History Main / CombatPragmatist

Can occur with LimitedWindowOfVulnerability when the pragmatic solution is to kill someone of something very quickly while they're vulnerable.

The Combat Pragmatist is a character who is defined by his or her willingness to do anything in a fight to win.

This typically applies to "real" fights where there's actually something at stake that's more important than a cash prize, a trophy, or a title belt, and usually not professional fights in a controlled environment where safeguards are in place to prevent one side from suffering too much damage and where one can be disqualified for not abiding by the rules. In such settings, the Combat Pragmatist is an unsympathetic character (usually the main antagonist) who shows through his ruthlessness that he honors nothing -- not his opponents, not the sport and its customs, not the tournament's sacred history -- but winning, and tends to believe that there's no such thing as a "dirty" fight if your goal is to survive.

Often overlaps with the NoNonsenseNemesis, {{Anti Hero}}es, and especially {{Ninja}}. They almost never allow [[HonorBeforeReason honor or sentiment]] to cloud their judgement, will usually take measures to avoid [[DeathByPragmatism setbacks, or betrayal]]. Sometimes WeakButSkilled or TooCleverByHalf, though the truly pragmatic former will constantly seek to increase his power level and hence advantage over his enemies. It can look like ConfusionFu in practice -- but it almost always isn't. If TheUnfettered fights, then he'll be one of these. In a video game, don't expect them to be above using a CheeseStrategy to win.

Villains can also be pragmatic, though it usually takes on a [[PragmaticVillainy different form]]. Villains being normal Combat Pragmatists is usually averted, or at least not played out completely straight, as it can possibly even lead to them [[TheBadGuyWins being victorious]]. If they are, it means they avert BondVillainStupidity and [[HeroKiller actually kill the hero]] instead of [[NoMrBondIExpectYouToDine having dinner with him]]. Depending on the context, using these tactics can be their KickTheDog moment or even their crossing of the MoralEventHorizon.

Characters are often deliberately not put into this trope due to RuleOfCool. If everyone took this approach to combat who could, key characters would be dead or defeated too soon and the story would be over a little too quickly. Plus, it's often just way cooler to show off more complicated tactics than simple ones. Additionally, MoralGuardians and {{Media Watchdog}}s sometimes make having this type of character difficult by ensuring that they can't do certain actions. On the other hand, when drawn-out straight fights are impractical, excitement can be created by GenreShift away from pure action to espionage, planning, intrigue and the thrill of the hunt, with clever heroes and villains alike who avoid the IdiotBall and unnecessary flash, and any open violence being quick and decisive, however, this can come as "Cheating in a fight with no rules is not cheating" and "If you want to defeat the bad guys, you don't have to fight fair with them". WarCrimeSubvertsHeroism is a related trope.

Curiously enough, those of [[GreyAndGrayMorality Grey And Gray Morality]] would be the best example here. These characters shrewdly see the good and bad in pretty much every concept. On one hand maybe sending that criminal to prison is the right thing, but will they [[FaceHeelTurn really repent their crimes?]] This kind of contemplation is very common for characters/themes like these, that to say [[LightIsGood good is right]] and [[DarkIsEvil evil is wrong]] entirely is not an absolute.

* Lord Shen, the BigBad of ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda2'', knows that he is too weak to defeat his opponents [[spoiler: and conquer China]] with kung fu alone. [[spoiler: So he uses cannons instead. As well as fight with [[KnifeNut knives]].]] This is evident when he uses the weapon instead of facing Master Thundering Rhino in a kung fu fight which he knows he cannot win. It's specifically mentioned that Master Thundering Rhino's "Horn Defense" is impervious to any attack, and we see it when he casually blocks all of Shen's thrown knives with his horn. Naturally, Shen's not going to fight fair.

Characters are often deliberately not put into this trope due to RuleOfCool. If everyone took this approach to combat who could, key characters would be dead or defeated too soon and the story would be over a little too quickly. Plus, it's often just way cooler to show off more complicated tactics than simple ones. Additionally, MoralGuardians and {{Media Watchdog}}s sometimes make having this type of character difficult by ensuring that they can't do certain actions. On the other hand, when drawn-out straight fights are impractical, excitement can be created by GenreShift away from pure action to espionage, planning, intrigue and the thrill of the hunt, with clever heroes and villains alike who avoid the IdiotBall and unnecessary flash, and any open violence being quick and decisive, however, this can come as "Cheating in a fight with no rules is not cheating" and "If you want to defeat the bad guys, you don't have to fight fair with them". The ObligatoryWarCrimeScene is a related trope.

This can be an EstablishingCharacterMoment. It can also be divisive, both among the audience and InUniverse, due to MoralMyopia -- the hero is a resourceful badass, while the villain is just a dirty cheater. This can lead to instances of BlackAndGrayMorality, showing that the hero and the villain aren't so different, and the difference between someone being [[YourTerroristsAreOurFreedomFighters a terrorist or a freedom fighter]]. For heroes, it's possible for these tactics, if extreme enough, to lead to WhatTheHellHero moments or claims of IfYouKillHimYouWillBeJustLikeHim, sometimes resulting in responses of IDidWhatIHadToDo, and in extreme cases, can be a metaphor for SlowlySlippingIntoEvil that represents the start or conclusion of a FaceHeelTurn.

Often overlaps with the NoNonsenseNemesis, {{Anti Hero}}es, and especially {{Ninja}}. They almost never allow [[HonorBeforeReason honor or sentiment]] to cloud their judgement, will usually take measures to avoid [[DeathByPragmatism setbacks, or betrayal]]. Sometimes WeakButSkilled or TooCleverByHalf, though the truly pragmatic former will constantly seek to increase his power level and hence advantage over his enemies. It can look like ConfusionFu in practice -- but it almost always isn't. If TheUnfettered fights, then he'll be one of these.

* CombatPragmatist/WebComics

->''"Sorry, I saw an opening that seemed to scream out 'attack', so... I did. Hahah!"''
-->-- '''Goku''' (after slugging Recoome in the gut while he was busy charging his ultimate attack), ''Anime/DragonBallZ''

-->-- '''Goku''', after slugging Recoome in the gut while he was busy charging his ultimate attack, ''[[Franchise/{{Dragonball}} Dragonball Z]]''

->'''Will Turner:''' You didn't beat me. You ignored the rules of engagement. In a fair fight, I'd kill you.\\
'''Jack Sparrow:''' That's not much incentive for me to fight fair, then, is it?
-->-- ''Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanTheCurseOfTheBlackPearl''

"Only a moron would bring a sword to a gun fight."]]-]]]

This typically applies to "real" fights where there's actually something at stake that's more important than a cash prize, a trophy, or a title belt, and usually not professional fights in a controlled environment where safeguards are in place to prevent one side from suffering too much damage and where one can be disqualified for not abiding by the rules. In such settings, the Combat Pragmatist is an unsympathetic character (usually the main antagonist) who shows through his ruthlessness that he honors nothing — not his opponents, not the sport and its customs, not the tournament's sacred history — but winning, and tends to believe that there's no such thing as a "dirty" fight if your goal is to survive.

Often overlaps with the NoNonsenseNemesis, {{Anti Hero}}es, and especially {{Ninja}}. They almost never allow [[HonorBeforeReason honor or sentiment]] to cloud their judgement, will usually take measures to avoid [[DeathByPragmatism setbacks, or betrayal]]. Sometimes WeakButSkilled or TooCleverByHalf, though the truly pragmatic former will constantly seek to increase his power level and hence advantage over his enemies. It can look like ConfusionFu in practice — but it almost always isn't. If TheUnfettered fights, then he'll be one of these.

This can be an EstablishingCharacterMoment. It can also be divisive, both among the audience and InUniverse, due to MoralMyopia — the hero is a resourceful badass, while the villain is just a dirty cheater. This can lead to instances of BlackAndGrayMorality, showing that the hero and the villain aren't so different, and the difference between someone being [[YourTerroristsAreOurFreedomFighters a terrorist or a freedom fighter]]. For heroes, it's possible for these tactics, if extreme enough, to lead to WhatTheHellHero moments or claims of IfYouKillHimYouWillBeJustLikeHim, sometimes resulting in responses of IDidWhatIHadToDo, and in extreme cases, can be a metaphor for SlowlySlippingIntoEvil that represents the start or conclusion of a FaceHeelTurn.

* Pretty much everyone in ''Roleplay/DarwinsSoldiers'' fights dirty but Dr. Kerzach probably fights the dirtiest.

* Evgeny Shvarts has a play called [[http://a7sharp9.com/dragon.html The Dragon]]. When the titular dragon is challenged to combat by the protagonist, he wants to just incinerate him first, but is reminded that there is a document he signed preventing that (the dragon claims he wrote it when he was "a naïve, sentimental, inexperienced youth", but the threat to reveal he is afraid to fight fair is enough for the battle to happen on more even terms).

* In ''WebVideo/SuburbanKnights'', the Website/ChannelAwesome crew tries to play along the fantasy scenario, only using (fake) swords. But when the Cloaks use a machine gun, [[WebVideo/TheAngryJoeShow Angry Joe]] uses his gun. And in a climactic battle, [[WebVideo/AtopTheFourthWall Linkara]] goes "screw this" before dropping his sword and grabbing his gun, and while Joe is using his SMG again, WebVideo/ObscurusLupa grabs a spare and starts shooting as well.
* In his ''WebVideo/DVDRHell'' riff of the Franchise/WinnieThePooh video "Too Smart For Strangers", Creator/BradJones' advice for children dealing with 'strangers' is for the child to 'Go for the nuts'.

This can be an EstablishingCharacterMoment. It can also be divisive, both among the audience and InUniverse, due to MoralMyopia — the hero is a resourceful badass, while the villain is just a dirty cheater. This can lead to instances of BlackAndGrayMorality, showing that the hero and the villain are NotSoDifferent, and the difference between someone being [[YourTerroristsAreOurFreedomFighters a terrorist or a freedom fighter]]. For heroes, it's possible for these tactics, if extreme enough, to lead to WhatTheHellHero moments or claims of IfYouKillHimYouWillBeJustLikeHim, sometimes resulting in responses of IDidWhatIHadToDo, and in extreme cases, can be a metaphor for SlowlySlippingIntoEvil that represents the start or conclusion of a FaceHeelTurn.

* A commercial in Geico's "rhetorical question" ad campaign tested the question of whether the pen is mightier than the sword. A skilled ninja shows off his sword skills, and his opponent uses a pen to sign for a package containing a taser, which he immediately uses on the ninja.

This typically applies to "real" fights where there's actually something at stake that's more important than a cash prize, a trophy, or a title belt, and usually not professional fights in a controlled environment where safeguards are in place to prevent one side from suffering too much damage and where one can be disqualified for not abiding by the rules. In such settings, the Combat Pragmatist is an unsympathetic character (usually the main antagonist) who shows through his ruthlessness that he honors nothing -- not his opponents, not the sport and its customs, not the tournament's sacred history -- but winning, and tends to believe that there's no such thing as a "dirty" fight if your goal is to survive.

Often overlaps with the NoNonsenseNemesis, {{Anti Hero}}es, and especially {{Ninja}}. They almost never allow [[HonorBeforeReason honor or sentiment]] to cloud their judgement, will usually take measures to avoid [[DeathByPragmatism setbacks, or betrayal.]]. Sometimes WeakButSkilled or TooCleverByHalf, though the truly pragmatic former will constantly seek to increase his power level and hence advantage over his enemies. It can look like ConfusionFu in practice -- but it almost always isn't. If TheUnfettered fights, then he'll be one of these.

This can be an EstablishingCharacterMoment. It can also be divisive, both among the audience and InUniverse, due to MoralMyopia -- the hero is a resourceful badass, while the villain is just a dirty cheater. This can lead to instances of BlackAndGrayMorality, showing that the hero and the villain are NotSoDifferent, and the difference between someone being [[YourTerroristsAreOurFreedomFighters a terrorist or a freedom fighter]]. For heroes, it's possible for these tactics, if extreme enough, to lead to WhatTheHellHero moments or claims of IfYouKillHimYouWillBeJustLikeHim, sometimes resulting in responses of IDidWhatIHadToDo, and in extreme cases, can be a metaphor for SlowlySlippingIntoEvil that represents the start or conclusion of a FaceHeelTurn.

* Tommy Dreamer's nickname is "The Innovator of Violence" thanks to his ability to improvise during hardcore matches.

Characters are often deliberately not put into this trope due to RuleOfCool. If everyone took this approach to combat who could, key characters would be dead or defeated too soon and the story would be over a little too quickly. Plus, it's often just way cooler to show off more complicated tactics than simple ones. Additionally, MoralGuardians and {{Media Watchdog}}s sometimes make having this type of character difficult by ensuring that they can't do certain actions. On the other hand, when drawn-out straight fights are impractical, excitement can be created by GenreShift away from pure action to espionage, planning, intrigue and the thrill of the hunt, with clever heroes and villains alike who avoid the IdiotBall and unnecessary flash, and any open violence being quick and decisive, however, this character can come as a FamilyUnfriendlyAesop that is right, "Cheating in a fight with no rules is not cheating" and "If you want to defeat the bad guys, you don't have to fight fair with them". The ObligatoryWarCrimeScene is a related trope.

A SubTrope of BadassResourceful.

* CombatPragmatist/LiveActionFilms Films — Live-Action]]

* CombatPragmatist/{{Other}}

!!Examples:

* CombatPragmatist/FanFiction
* CombatPragmatist/{{Film}}

* CombatPragmatist/{{Webcomics}}