Line #13 GeniusBruiser/RealLife


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3	[[folder:Ancient to medieval]]
4	* Ancient Greek philosophers, orators, and poets were almost all former hoplite soldiers, and, seeing as Bronze and Iron Age Greece was a very turbulent place even in the best of times, its quite likely that any Greek thinker you can name saw their fair share of fighting in a phalanx. Greek culture prized physical and mental achievement in equal measure, something which would generate well educated and accomplished warriors or martial artists quite frequently.
5	** According to at least some sources, Creator/{{Plato}}, the ancient Greek philosopher and founder of the first institution of higher learning in the Western world, was a two-time [[UsefulNotes/OlympicGames Olympic]] champion in [[BloodSport pankration]] (a form of UsefulNotes/MixedMartialArts whose name means "all powers", and had as only rules "no gouging, no biting, and if you kill your opponent, you lose"). He certainly exhibits an intimate familiarity with the sport in some of his works, particularly the ''Laws''. "Plato" is actually a nickname meaning "broad shoulders"--his real name was Aristocles. He was apparently a pretty burly guy, hence the nickname.
6	** Plato's teacher Creator/{{Socrates}} was not only a hoplite but served with distinction at the battles of Potidaeum and Delium in UsefulNotes/ThePeloponnesianWar and may have earned his living as a [[WorkingClassHero stonecutter]]. Even by ancient Greek standards, he was a force to be reckoned with!
7	* The Five Good Emperors of Rome were often this kind of people. UsefulNotes/{{Trajan}} conquered large portions of Europe and Asia whenever he was not funding philosophy schools, and his successor Emperor UsefulNotes/{{Hadrian}}, also a friend and patron of philosophers, was outright reputed to be an example of both brain and brawn during his youth, although he rather went to use this assets to impose peace and defend the empire's frontiers. Marcus Aurelius, who needs no introduction, became the ideal philosopher-emperor after them.
8	* The East Roman (Byzantine) General Belisarius defeated Persia and reconquered much of the fallen Western Roman Empire with never more than 50,000 Roman troops and auxiliaries under his command.
9	* Egil Skallagrimsson, a gigantic Norseman with superhuman strength and guile, runemaster, poet, sociopath, and all-around badass. Said to be a half-troll.
10	* UsefulNotes/{{Charlemagne}}. The guy was over 6 feet [[note]]1.8288 meters[[/note]] tall (freaking gigantic in medieval times) and, despite the beer belly, [[StoutStrength was muscular]]. He used to terrify his enemies because of his height and build. He also stabilized the political situation of Europe for the first time in centuries, established the largest western European empire since the Romans -- it's been equaled only by Napoleon and Hitler -- minted the first silver coins since Rome fell, mediated ecclesiastical disputes, founded schools, spoke and read several languages (he tried to learn to write but gave up as he was too old), and had five wives and God-only-knows how many concubines[[note]]and a suitably large number of children, towards whom he could be extraordinarily, even [[HelicopterParents annoyingly]], [[PapaWolf protective]]-- he was famous for insisting that he must dine with all of his children every day he wasn't on a campaign. Particularly his daughters: he only ever permitted one to marry, but when they all had children out of wedlock with various "friends" in the palace, Charlemagne was more than happy to turn a blind eye[[/note]]. They don't call it the Carolingian Renaissance for nothing.
11	* UsefulNotes/AlfredTheGreat, the founding king of England. He spent first half of his reign fighting off Vikings (described as "the wild boar" on the battlefield) and the second half promoting learning and religion - including ''teaching himself Latin'' in order to educate the monks. He famously came up with the burh network, linking up fortified settlements so they could communicate with each other and quickly provide defense. This combination is why he's labelled "the Great" and stands out compared to other Kings of the time.
12	* [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saladin Saladin]] probably counts. His brilliance as a military leader was well known, but he was also well versed in science, mathematics, and poetry.
13	* UsefulNotes/ElCidCampeador received an unusually complete education for his time, and after being knighted, he spent a part of his life serving as both a lawman and a duelist depending of the need. Later became an undisputed general that carved his own domain with both Christians and Muslims, and successfully defended it from the fundamentalist Almoravids until his death.
14	* UsefulNotes/GenghisKhan, whom chroniclers describe as a mountain of a man and a comparable warrior, was a superb general and conquistador who was also interested in religion and philosophy, enough to foster and allow all forms of them in his empire.
15	* [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mehmed_the_Conqueror Mehmed the Conqueror]], the sultan of the [[UsefulNotes/TurksWithTroops Ottoman Empire]], who was best known for conquering Istanbul [[note]][[IstanbulNotConstantinople not Constantinople]][[/note]], unifying Anatolia by conquering little Turkish sultanates and conquering most of the Balkans, all at the age of 21 is this. He was very interested in maths, theology, astronomy, and arts and always encouraged all kinds of scholarly discussions and inventions. He saved the Parthenon of Athens from destruction because he could convince his troops that they were masterpieces to be protected and not idols to be destroyed[[note]]very progressive for the 15th century[[/note]]. He spoke [[CunningLinguist at least six languages fluently]] and he was also [[RealMenWearPink a poet]].
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18	[[folder:Early modernity]]
19	* [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selim_I Selim I]] aka Selim the Grim, his grandson also applies. He conquered the whole Middle East ''in a single year'' and was also an accomplished poet.
20	* William Marshall was probably rightfully called "the greatest knight who ever lived" at the time of his death. He was one of the most important military commanders for three kings and ruled over England for a fourth who was still a child at the time, making him the most powerful statesman in the country. Born as one of several sons to a minor knight, he was sent to France as a child and became probably the greatest champion of knight tournaments in his time. He came into contact with the royal family when he was made the personal coach of the king's son in the extremely dangerous and often lethal martial arts sport.
21	* Chilche, chieftain of the Cañari tribe and UsefulNotes/FranciscoPizarro's greatest native ally, went to be one of the most feared men in the former Inca Empire by his combo of brains and brawn, being baptized with Pizarro's own first name to prove it. He famously defeated a Inca duelist in a CombatByChampion and went to beat several Inca rebel armies as a general, and when it was his turn to govern, he masterminded a Machievellian network of vassals, clients and contacts that was almost a deep state within the Spanish Empire (he might have been the first notable Peruvian to learn to read and write in Spanish for this). He even had an Inca higher-up poisoned to steal his lands and got away with it, forcefully marrying his widow to add insult to those who knew.
22	* [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Knox John Knox]], one of the leading theologians of the Protestant Reformation, began his involvement with the movement as a bodyguard for George Wishart. His weapon was a two-handed sword, and those things are ''heavy''. He also survived 19 months of being a [[MadeASlave galley slave]] when he was captured by the French.
23	* Cristóbal de Mondragón started his career as UsefulNotes/CharlesV's best soldier and ended it as one of UsefulNotes/PhilipII's best strategists. His battlefield feats, which included cutting down a long list of enemies by himself in the Battle of Mühlberg, were later matched by his pioneering of amphibian operations and spywork.
24	* UsefulNotes/AlexanderFarnese, Duke of Parma, was an impressive soldier as well as a general and strategist. He had an outstanding role in the UsefulNotes/BattleOfLepanto, where he boarded the Ottoman ships wasting enemies left and right with a two-handed sword, and when the Ottoman Empire stopped attacking for awhile after that, he got reportedly so bored in his daily life that he came out at night disguised and took out thugs. Later was put by the Spanish Empire to lead their war strategy in Flanders and actually accomplished real things there, such as re-conquering several rebel provinces that would eventually stay in Habsburg hands after the war and form the modern Belgium.
25	* Carlos Coloma developed the reputation of being the quintessential man of the Spanish Golden Age, equally skilled with both the sword and the pen. Serving under Farnese and later under UsefulNotes/AmbrogioSpinola, he became a noted soldier, swordfighter, statesman and scholar, penning himself the first translations of Tacitus' works to Spanish language.
26	* 16th century Spanish inventor and soldier UsefulNotes/JeronimoDeAyanz was known to be a physical powerhouse with an even more impressive brain. He could reportedly bend iron bars with his neck and break plates with his fingers, and in one of his military showings, he took on many enemies entirely by himself in a siege and came out alive. Outside of the battlefields, he was a genius who built the first steam-powered mining pump and the first functinal closed diving suit in history (and also predicted Bernoulli's principle), without counting all the other things he projected.
27	* Creator/FranciscoDeQuevedo, one of the greatest poets, writers and thinkers in Spanish history (people generally only know him for his hilarious beefs with other poets, but he also wrote treatises on Catholic mysticism and Hellenistic philosophy), was also a legendary brawler and swordfighter, so good at this field that he reportedly defeated one of the very codifiers of Spanish fencing in a single move.
28	* [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/René_Descartes René Descartes]], the great 17th-century French mathematician and founder of modern philosophy, also served as a mercenary soldier during the UsefulNotes/ThirtyYearsWar (first for the Protestants and later for the Catholics) and seems to have drawn inspiration from his battlefield experiences.
29	* Zen Buddhist monk Motsugai Takeda was a fearsome martial artist and strongman aside from a successful Buddhist scholar and reformer.
30	* Genius composer Music/GeorgeFredericHandel ("The Messiah" etc. etc.) was a big, strong man with a hair-trigger temper. He is said to have made a difficult prima donna more cooperative by picking her up bodily and threatening to throw her out of a window and to have thrown a kettle-drum (the smallest of which, for those not in the know, are bowls of solid copper at least half a meter wide and half a meter deep) at a violinist who had played a bum note. Handel was of course a writer of truly brilliant and innovative music (although he is famous for doing a lot of borrowing, he basically always ended up transforming it) and a fairly shrewd businessman, as well (his famous series of {{oratorio}}s was a calculated business move: oratorios were cheaper to produce than operas but still drew big crowds, so they had bigger profit margins).
31	* UsefulNotes/AbrahamLincoln was big enough to break up brawls by picking up grown men with his bare hands and hauling heavy crates of rocks -- by some contemporary accounts weighing up to ''half a ton''. Before becoming a lawyer, congressman, and eventually president, he was also a famous wrestler. He is said to have fought over 400 matches without a loss, and the popular style of wrestling at the time was essentially MMA without strikes. When working on a ship as a young man, Lincoln rushed a group of armed pirates who had attacked the ship and ended up beating them all barehanded. One of them was thrown overboard with a move that can only be described as a chokeslam. On the genius side, besides his known intelligence in politics, he was one of America's first great corporate/business lawyers, innovating all kinds of legal strategies for the big companies of the day (largely railroads), and would likely have won a (small) spot for himself in the history books even if he hadn't decided to go into politics. As of 2020, Lincoln is the only U.S. president to have patented an invention--specifically, a set of air chambers that inflate to lift a boat higher in the water, avoiding or freeing it from obstructions.
32	* Richard Trevithick. 19th-century engineer, inventor, and locomotive-pioneer who developed the high-pressure steam engine which, being smaller and more powerful than earlier engines, was soon driving one of the world's earliest self-propelled road vehicles of Trevithick's own design. The 6'2" "Cornish Giant" was also exceptionally strong and a skilled wrestler. At a dinner Trevithick demonstrated his grappling proficiency by gripping a heavily built mine engineer around the waist, turning him upside down, to stamp his bootprints on the ceiling.
33	* UsefulNotes/TheodoreRoosevelt was a very effective president for two terms, as well as a heavyweight boxer who also trained UsefulNotes/{{Judo}} back when few people knew what it was. Plus his excellent grades in Harvard and his extensive zoological work. He was also an author, historian, polyglot, naturalist, cattle-rancher, hunter, explorer, and soldier. While President, he avoided politicians he didn't want to talk to by inviting them to join him on his morning jog. Even if they managed to keep up with him, they'd be too winded to talk to him much. To date, he is the only person in history to win both the Nobel Peace Prize and the Medal of Honor (though the latter was posthumous). He read a book every day before breakfast, and still found the time to kick huge amounts of ass.
34	* Santiago Ramón y Cajal, pioneer of neurology and Nobel Prize in medicine 1906, had been a rowdy youngster: after arm-wrestling with a friend and losing, his hurt pride (he was an infamous SoreLoser in just everything) led him to a gym, and over time he became a noted bodybuilder with, per his own words, a 112-centimeter thorax (44 inches) and the inelegant waddle of a fair strongman. Interestingly, a little sidenote in his career is that he also spent years researching about PsychicPowers, which would have finished turning him into a comic book character had he unlocked them.
35	* Spanish author Ramón María del Valle-Inclán had a history as a brawler and duelist, although ironically he lost his arm because of a duel he himself was ''not'' involved in. He was arguing with his journalist friend Manuel Bueno whether a duel between two other people was admissible or not, and they eventually came to blows, with Valle-Inclán armed with a bottle and Bueno with a cane. Valle-Inclán's arm was injured when a strike jammed his cufflink into his bone, which caused his arm to become gangrenous, and he had it amputated ''while conscious''. Over time, a number of comedic versions of the story appeared, and Valle-Inclán himself took the penchant to invent outrageous and even manlier stories about the loss of his arm, variously claiming that he cut it off himself to eat it, that a lion or crocodile bit it off, or that he lost it in a battle against a Mexican bandit.[[/folder]]
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37	[[folder:Modern examples]]
38	* Wladimir Klitschko is a 6'6", 250-pound boxer who was the longest-reigning heavyweight champion in the history of the sport and was widely known for his absolutely insane knockout power, with a record of 64 wins and 5 losses, and 53 knockouts (all on opponents weighing over 210 pounds)[[note]]For comparison: UsefulNotes/MuhammadAli only fought 15 opponents in his entire career who weighed 210 or more, and only knocked out 5 of them[[/note]]. He also is a highly tactical and technical fighter, is conversational in four languages (Ukrainian, Russian, German, English), and has a doctorate in sports science. He even taught classes as an adjunct professor at the University of St. Gallen in Switzerland. Hence his ring name: Dr. Steelhammer. He comes off as appropriately erudite in interviews. In February 2022, he joined the [[UsefulNotes/UkrainiansWithDepletedUranium Ukrainian armed forces]] to defend his country against the Russian invasion.
39	* The Wonderlic Personnel Test is an intelligence test frequently given to [[UsefulNotes/NationalFootballLeague NFL]] pre-draft prospects. The highest scorers tend to be offensive linemen (generally some of the biggest, strongest guys on the field). The quarterback, often regarded as the [[TheSmartGuy smartest]] on the team -- often described as a team's "field general" -- averages third, behind the offensive tackles and the center (the offensive linemen in the middle of the line, whose job, significantly, is protecting the quarterback until he either runs the ball out, hands it off to a running back, or passes it to a wide receiver), respectively; since these guys have to basically form a wall against the defensive line--basically the biggest guys on the field--they are usually pretty big themselves. The running backs and wide receivers average dead last.
40	* Erland van Lidth de Jeud was a Dutch actor, probably best-known for his role as the monstrously huge mass murderer Grossberger in ''Film/StirCrazy''. Before his acting career, van Lidth was a heavyweight Olympic wrestler (at 6'6" and over 300 lbs). He also studied computer science at MIT and was for a while a professional opera singer.
41	* Creator/DolphLundgren, the well-muscled actor famous for playing Ivan Drago in ''Film/RockyIV'' and He-Man in the live-action ''Film/MastersOfTheUniverse'', has a master's degree in chemical engineering. He also received the Fulbright Scholarship to MIT, though he quit when he pursued an acting career. Also [[CunningLinguist fluent in three languages and can get by in four others]], including Japanese. Rumors that he has a 160 IQ score are, however, "exaggerated" according to him. Back on the brawn side, besides his generally muscly action hero persona a la ''Rocky'' and ''Film/MastersOfTheUniverse'' and impressive build, he's a black belt who's won a variety of martial arts competitions and served in the military as a Special Forces team leader.
42	** [[http://www.cinemablend.com/news/How-Dolph-Lundgren-Almost-Killed-Sylvester-Stallone-During-Rocky-IV-96467.html Also, keep in mind that he almost killed Sylvester Stallone by accident with a punch to the chest.]]
43	* Iconic martial artist/actor Creator/BruceLee was able to hand over your ass as well as your ''mind'' to you in ways you can't yet process. He was arguably one of the most insightful and intriguing thinkers of his generation whose ideals still make an impact to this day. (He also danced the cha-cha, but [[RealMenWearPink that's another trope.]])
44	* Japanese writer Creator/YukioMishima, who was also a first-rank UsefulNotes/{{Kendo}} master and had an impressive physique; however, this case is a little bit different, for the reason he trained himself so hard in order to reach these impressive physical abilities was part and parcel of his own philosophy of Existence and Beauty. In a very strange book, ''Sun and Steel'', he even explained how the beauty of the body shaped by years of bodybuilding was a perfect mirror of his theory of morality and aesthetic. Yeah, strange guy indeed - no wonder he eventually took his life.
45	* Carlo Pedersoli, better known as "Creator/BudSpencer" of SpaghettiWestern fame. 270lbs of pure muscle and fat, a pilot, a degree in law, holder of several patents... You wouldn't believe, seeing his fat, Hulk-like stature in the movies, that he was also a professional swimmer before he took up acting.
46	* Though he probably hasn't beat anybody up since high school (if he ever did at all), physicist UsefulNotes/NeilDeGrasseTyson described his [[http://i.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/article/8/4/0/303840_v1.jpg cool]], [[http://i.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/article/8/3/8/303838.jpg?v=1 muscular]], [[http://i.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/article/8/8/6/303886.jpg?v=1 black high school]] self as a "nerd who could [[GoshDangItToHeck kick your butt]]". He was also captain of his high school wrestling team and wrestled at the collegiate level during his undergraduate years at Harvard (earning a letter his senior year). No doubt much butt-kicking was involved.
47	* Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger is one of the most decorated bodybuilders in history. He also has a history of intelligent investments with his fortunes and used to work as the Governator of California. Even back during his bodybuilding days, he came across as a student of psychology and a master manipulator. Reportedly, he would sabotage other contestants by deliberately lying about his workout regimen so his opponents who were listening would deliberately over- or under-train and ruin their chances. When he became known as an action star, he had already been a self-made millionaire for years.
48	* Creator/SylvesterStallone has a lot going against him with his garbled speech (caused by accidental nerve damage when he was born) but is actually a very [[{{Pun}} sly]] businessman, and the more intimately involved with a film's production he is the better-quality film it usually turns out to be. ''He'' wrote the ''Film/{{Rocky}}'' script. It was nominated for the Best Original Screenplay Oscar, and Sly himself was nominated for ''Best Actor''. Sly himself had also scored over 130 while taking an IQ test in Larry King's television show if one thinks such a test (especially under such circumstances) is controversially a good indicator of intelligence.
49	* Byron "Whizzer" White played [[UsefulNotes/CollegiateAmericanFootball college football]] at the University of Colorado, where he was their best-ever running back. He signed to the Pittsburgh Football Pirates (now the [[UsefulNotes/NationalFootballLeague Steelers]])... just as he learned he was getting a Rhodes Scholarship. He took a year at UsefulNotes/{{Ox\|bridge}}ford, came home, played two seasons for the Detroit Lions (where he was one of the first "big-money" football players, with a $15,000 salary[[note]]That's $250,000 in today's money. While this seems like a pittance for a star running back today, it was unheard-of for a football player back then[[/note]])... and then UsefulNotes/WorldWarII broke out; White served in the Navy. After the war ended, he decided not to go back into football and instead studied law at [[UsefulNotes/IvyLeague Yale]]. In 1962, he was appointed by UsefulNotes/JohnFKennedy to the [[UsefulNotes/AmericanCourts US Supreme Court]], where he served until 1993.
50	* In the same era as White (though never playing against him; their schools didn't meet in football until 1974) was UsefulNotes/GeraldFord, star center and linebacker for the [[UsefulNotes/PowerFiveConferences University of Michigan]]. One of the premier college football players of his era, Ford turned down professional contract offers from the Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers to apply for law school at Yale. While at Yale he coached that school's football and boxing teams but was turned down by Yale Law because of concerns his full-time coaching responsibilities would interfere with law school. Ford would later serve in the Navy during World War II, seeing heavy action in the Pacific, and was reassigned as a [[DrillSergeantNasty physical training officer]] when the carrier he had been serving on was scrapped due to heavy damage. After the war, Ford would be elected to the House of Representatives and eventually serve as House Minority Leader, Vice-President, and President (although he expressed disappointment that he never got to hold the one office he ''really'' wanted, Speaker of the House).
51	* In the modern UsefulNotes/NationalFootballLeague, there's now-retired Baltimore Ravens center and guard [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Urschel John Urschel]], who is also a doctoral student in mathematics at MIT, and has authored/co-authored 9 research papers. He retired shortly before the 2017 season, heavily influenced by a study published in ''JAMA''[[note]]Journal of the American Medical Association[[/note]] on the prevalence of chronic traumatic encephalopathy[[note]]brain damage brought on by repeated blows to the head[[/note]] in deceased NFL players. Indeed, he claims that after he received one particularly bad tackle, he now has difficulty doing some high-level equations in his head.
52	* Heavily muscled punk icon Music/HenryRollins is also a writer and a poet who owns his own publishing house.
53	** His friend and peer [[Music/{{Fugazi}} Ian MacKaye]] is an author on the side, and very articulate in interviews. As a further subversion of the "bruiser" stereotype, [[RealMenEatMeat he is a vegan]].
54	* Whilst boxer Nikolai Valuev looks like he's carved from stone, apparently, he's a pretty smart guy.
55	* Creator/KevinGrevioux, who played werewolf Raze in the ''Film/{{Underworld\|2003}}'' movies and voiced the Black Beetle in ''{{WesternAnimation/Young Justice}}'', was working on his Master's degree in genetic engineering until he decided to go Hollywood. Oh, yeah, and he ''wrote'' ''Underworld'', basing the script on his knowledge of interracial dating.
56	* [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Ferguson Chris "Jesus" Ferguson]] [[http://m.fulltiltpoker.com/video/LFTP_Jesus_throws-2.m4v can cut vegetables with a thrown playing card]]. While he is certainly an imposing figure at the poker table, the five-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner (including the main event title in 2000) owes his success largely to his knowledge of game theory and development of computer simulations, as he has a Ph.D. in computer science.
57	* All astronauts are in space for the specific reason of doing complex research [[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment in space]], but also must keep remarkably fit in order to fight muscle degeneration and bone loss that are consequent of long durations of a lack of gravity.
58	** Specific case: UsefulNotes/BuzzAldrin, second man on the Moon -- also decorated fighter pilot, graduated #2 in his class at West Point, earned a Ph.D. in astronautics from MIT (writing [[http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/12652 the book on manned orbital rendezvous]] for NASA, earning him the nickname "Dr. Rendezvous")... and delivered an [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HlbYOKSSaIE epic upper-cut]] to a Moon-landing conspiracy theorist who was harassing him.
59	--->'''Conspiracy Theorist:''' "You're the one who said you walked on the moon, when you didn't. Calling the kettle black."
60	--->'''Buzz Aldrin (angrily):''' "Will you get away from me?!"
61	--->'''Conspiracy Theorist:''' "You're a coward, and a liar, and a--"
62	--->(Aldrin punches him in the face)
63	*** Keep in mind, Aldrin was 72 years old at the time, and the lady who was with him was his daughter, making Buzz Aldrin a PapaWolf and a CoolOldGuy as well[[note]]He is also [[RealMenLoveJesus a deeply spiritual man]], a devout Presbyterian who took Communion on the Moon[[/note]].
64	** If we are going to talk astronauts then we have to talk William Shepherd, the first Navy SEAL in space. While being interviewed by NASA he was asked what he does better than anyone else and he replied: "kill someone with a knife". Flew on 3 Shuttle missions, commanded the first mission to the ISS, and after returning to the Navy after his NASA service was assigned to the staff of Commander, Naval Special Warfare Command
65	** And then there is the second SEAL in space, Commander Chris Cassidy. Graduated USNA. Honor Graduate from BUD/S, Masters Degree from MIT, the Bronze Star for leading the team against insurgents in Afghanistan, flew on a Shuttle mission, mission specialist on ISS mission, and appointed Chief Astronaut of NASA
66	** Most early NASA astronauts were, in fact, former military aviators. Arguably the most notable among them was UsefulNotes/JohnGlenn, the first American to orbit the Earth and a veteran of three different wars with the US Air Force. In the Korean War, he achieved three victories against [=MiG-15=] fighter jets in his own F-86.
67	* Any UsefulNotes/SocietyForCreativeAnachronism heavy fighters. History reenactment is considered a ''very'' nerdy hobby, but those guys fight in full armor with rattan weapons and are trained to hit hard. SCA has given the initial spark on researching and reviving the original Medieval Western Martial Arts.
68	* Szeklers (Transylvanian ethnic Hungarians) are generally seen as aggressive, violent and in general, very strong fighters. One of their prominent figures (János Bolyai) is known for being the first person to discover non-Euclidean geometry. Another (Sándor Kőrösi Csoma) is best known as the author of the first English-Tibetan dictionary.
69	* Former boxing champion - and Mensa member - Bobby Czyz.
70	* Dr. John Turner, senior citizen, psychiatrist, and [[http://www.zeigermann.com/oldblog/images/2007/05/11/old.jpg can probably hand your ass to you.]]
71	* Ernest Rutherford, Nobel-winning scientist and keen rugby player (at least as a university student).
72	* Eric Greitens: Attended the prestigious Duke University as an undergrad before attending the University of Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar (most prestigious scholarship in the world). At Oxford, he earned a Master's degree as well as a doctorate. Mr. Greitens then joined the U.S. Navy, became a Navy SEAL, and served in Iraq and Afghanistan. After leaving active duty, Greitens completed a White House Fellowship and founded the Mission Continues, a nonprofit which allows veterans to serve their communities. Greitens has also taught courses at the University of Missouri and Washington University. He was elected Governor of Missouri in 2016.
73	* Dr. Andrew Exum: Attended the University of Pennsylvania (Ivy League). During his senior year, he was a part of the Sphinx Senior Society, the oldest and most prestigious senior society at U Penn. He then went on to serve as a U.S. Army officer in the Wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. He was in the Army Rangers, an elite special operations infantry unit. After leaving the Army, Dr. Exum got his Master's degree in Middle Eastern Studies at the American University of Beirut and a doctorate from King's College, London.
74	* Meet [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleksandr_Karelin Aleksandr]] [[http://www.badassoftheweek.com/karelin.html Karelin]]: Doctor of law, member of the State Duma, opera and ballet aficionado, and unstoppable heavyweight Greco-Roman wrestler legendary for regularly lifting his 300-pound opponents off the ground. Considered one of the strongest men in the world, Karelin once got a 500-pound refrigerator to his apartment by bear-hugging it and walking up eight flights of stairs.
75	* Oleksii Novikov, crowned the WorldsStrongestMan in 2020, holds a Master's degree in International Economics.
76	* Meme macro [[http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/professor-badass Professor Badass]] - Kevin Stewart: fashion designer, style director for ESPN [[SpellMyNameWithAThe The]] Magazine, co-owner of Roger Charles New York design studio (and no, the photo doesn't come from a shoot, this is just how he rocks it on a daily basis)
77	* Sir Richard Francis Burton, genius linguist, explorer, anthropologist, diplomat, gunfighter, fencer, chess master, bayonet fighter, Sufi sage, freemason, libertine, translator, and general all-around badass.
78	* Wrestling/JesseVentura, former Navy SEAL, pro wrestler, movie star, media pundit, and Governor of Minnesota.
79	* Creator/AmbroseBierce, Brevet Major, US Civil War hero, newspaperman, author of the Devil's Dictionary, masterful writer of suspense and horror short stories, disappeared while adventuring with Pancho Villa. Depicted as such in the film "The Hangman's Daughter".
80	* Several Native American leaders, notably Tecumseh, Crazy Horse, and Sitting Bull.
81	* Kaj Larsen: Mr. Larsen holds a Bachelor's degree in political science from UC Santa Cruz. After graduating from college, he joined the U.S. Navy and became a SEAL. He served in Iraq. After leaving active duty, Larsen graduated from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. He is currently a journalist who has been nominated for an Emmy as well as a Peabody Award.
82	* Paul Robeson, All-American and NFL (American) football player, Bachelor of Laws[[note]]since replaced in the US by the Juris Doctor degree[[/note]] (Columbia), civil rights advocate, Communist, actor, world-renowned singer.
83	* Elliot Ackerman: Got Bachelor's and Master's degrees at the prestigious Tufts University (graduated with top honors). He then became an infantry officer in the U.S. Marines before joining special operations. He served in both Iraq and Afghanistan. After leaving the military, Mr. Ackerman published a novel and continues to write on conflicts around the world, most notably the Syrian Civil War.
84	* Russian President UsefulNotes/VladimirPutin graduated from the International Law branch of the Law Department of the Leningrad State University and was then a Lieutenant Colonel in the KGB before going on to have a political career that has spanned from 1990 to the present, and his approval rating in Russia was at one point 81%, better than any other world leader at the time. He's known for his "tough guy" outdoorsman image and has taken part in extreme sports and interaction with wild animals. He is also known to be skilled in martial arts.
85	** Putin actually has a Ph.D. in Economics from the St. Petersburg Mining Institute which he got in 1996, shortly after he began his career in politics. [[http://world.time.com/2013/02/28/putins-phd-can-a-plagiarism-probe-upend-russian-politics/ This one is controversial]] since (and not unusual for Russian politicians [[UsefulNotes/TheNewRussia of the time]]) it was found that parts of his dissertation were plagiarised and the whole thing may have been ghostwritten since he was also busy running an election campaign when he allegedly wrote it, though it is known that he has publicly and successfully defended the thesis and is clearly smart enough to understand the material.
86	* [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chess_boxing Chess Boxing]] is a sport where the competitors alternate a round of chess with a round of boxing.
87	* Retired boxer Nicky Piper won 26 of his 33 professional fights. He is also a member of Mensa.
88	* Bassist/composer Music/CharlesMingus was one of the most influential figures in jazz, a self-taught student of world religion and literature. He was also a tank. Given his volatile temperament, especially when he'd been drinking, it could be tense to be in his band.
89	* Most [[UsefulNotes/TheModernDayRambo special forces]] operators today need to be this. They are trained to complete missions in difficult environments without tons of heavy firepower backing them up, drawing principally on their own brawn and brain and the training in both dimensions. They need to know local languages, customs, histories, and current events and be able to size the situation very accurately and very fast, or risk losing their heads.
90	* Wrestling/{{Raven}}, real name Scott Levy, is a pro wrestler who possesses an IQ of 143 and is a member of Mensa and the Theta Chi fraternity. He attended the University of Delaware, where he earned a degree in criminal justice, and he took a semester off from college to enlist in the United States Marine Corps Reserve.
91	* [[UsefulNotes/GrigoriRasputin Rasputin the Mad Monk]]. 6'4" (albeit pretty slim), and (while this has been exaggerated by the myth) renowned for his physical strength and stamina (his "survival" of multiple bullet wounds aside; that was more due to inaccurate shooting and slow bullets than his personal toughness). He was also of above-average intelligence. While the specifics are unclear, he was certainly a gifted SnakeOilSalesman, a cunning if erratic politician, and he was clearly doing ''something'' right when ameliorating the Prince's hemophilia (whether it was hypnosis or [[SimpleMindedWisdom Simple-Minded Medical Advice]] is still a mystery).
92	* Frank Spangenberg is an officer in the Transit Bureau of the New York City Police Department (formerly the New York City Transit Police Department) who appeared on ''Series/{{Jeopardy}}'' in January 1990 and won $102,597 as a 5-time undefeated champion[[note]]At the time, there was a $75,000 winnings cap, so he had to donate $27,597 to his designated charity, Gift of Love Hospice[[/note]], with a record-setting $30,600 total during his last game. He's been the only player to appear in every "all-time" tournament[[note]]Super Jeopardy!, 10th Anniversary Tournament (which he won), Million Dollar Masters, Ultimate Tournament of Champions, and Battle of the Decades[[/note]], and even after they doubled the in-game scoring system in 2001 (and removed the 5-win limit in 2003), he's still the show's top 5-time champion.
93	* 19th-century anarchist Mikhail Bakunin was a 6'5", muscular and charismatic adventurer who voluntarily did a lot of heavy lifting and fighting in the various revolutionary conflicts he was involved in, but he is best known as the author of classic Anarchist texts such as ''The State and Anarchy'', and at one point was writing a Russian translation of ''Das Kapital'' by Creator/KarlMarx during the period they didn't hate each other's guts (though he quit under controversial circumstances, in part because he preferred action to lengthy writing projects).
94	* Former NHL defenseman Zdeno Chára, best known for his long tenure with the Boston Bruins, is 6'9" and 250 lbs. He also speaks 6 languages in addition to his native Slovak (Czech, Polish, Swedish, Russian, German, and English), has a diploma in financial planning from Algonquin College, and is a licensed realtor in the state of Massachusetts.
95	* Retired [[UsefulNotes/MixedMartialArts MMA]] fighter Rosi Sexton not only had an impressive run as a fighter before retiring at age 36, she also holds a [=PhD=] in theoretical computer sciences at the University of Manchester, before taking up fighting, she wrote not one, but two rather well-regarded papers on the subject.
96	* Astronomer Edwin Hubble, later considered the father of observational cosmology, had been a good student, best renowned for his athletic skills, playing baseball, basketball, football, and running, with excellent marks. He was famously an amateur heavyweight boxer; an unconfirmed story talks about a sponsor offering Hubble to go pro and fight then-champion Jack Johnson.
97	* Brothers Niels and Harald Bohr played football in the Akademisk Boldklub ("the Academics") of Copenhange, as goalkeeper and goaler respectively. Harald then played for Denmark in the 1908 Olympics, earning the silver. When he later defended his [=PhD=], there were more soccer fans in the room than mathematicians. Niels, who enjoyed western movies, is also reported to have mastered fast draw skill using physics.
98	* Former New York Republican congressman Chris Gibson more than qualifies. He was the first in his family to complete college, graduating from Siena College in Loudonville, New York. He was in Army ROTC while in college and was commissioned as an infantry officer after graduation. He served for nearly 25 years on active duty, including a tour in the First Gulf War, Kosovo and serving a whopping four tours of duty in Iraq; he was wounded in Iraq and received a Purple Heart. He also took part in humanitarian operations in Haiti after the 2010 earthquake. He spent his career in the 82nd Airborne Division, one of the Army’s most prestigious units. He also went through the Army’s grueling Ranger School, a two month long course where trainees learn small unit tactics, wilderness survival and other things designed to break you down. All of that certainly qualifies him as a bruiser, but the man has many intellectual achievements to his name. While serving in the Army, he earned two master’s degrees and a doctorate in government from Cornell University (Ivy League), taught politics at West Point and wrote a book on national security. After retiring from the Army, he ran for Congress, won and served for 3 terms. He decided not to run for re-election and became a distinguished professor at Williams College in Massachusetts. The college he attended as an undergrad, Siena, appointed him as its President in 2020.
99	* Joseph Bruchac is one of the most accomplished fiction, historical fiction, and non-fiction authors who has published scores of books on Native American history and folk tales. He attended Cornell University, an Ivy League school, and went on to achieve his master's degree at Syracuse University and a Ph.D. from the Union Institute of Ohio. During his time at Cornell he was a member of the wrestling team, and went on to become a wrestling coach after graduation. He's also a skilled martial artist.
100	* Richard Sherman, a former cornerback for the Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers, definitely qualifies as this. He attended the prestigious Stanford University, and went on to became one of the NFL’s most dominant corners of the 2010s, including a stint on the renowned “Legion of Boom” Seahawks defense. Sherman prided himself on his trash-talk and tough-guy antics and always backed it up with his performances on the field. Many fans and analysts attributed his football skills to his high intelligence and ability to dissect even the most complex NFL offenses.
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102
103	[[folder:Nature]]
104	* Predators. See examples of crocodiles and dinosaurs above. Snakes, monitor lizards, sharks, big cats, wolves, orcas, squid, and in fact almost anything that kills for a living fit this trope to a T. Crocs have learned to hunt in packs and use bait to draw in birds, squid have a complex communication system using color changes to send signals, moray eels are capable of communicating with other species of predators to hunt cooperatively, sharks join forces despite being loners when the circumstances dictate, orcas have specific tactics for killing almost anything in the ocean including great whites-it goes on.
105	* Tigers aren't just the strongest of all big cats, they're also likely the smartest. They are capable of short-term planning during hunts (especially in pairs, which has been recorded in the wild), can successfully outsmart human hunters, and are one of the few animals besides humans that seek ''revenge''. There's a reason why even ''elephants'' [[TheDreaded are terrified of tigers.]]
106	* Octopi are incredibly intelligent species of the sea and all that muscle in their tentacles can let them jet around the sea at near 20 to 25 miles per hour. They're actually tough enough to [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q36_8s5z6S8 fight sharks]] and smart enough to [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5fZu-1bt6Y hunt things on land]].
107	* Generals of any army anywhere are often as intelligent as they are strong.
108	* Gorillas are incredibly smart by animal standards, as well as strong enough to move trucks. In fact, they are so strong that scientists actually have no idea ''how'' strong they are.
109	** Chimpanzees as well. They can use tools and have surprisingly good memories and are several times stronger than a similarly sized human.
110	** Humans aren't slouches either. Most people on this site are more familiar with the domesticated human, but scientists believe that early humans had their own strategy for chasing down prey before we started over specializing in the Genius part. Before humans got the hang of propelling sharp objects into potential food at a distance, our ancestors would just chase the prey. And chase. [[SuperPersistentPredator And chase]]. [[TheDeterminator And chase.]] Humans may not have been the fastest animal on the savannah, but long after the prey had fallen down out of exhaustion, the early humans were still going strong and would proceed to finish off the animal and cart it back home.
111	* On land we have the elephants who have the largest brain of any land-based animal today. Elephants can feel many of the same emotions we do and are considered by some scientists to be on the level with great apes and perhaps approaching dolphins. They are also so big and strong they can casually knock down trees for food and can curb stomp any other land animal. They can also move [[LightningBruiser incredibly fast]] when they get their momentum - not surprising given their massive, muscled legs.
112	* Komodo dragons are very intelligent even by lizard standards, with human-like social structures and good memories; many also like playing. Don't get within a few... well, miles of one if you can avoid it.
113	* Just the entire Cetacean Order of Mammals in general are this, some species of whales have learned what types of ships were likely to hunt them and either flee long before they get in range or ram into them before the whalers can see them. This may or may not have resulted from human hunting [[NiceJobFixingItVillain causing natural selection to favor the survivability of smarter, savvier whales while we indirectly weed out the dumber ones.]]
114	** Dolphins, while being incredibly strong and fast aquatic acrobats, seem to have a language of their own, and can solve puzzles, help humans in danger, and learn rudimentary math concepts.
115	** The orca, which is a type of dolphin, can learn strategies to hunt its prey in any situation (knocking up ice floes, beaching, spy hopping) which are taught and passed down through generations, and demonstrate problem-solving abilities (like when they steal fish from fishermen by splitting into different groups). They are also one of the most powerful hunters in the sea to the extent that some orcas have developed a taste for the great white shark, which in turn [[HorrifyingTheHorror developed a fear of the orca]]; now let that sink in for a moment.
116	* Hyenas also fit the bill. They are not only known for being savage predators, but they also display a high level of intelligence (able to give primates a run for their money), despite their dimwitted portrayal in movies like those of ''Franchise/TheLionKing''.
117	* Honey badgers, too. They have a reputation for being powerful and vicious to the point that they can kill lions, and are also rather tough, even resisting snake venom. [[https://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/are-honey-badgers-one-worlds-smartest-animals/21144/ They also happen to be extremely clever animals, even using tools]].
118	* Wild boars and feral pigs are surprisingly durable for their size and can cause serious injury with their tusks and charging. They're also highly intelligent -- moreso than domestic animals -- which makes controlling feral pig populations troublesome as they can easily learn and adapt to attempts at controlling them.
119	* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=YxFPG6Gcx2w This kitten]] is both smart and strong enough to move the object out of the way to get the toy back.
120	* Dromaeosaurid dinosaurs. Fast (comparable to a modern bear, at 20 to 45 miles per hour depending on species), extremely agile and superb at CombatParkour, very strong (lots of kicking and biting power), and, like almost all predators, intelligent and tactical, coming up with creative plans.
121	** Carnivorous dinosaurs were this in general.
122	** As it turns out, ''UsefulNotes/TyrannosaurusRex'' might've been the ultimate example of this trope. Not only was it the most massive land predator to ever live, with a bone-crushing bite and an extremely beefy build, recent studies have shown that it was a neurologically complex animal with extremely powerful senses, including vision better than a hawk's and scent better than a bloodhound's. As if that wasn't enough, [[https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.06.20.496834v1 a recent study]] has indicated that [[ItCanThink it may have been as intelligent as a modern-day baboon]], making it one of the smartest animals of its time.
123	* As it turns out, crocodiles are as intelligent as most mammals, with a far smaller brain. This being the same crocodile that also tears its prey apart with a death roll and also ambushes said prey from the water. It turns out crocodiles got a whole lot more terrifying.
124	** The biggest example is probably the Cuban crocodile, a more terrestrial species that has been observed ''pack hunting'' in captivity. So far, no other crocodilian or bird species has been recorded doing this.
125	[[/folder]]
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Context GeniusBruiser / RealLife