History Main / MasterSwordsman

** Sword-wielding [[TheBerserker Champions of Khorne]] are masterful swordsmen but fight in a berserker raheon top of this. Their skill is still peerless, and they can easily match Swordmasters blow for blow.

*** Sword wielding worshippers of Khorne also fall into this category, but generally prefer Axes in lieu of swords.

** Sword-wielding [[TheBerserker Champions of Khorne]] are similar but don't fight in a particularly graceful manner. They can still easily match Swordmasters blow for blow.

* In RA Salvatore's ''Literature/TheDarkElfTrilogy'', the drow ranger Drizzt Do'Urden is one of the greatest swordsmen in the TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms, famously DualWielding scimitars. His primary disadvantage is that he is small and, while in excellent shape, not as strong as, say, an orc king or an ogre warrior. He starts training at sixteen; in most of the novels, he's around seventy or eighty, but for a dark elf that's still young. Drizzt not only had natural talent but also received personal training from his father Zaknafein, who was himself a MasterSwordsman and the deadliest weapon master Menzoberranzen had ever produced.

** Harry, who's being trained by Fandral and to an extent by Sif, is developing into one in his own right in the sequel, having height, strength, speed, balance, lethally fast reflexes, and a talent for improvising. Sif reckons that he can achieve mastery by his early twenties - by human standards - and by his first century, even Asgardian masters would really rather not pick that fight. The Lady Knight corrects that assessment, pointing out that he's a powerful telepath and if that's factored into his training, he'd have technical mastery by 17 (human standards) and 30 (Asgardian standards). And that's by the standards of the best swordswoman of all time.

** Ben Naasade a.k.a. Obi-Wan Kenobi from four years after ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith'', temporally displaced to about six years before ''Film/ThePhantomMenace''. Despite his body having been battered by about 15 years of warfare and 4 years of alcoholism (partway through the series he has to have ''practically every organ in his body'' replaced), he effortlessly dismantles pretty much every single Jedi he faces. This is especially after an open challenge is made - beat him in a duel and they get to take his padawan (ironically, his younger self, not that anyone but a few members of the Council is aware of it) to train for a month out of concern for [[TrainingFromHell his methods]]. It gets to the point where in some cases he is noted to literally be [[JustToyingWithThem just toying with them]]. Even [[spoiler: a young Darth Maul]] isn't immune, despite his vast skill and significantly greater physical advantages - Ben ends up ''dismembering'' [[spoiler: Maul]] while making a point ''not'' to kill him. It's only because of some unwanted help that [[spoiler: Maul]] escapes.
** Both Yoda and Windu also qualify, with Ben being pretty open about how he's more or less certain that Yoda would destroy him. However, it never comes up as they make a point ''not'' to get involved in the above challenge because they feel it's stupid.
** Dooku is noted to be arguably the greatest swordsman in the Order, and it's mentioned that [[OffscreenMomentOfAwesome between stories]] he duelled Ben to demonstrate Makashi to Obi-Wan. Little is said of it other than it was apparently astonishing combat, and that Dooku is ''not'' listed among the people who have beaten Ben in a straight fight (those two being Jango, who took him hand to hand, and [[spoiler: Ni Hiella, who got up close to him and injected him with happy drugs]]).

** Mathangi ten Meti (or "Mathangi Mantra" pre-apprenticeship, a name meaning [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Murder The Gods And Topple Their Thrones]]) was Meti's apprentice and Student of the Principle art of Cutting. She manages to cleave through an Angel, the rest of the room, a significant portion of Mottom's floating palace, and [[BreakingTheFourthWall the comic frame's border]] in one stroke using the broken stub of a sword.

** PosthumousCharacter Meti ten Ryo was the best swordswoman -- or for that matter, the best ''fighter'', period -- in the entire comic. Having depended on mastery of Sword Law and CharlesAtlasSuperpower in her youth, to the degree that she could fight a hundred men and win, she evolved honing a style based on pure KillingIntent to the degree that she became [[CleanCut Master of the Principle Art of Cutting]] and obtained Royalty. Meti's deeds from this period, amongst others, includes fighting and defeating ten thousand men at once while ''naked''.

** The Tau are more known for their power at long-range combat, but they have produced a few skilled close-quarters combatants. [[DefectorFromDecadence Commander Farsight]]'s AceCustom Crisis battlesuit is armed with a huge sword, the Dawn Blade, [[spoiler:speculated to be of Necron, Chaos, or Eldar origin]], and he's good enough with it to have fought the previously-mentioned Swarmlord to a draw.[[note]]Don't try this in the game though, Farsight ''will'' get brutally slaughtered.[[/note]] The [[CoolOldGuy Ethereal Aun'shi]] is a master with the ritual [[BladeOnAStick Honour Blade]]; in one battle where a mining colony was under attack by Orks, TheCavalry arrived just in time to find him at the gates to an Ethereal shrine, surrounded by Ork corpses, his Honour Blade slick with blood.

* [[LadyOfWar Pearl]] of ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'' prefers a [[BladeOnAStick spear]] in battle, but that sword collection of hers isn't just for show. Fencing is shown to be an avid hobby of hers, and she's skilled enough to teach Connie how to follow in her footsteps.

Often a Mentor, often helping other characters TakeALevelInBadass. Occasionally an OldMaster. May be BadassNormal if there are superhumans to compare to. May well be the WorldsBestWarrior. The ranged counterparts are the MasterArcher and TheGunslinger. Note that this trope is about the character, even when the actors are {{Flynning}} badly.

* In XVII century Poland, fencing was an important skill, so it comes to reason that most (male) characters in ''Literature/SienkiewiczTrilogy'' are at least decent at it. But Michał Wołodyjowski is repeatedly stated and shown to be cream of the crop. PlotArmour is the only thing that can save you.

** Darth Tyranus (Count Dooku) is the unparalleled master of Makashi, the lightsaber form that is more or less fencing, good enough to match none other than Yoda to a draw and edge out Mace Windu.
** Anakin's preferred form of Djem So, which involves inexorable advancement and pure kinetic power, proves to be the weakness of Dooku's Makashi, though he's also physically stronger.
** Mace Windu's swordsmanship outshines Yoda and Darth Sidious. Furthermore, due to his use of the [[GameBreaker shatterpoint]] Force ability, Mace can see the weaknesses of nearly anything in life.[[note]]It does have its own weakness: sometimes, by the time Mace ''identifies'' a weak point, the moment to do anything about it has already passed.[[/note]] These two things are what allow him to defeat Sidious.

** Obi-Wan Kenobi is noted by Windu to be the ''ultimate'' master of Soresu, the [[StoneWall ultimate defensive saber form]], making him the best choice to take on General Grievous, who fights with ''four'' lightsabers at once, and later, a newly minted Darth Vader (who specialises in [[AttackAttackAttack Djem-So]]). Despite being reluctant to fight Vader, he matches him blow for blow without taking a scratch, manoeuvring himself into an unassailable terrain advantage, before neatly dismembering him with a single blow -- and that having ''warned him'' not to try it.

* ''Literature/DemonsOfTheDeep'': the fencing instructor Cyril, at a Skill of 11, is just one point shy of the maximum Skill a character can normally have. But where this master swordsman really shines is in teaching. Even if you are at the maximum Skill of 12, he's capable of instructing even a master of the sword and can increase you into superhuman levels.

** Malenia's biggest claim to fame is that she is possibly the ''best'' swordswoman in the Lands Between; she several Talismans dedicated to her related to her sword prowess (Prosthesis-Wielder Heirloom, Winged Sword Insignia, Rotten Winged Sword Insignia, Millicent's Prosthesis) and lore about her repeatedly talks about the beauty and deadliness of her bladework. She's ''so'' good with her katana that she was considered possibly the most powerful Demigod in the shattering despite being a MagicallyIneptFighter going up against [[MagicKnight magic knights]]... oh, and being a [[DelicateAndSickly blind and deathly ill]] [[DisabledDeity triple amputee]]. If you fight her yourself, you'll find that she has a complex moveset with the ability to chain individual moves into combos, will dodge ranged attacks if she can, can cancel her staggers whenever she damn well pleases, and has a special move called the Waterfowl Dance that has her strike everything around her with a FlurryOfBlows, repeating three times- and due to how she moves during the attack, dodging it is difficult and counter-intuitive. Oh, and did we mention she heals upon hitting you? Because she does that, too. And all of this is just ''phase one''; [[spoiler:In phase 2, she decides you cross the GodzillaThreshold, unleashes the Scarlet Rot instead of [[WillfullyWeak holding it back]], becomes ''much'' more aggressive and gains new attacks with rot build up.]]

** Bloody Finger Okina is a hearkening back to the concept of a 'Shura' (a swordsman who was consumed by bloodlust and became a murderous demon) from ''VideoGame/SekiroShadowsDieTwice''. He's considered one of the best swordsmen to ever come from the Japan-equivalent the Land of Reeds, and he has completely dedicated his life to mastering his katana. In-game, he's a late-game invader who has a habit of shredding the unprepared with his constant use of the Corpse Piler weapon skill.
** Maliketh the Black Blade isn't feared so much for his swordsmanship skill as the Deastined Death his sword bears, but you really have to give the guy credit for being able to leap around like Yoda while wielding a sword as big as he is and probably heavier.

** Both Fandral and Sif were trained by the Lady Knight, a legendary immortal warrior and unwilling time traveller (as in, she'd suddenly jerk forward several centuries without any choice or warning).
** Harry, who's being trained by Fandral, is developing into one in his own right in the sequel, having height, strength, speed, balance, lethally fast reflexes, and a talent for improvising.

*** Lelith Hesperax, Wych Champion supreme. Well over 10 thousand years old, regularly participates in Wych arena performances [[note]]More like free-for-all bloodbaths against the most dangerous things from the galaxy and beyond that Dark Eldar manage to bring to arena. In the most artistic and painful ways, of course.[[/note]], raids in Imperial Space and internal power struggles with the latter being the most dangerous. Notable for totally abstaining from combat drugs and lacking any scars to show for her trouble. She fights with a pair of short blades.
*** Drazhar, whose name means "Living Sword". No one knows what he is, but he is wearing original Pre-Fall Incubi armor and a similar sword, never speaks a word, and can best [[RankScalesWithAsskicking the Hierarch of the Great Shrine of the Incubi]] with ridiculous ease. He's rumored to be fallen Phoenix Lord.

*** Jain Zahr, the Storm of Silence, the Phoenix Lord of the Howling Banshees. The founder of the Aspect and the single best swordsman of the Eldar race.
*** The Avatar of Khaine has a superb weapon skill on the tabletop rivaled by none ([[TheWorfEffect except when he frequently is]] in the fluff). He often fights with a longsword made of molten metal.
** While [[HordeOfAlienLocusts Tyranid]] Hive Tyrants are already equipped with razor-sharp bone blades on their arms, [[GeniusBruiser The Swarmlord]] takes this to an even greater degree, wielding [[MultiArmedAndDangerous FOUR]] swords at once and creating an impenetrable wall of whirling blades to anything that tries to engage it in melee.

** The Saber that features in Fate Stay/Night, in particular, is noted to be the best of the entire Saber Class. Seeing as she is actually [[spoiler: the verses' version of Arthur Pendragon]], this makes sense.

* WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'': Dooku repeatedly handles Anakin and Obi-Wan comfortably enough and pretty much anyone else who comes up against him, even when blinded and outnumbered three to one.

* ''Anime/{{K}}'' has [[TheLancer Kuroh Yatogami]] and [[TheDragon Yukari Mishakuji]], both badass, both trained by the same master: [[CoolOldGuy Ichigen Miwa]]. He could have probably [[CurbStompBattle curb stomped]] both of his students but being a PosthumousCharacter means that won't ever happen. As is, Yukari is better than Kuroh (who can wipe the floor with everyone except for [[AuthorityEqualsAsskicking Kings]]) [[spoiler:until the finale of the 2nd season where Kuroh manages to reach beyond him in skill]]. Bonus points for all of them invoking {{Samurai}} aesthetics in different ways.

* ''Literature/CodexAlera'' has several characters noted for their sword skills. It's unusual in that much of this skill comes from [[ExtraOredinary metalcrafting]], magical abilities that can massively increase their focus, endurance, and pain resistance, as well as allow them to sense metal and strike with remarkable speed and force. Although (almost) everyone has Furycrafting abilities, anyone who doesn't have tremendous metalcrafting skill has no chance against someone who does in a sword fight. Since most of the [[AuthorityEqualsAsskicking high lords]] are excellent metalcrafters, stone knives are favored for assassination attempts.

* ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'': Blademaster is an actual title within the setting, earned either by being recognized as such by a group of pre-existing blademasters or by killing one in a duel. The Heron-mark sword is the symbol of a blademaster, and you're only supposed to carry one if you've earned it.
** [[TheChosenOne Rand]] is given a Heron-mark sword by his father, Tam (who doesn't exactly say where he got it), and earns his position as a blademaster after killing [[AuthorityEqualsAsskicking a Seanchan High Blood]] who's a blademaster in his own right at the climax of the second book. At this point in the series, he's still not very far removed from being a simple sheepherder, so it's quite an accomplishment. He ends up as one of the best - arguably, apart from Lan and [[spoiler: Demandred]], ''the'' best - swordsmen in the series.

*** Drazhar, whose name means "Living Sword". No one knows what he is, but he is wearing original Pre-Fall Incubi armor and a similar sword, never speaks a word, and can best [[AuthorityEqualsAsskicking the Hierarch of the Great Shrine of the Incubi]] with ridiculous ease. He's rumored to be fallen Phoenix Lord.

* According to legend, the Montenegrin Serb Aleksandar Lekso Saičić was serving in the Russian army during the Russo-Japanese War when, on the eve of a battle, the Japanese army unexpectedly challenged the Russians to send over a swordsman to fight their champion on the eve of a battle, even though swordfighting was largely extinct from modern warfare. An avid fencer and career soldier, Saičić volunteered for the bizarre challenge and killed the Japanese champion in the ensuing duel. His sword is now enshrined in a Moscow museum.

* Related to the above, according to Bob Anderson, the greatest swordsman he ever taught was ''Creator/ViggoMortensen'' (a.k.a, Aragorn). He was able to learn the techniques incredibly fast, which is a big reason why Aragorn's fights looked so good. The other stuntmen were actually scared if him because of how good he was at swordfighting, and [[MethodActing because he would often act like he was in a real fight.]]

* The old ''Tales'' character cameo BonusBoss in the ''VideoGame/TalesSeries'' coliseums will invariably be billed as either a stupendously skilled foreigner or the greatest swordsman in the world. There are also these in actual canon, and often they will berate the BookDumb main character for their crude self-taught technique instead of a "real" style. Early examples: Ras to Ried in ''VideoGame/TalesOfEternia'', Kratos to Lloyd in ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia''. Though in the case of the latter [[spoiler: Lloyd manages to become one himself as he wins the last DuelBoss against Kratos, ''without'' him holding back.]]

Often a Mentor, often helping other characters TakeALevelInBadass. Occasionally an OldMaster. May be BadassNormal if there are superhumans to compare to. May well be the WorldsBestWarrior. The ranged counterparts are the MasterArcher and {{Gunslinger}}. Note that this trope is about the character, even when the actors are {{Flynning}} badly.