow a somewhat DarkerAndEdgier take on the {{Wuxia}} genre (martial arts), where our lead is a male AntiHero who gets in violent sword fights, and are {{Bloodier and Gorier}} than previous wuxia films.

The series focus on [[Main/ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin one-armed swordsmen]] who lose their arms in the aftermath of a fight, and eventually decide to take up revenge despite their handicap. Ironically, every sword fight against their enemies results in a CurbStompBattle.

The first two movies, ''One-Armed Swordsman'' (1967) and ''Film/ReturnOfTheOneArmedSwordsman'' (1969), tell the tale of Fang Kang (Creator/JimmyWangYu) while ''Film/TheNewOneArmedSwordsman'' is completely unrelated to the previous installments, this time focusing on former mercenary and current waiter Lei Li (Creator/DavidChiang).

A fourth movie, titled ''Film/OneArmedSwordsmen'' (plural) was released nearly a decade after the original film. Reuniting the two original actors of the eponymous swordsmen, this movie stars Jimmy Wang Yu as Fong Ping and David Chiang as Li Hao, two swordsmen, each with ''one'' arm, stumbling into each other while on their respective quests for vengeance.

The first two movies, ''One-Armed Swordsman'' (1967) and ''Film/ReturnOfTheOneArmedSwordsman'' (1969), tell the tale of Fang Kang (Creator/JimmyWangYu) while ''TheNewOneArmedSwordsman'' is completely unrelated to the previous installments, this time focusing on former mercenary and current waiter Lei Li (Creator/DavidChiang).

A fourth movie, titled ''Film/TheOneArmedSwordsmen'' (plural) was released nearly a decade after the original film. Reuniting the two original actors of the eponymous swordsmen, this movie stars Jimmy Wang Yu as Fong Ping and David Chiang as Li Hao, two swordsmen, each with ''one'' arm, stumbling into each other while on their respective quests for vengeance.

!!!! The first movie provides examples of:

The series focus on -- guess what? -- [[Main/ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin one-armed swordsmen]] who lose their arms in the aftermath of a fight, and eventually decide to take up revenge despite their handicap. Ironically, every sword fight against their enemies results in a CurbStompBattle.

The first two movies, ''One-Armed Swordsman'' (1967) and ''Return of the One-Armed Swordsman'' (1969), tell the tale of Fang Kang (Creator/JimmyWangYu), while ''The New One-Armed Swordsman'' is completely unrelated to the previous installments, this time focusing on former mercenary and current waiter Lei Li (Creator/DavidChiang).

A fourth movie, titled ''The One Armed Swordsmen'' (plural) was released nearly a decade after the original film. Reuniting the two original actors of the eponymous swordsmen, this movie stars Jimmy Wang-yu as Fong Ping and David Chiang as Li Hao, two swordsmen, each with ''one'' arm, stumbling into each other while on their respective quests for vengeance.

See also ''Film/OneArmedSwordswoman'', a Taiwanese adaptation with a GenderFlipped protagonist.

!The films in general apply the following tropes:

* AnArmAndALeg
* CurbStompBattle
* HandicappedBadass: Obviously.
* OneArmedWarrior: [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin As the name implies]], following these characters is the entire premise.
* WireFu

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!!Tropes applying to One-Armed Swordsman:

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!!Tropes applying to Return of the One-Armed Swordsman:

* AssholeVictim: Shan Xiong, the student who kidnaps Xiaoman to coerce Fang Kang into fighting the Eight Kings. He gets a CruelAndUnusualDeath from Ape's Arms.
* BigBadEnsemble: The Eight Sword Kings who have unique weapons and fighting styles:
** The Furtive King has an [[Main/RetractableWeapon extendable sword]] which he hides [[NothingUpMySleeve under his sleeve]].
** [[Main/TheBrute Hercules]] uses a {{BFS}} and simple, brute strength.
** [[HooksAndCrooks Ape's Arms]] wields a bladed hook-and-chain.
** [[RingsOfDeath Spinning Wheels]] and his disciples have bladed shields which they can also [[ThrowingYourShieldAlwaysWorks throw]].
** Flying Fighter and his Nine Flying Pupils can [[InASingleBound jump great heights]] to take enemies by surprise.
** Hell's Buddha and his Seven Earth Bullies tunnel underground to ambush unsuspecting victims.
** Poison Dragon has a sword that can release smokescreens and fire projectiles.
** [[Main/TheSmurfettePrinciple Thousand Hands Lady]] keeps many knives [[Main/HiddenWeapons under her dress]]
* BigGood: Fang Kang [[ResignedToTheCall reluctantly]] becomes this.
* TheCallKnowsWhereYouLive: Despite living in seclusion, everyone eventually finds out who and where Fang Kang is.
* CapturedOnPurpose: Fang Kang poses as a sword student who's lost his arm in order to enter the BigBad's fortress and break out the imprisoned masters inside while their students [[StormingTheCastle invade from the outside]].
* CombatPragmatist: Some of the tactics used to counter the Eight Kings's unusual fighting styles, such as setting spike traps for Flying Fighter or throwing a net over Hercules before surrounding and finishing him off.
* DontCallMeSir: Fang Kang doesn't like being called "master", or by his moniker, "[[TitleDrop One-Armed Swordsman]]".
* EvilPlan: The villains kidnap the masters of all the sword schools under the pretense of a tournament and order the students to chop off their right arms or else they will kill the masters.
* FauxActionGirl: Aside from throwing knives, Thousand Hands Lady relies more on seduction and back-stabbing rather than any actual fighting skill and is quickly dispatched after being exposed.
* ForTheEvulz: The Eight Kings have no real motive for their EvilPlan. Thousand Hands Lady [[LampshadeHanging even says]] "No reason. Just for fun".
* HeroicSacrifice: One of the students gives in to the villains' demands and hacks off his sword-arm. This act finally convinces Fang Kang to help the students.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Ape's Arms and Spinning Wheels are killed by their own distinctive weapons.
* LegendaryInTheSequel: Fang Kang's victory over Long-Armed Devil has made him famous even after 2 years.
* PyrrhicVictory: By the end of the movie, all the villains are dead, but so are all the students (except the one who sacrificed his arm and withdrew from the rest of the conflict).
* SequelEscalation: Larger setpieces and battles with more characters fighting onscreen.
* StarterVillain: The Black and White Swordsmen who "invite" other sword disciples to the BigBad's tournament [[AnOfferYouCantRefuse and kill whoever refuses]], are easily curbstomped twice by Fang Kang.
* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodSandwich: In the intro, Fang Kang only gets 2 bites of his meal, which disappears when another master visits his home to provide {{Exposition}} for the film.

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!!Tropes applying to The New One-Armed Swordsman:

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/1_jkmii41nuy0mb4w7yyeg9q.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Lei Li and Feng Jun-jie sharing an intimate moment bonding together. Sorry Pao Chiao, but bros before hoes!]]

* {{Almighty Janitor}}/{{Retired Badass}}: Lei Li three years after losing his arm, becomes the teaboy in a teahouse.
* CoolOldGuy: Hero Lung, who, while the {{Big Bad}}, is able to put up a hell of a good fight towards Lei in both their first and last battles.
* {{Deuteragonist}}: Feng Cheng-Chung, who many people have also felt takes up the role of the protagonist in the middle of the film before his death.
* EliteMook: Lung's acolytes, a dozen of his "best students and trainees", whom are clad entirely in black and red and are frequently shown following Lung. Although their skills are more of an InformedAbility, considering as they went up against Lei-li, they all die under a minute (or maybe Lei-li is just '''that''' good).
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Before Feng's death at the hands of Hero Lung, Feng tells him that if he had three swords, he'd be able to counter his three-way staff. In the final showdown against Lung, Lei uses two swords alongside his one to counter the staff by throwing the additional two up into the air and attacking Lung before grabbing them and incapacitating him. Even Lung points out that Lei inadvertently followed up on what Feng said.
* HalfTheManHeUsedToBe: [[spoiler: Feng was killed by bisection at the waist]].
* IGaveMyWord: How Lei Li lost his arm. He and the BigBad Hero Lung duel under the condition that the loser would have to chop their right arm off. After receiving a beat-down from the villain, Lei wishes to fulfill his end of the deal, but Lung tells him not to, saying that Lei is good but a bit too young and that they should forget about their deal. However, Lei, thinking of {{Honor Before Reason}}, explains that a warrior should never go back on their word and chops his arm off with his sword whilst also impaling the to a tree with said sword.
* {{Jerkass}}/KarmaHoudini: The old man owning the teahouse where Lei works in. He always tells Lei to hurry up with the orders given by customers, despite, you know, only having one arm. Also, when Pao is being grabbed by two guys who intend on potentially hurting and raping her, but is saved by the intervention of Lei and Feng Chung-Cheng, the old man gets angry and says that it would have been better if they just let the villains have their way, even saying that they 'just wanted a bit of fun'. Not once through-out the movie does anyone call him out for his dickery.
* MookLieutenant: The four generals of Tiger Hall, whom are often seen leading the lesser mooks around and putting up a much better fight than the regular mooks. One of them gets killed by Feng during the night ambush to kidnap Pao Chiao, and later in the climax when Lei-li storms the Tiger Hall all by himself, he battles the remaining three generals and kills '''all''' of them, one at a time.
* OneHitKill: The CurbStompBattle in the beginning and the one in the end have Lei kill every single minion with one blow.
* OneManArmy: Lei-li in the finale, where his bodycount skyrockets as he massacres his way through a graveyard, pagoda, bridge and the Tiger Hall's mansion, leaving behind a field of dead bodies from the Tiger Hall's mansion.
* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: After Lei-li kills off Chief Chan, the leader of Tiger Hall, the remaining 15 or so mooks quickly scrams. Wise move, since they just witnessed Lei-li kill more than 80 of their members and [[KnowWhenToFoldEm they'll very likely fare no better than their dead comrades]].
* TakeItToTheBridge: The climax have an extended battle scene on a bridge, where Lei fights off wave after wave of enemies while making his way across. He later confronts (and defeats) Lung on that very same bridge.
* TimeSkip: After Lei impales his mutilated arm to a tree in the forest, we see the banners and arm, then the next shot is still in the area three years later, but we see it stormy and the arm now decomposed to the point where it's just bone. It's only through dialogue later on that we discover three years have passed.

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!!Tropes applying to The One-Armed Swords''men'':

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/onearmed_swordsmen.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:The average troper has equal amount of arms as both of them combined. Hopefully.]]

* ActorAllusion: Fong Ping and Li Hao are the titular swordsmen, respectively played by Jimmy Wang-yu and David Chiang - the titular stars of ''One Armed Swordsman'' and ''The New One Armed Swordsman''.
* ColourCodedForYourConvenience: During the scene where Fong Ping and Li Hao fight each other, how do audiences tell them apart, considering they're both swordsmen short of an arm and using identical swords? Well, Fong Ping wears black and Li Hao wears white.
* DieChairDie: Fong Ping, when confronted by a group of thugs during the tavern fight, simply draws his sword, makes a few flashy moves, and a second later a table near him collapses and falls apart.
* EyeObscuringHat: Fong Ping's wide-brimmed straw hat, which covers his forehead and eyes.
* GratuitousNinja: Some of the enemy fighters in this installment are clad in ninja outfits, including face-obscuring masks.
* HeroesPreferSwords: Played straight during the tavern fight. The bandits attacking Fong Ping and Li Hao are armed with all kinds of weapons, including clubs, halberds, spears and chains, while Fong Ping and Li Hao use their trusty swords.
* RedOniBlueOni: Fong Ping and Li Hao. in that order.
* TheSnackIsMoreInteresting: Fong Ping and Li Hao casually sip on their wine while nimbly dodging multiple mooks' unsuccessful attempts to attack them. After finishing off the last mook, both of them actually did a "cheers" toast with each other!

* BloodBrothers: Feng to Lei. Both being warrior swordsmen, they feel a bond between them, especially when they tried saving Pao from a few villains.

A fourth movie, titled ''The One Armed Swordsmen'' (yes, '''men'''. Plural.) was released nearly a decade after the original film. Reuniting the two original actors of the eponymous swordsmen, this movie stars Jimmy Wang-yu as Fong Ping and David Chiang as Li Hao, two swordsmen, each with ''one'' arm, stumbling into each other while on their respective quests for vengeance.

* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: The masters on both sides put up a much better fight than their students do.

* MookChivalry: Averted by the villains who ambush wandering Golden Sword students when they are alone.

* BigBad: Long-Armed Devil, who wants to [[KillEmAll wipe out the entire Golden Sword school]] to avenge his defeat against Qi decades ago.

* {{Jerkass}}: Several students at Fang Kang's school belittle him because his father was a servant.

* WreckedWeapon: Fang Kang's father's sword breaks when he is protecting his master. After losing his arm, the broken sword becomes Fang Kang's weapon.

* WreckedWeapon: Fang Kang's father's sword breaks when he is protecting his master. After losing his arm, the broken sword becomes Fang Kang's WeaponOfChoice.

* WeaponOfChoice: Qi Rufeng and his disciples use a distinctive, specially designed sword. {{Deconstructed|Trope}} since the BigBad creates a specially made tool to counter it.

* BittersweetEnding: The bad guys are defeated, but the Golden Sword School is effectively lost, with most of its disciples dead and Fang Kang retiring, leaving no one succeed the school. Qi Rufeng breaks his own sword as a symbol of this.

* BittersweetEnding: By the end of the movie, all the villains are dead, but so are all the students (except the one who sacrificed his arm and withdrew from the rest of the conflict).

!!Tropes applying to The One-Armed Swords''[[UpToEleven men]]'':

* DualWielding: To counter the Golden Sword style, the BigBad's style uses his specialized sword-lock in the off-hand to trap the opponent's Golden Sword, then a dagger with the other hand to finish them off.
* EasilyForgiven: Fang Kang promised Xiaoman that he wouldn't get involved any further in the martial arts world, but breaks it by going the final battle. After he returns, she welcomes him back without any issue.

* BittersweetEnding: By the end of the movie, all the villains are dead, but so are all the students.

* HeroicSacrifice: One of the students gives in to the villains' demands and hacks off his arm. This act finally convinces Fang Kang to help the students.

* StarterVillain: The Black and White Swordsmen who "invite" other sword disciples to the BigBad's tournament [[AnOfferYouCantRefuse and kill whoever refuses]], are easily curbstomped by Fang Kang (twice).

See also ''OneArmedSwordswoman'', a Taiwanese adaptation with a GenderFlipped protagonist.

* CripplingOverspecialization: The sword-lock that the BigBad and his students use. Since it was made specifically to disable Qi Rufeng's Golden Sword, it is useless against any other weapon. Only Fang Kang exploits this with his broken sword.

** Flying Fighter and his Nine Flying Pupils can [[JumpPhysics jump from great heights]] to take enemies by surprise

''The One-Armed Swordsman'' is a series of Hong Kong martial arts films produced by the Creator/ShawBrothers Studios between 1967 and 1971. The films follow a somewhat {{Darker and Edgier}} take on the {{Wuxia}} genre (martial arts), where our lead is a male AntiHero who gets in violent sword fights, and are {{Bloodier and Gorier}} than previous wuxia films.

* BigBad: Long-Armed Devil

* KillEmAll: The Big Bad's EvilPlan is to wipe out the entire Golden Sword school to avenge his defeat against Qi decades ago.

* ButNowIMustGo: After defeating all the villains, Fang Kang leaves the martial arts world [[CallToAgriculture to be a farmer with Xiaoman]].

* EvilLaugh: Long-amred Devil and Smiling Tiger are fond of doing this while scheming together.
** This proves to be the BigBad's undoing. After one of his javelins hits Fang Kang, he gloats and laughs at his apparent victory, allowing Fang Kang to recover and catch him off-guard, ending him once and for all.

* IOweYouMyLife: In the intro, Qi is poisoned by bandits but his servant gives his life to protect his weakened master. In gratitude, Qi takes the servant's son, Fang Kang, as one of his students.

* LaserGuidedKarma: Fang Kang [[AnArmAndALeg disarms]] Smiling Tiger's sons when rescuing Qi's daughter from their clutches. Lampshaded:

* LeaveNoWitnesses: To prevent Qi Rufeng from knowing about the sword-lock, the BigBad and his disciples usually ambush Golden Sword students in remote areas and make sure they don't escape.

* PaperThinDisguise: Fang Kang wears a mask while saving Pei-er from Smiling Tiger's sons. They all recognize him anyway; the missing arm doesn't help.

* WeaponOfChoice: Qi Rufeng and his disciples use a distinctive, specially designed sword. [[Main/DeconstructedTrope Deconstructed]] since the BigBad creates a specially made tool to counter it.

* TheCallKnowsWhereYouLive: Despite living in seclusion, everyone seems to know who and where Fang Kang is.

* DualWielding: To counter the Golden Sword style, the BigBad's style uses specialized sword-lock in the off-hand to trap the opponent's sword, then a dagger with the other hand to finish them off.

* CapturedOnPurpose: Fang Kang poses as a sword student who's lost his arm in order to enter the BigBad's fortress and break out the captured masters inside while their students invade from the outside.

* TheSnackIsMoreInteresting: Fong Ping and Li Hao casually sips on their wine while nimbly dodging multiple mooks' unsuccessful attempts to attack them. After finishing off the last mook, both of them actually did a "cheers" toast with each other!

* WeaponOfChoice: Qi Rufeng and his disciples use a distinctive, specially designed sword. [[Main/DeconstructedTrope Deconstructed]] since the BigBad creates a specially made sword-lock to counter it.

** [[JumpPhysics Flying Fighter]] and his Nine Flying Pupils can jump from great heights to take enemies by surprise

* TheCallKnowsWhereYouLive: Despite living in seclusion, everyone knows who and where Fang Kang is.

!!Tropes Applying to The New One-Armed Swordsman:

!!Tropes Applying to The One-Armed '''[[UpToEleven Swordsmen]]''':

* ColourCodedForYourConvenience: During the scene where Fong Ping and Li Hao fights each other, how do audiences tell them apart, considering they're both swordsmen short of an arm and using identical swords? Well, Fong Ping wears black and Li Hao wears white.

* TheSnackIsMoreInteresting: Fong Ping and Li Hao casually sips on their wine while nimbly dodging multiple mooks' unsuccessful attempts to attack him. After finishing off the last mook, both of them actually did a "cheers" toast with each other!