History Main / OneArmedWarrior

* The Taiwanese film, ''One Armed Swordswoman'', is a ForeignRemake of ''One Armed Swordsman'', where the titular heroine must sever an arm after being hit by a poisoned dart or lose her life. She was assumed to be dead from the poison by her enemies but later returns seeking revenge.

** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'': Auron is an expert swordsman who keeps his off-hand inside his haori as if in a sling at all times. This carries over to his appearance in ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII''. It's an AmbiguousSituation, however, whether his arm was actually damaged in during his confrontation with Yunalesca or if he keeps it voluntarily bound out of [[MyGreatestFailure the intense shame he bears]], as the latter is something that ronin -- a strong motif in his character -- actually did.

* ''VideoGame/AFKArena'': Thane lost his right arm in a duel against Brutus, the strongest of the [[ProudWarriorRace battle-hungry]] Maulers. Immediately after, he lost his best friend Baden, who [[HeroicSacrifice gave his life to stop Brutus from finishing the wounded Thane off]]. Before his arm was severed, he was talented but [[BreakTheHaughty arrogant]]; the tragedy, and the SurvivorsGuilt that came with it, made him devote himself to training more seriously in order to protect the ones he loves, developing a fighting style specializing in [[DeathOfAThousandCuts getting in a lot of slashes at speeds where he appears to be teleporting]]. In the present day, he is an equal to Brutus, who now considers him a WorthyOpponent.

Compare HookHand and ArtificialLimbs, where characters are still missing appendages but are still able to use them to a limited capacity. Also compare IronicallyDisabledArtist, for when the pen is mightier than the sword.

* Manga/OnePiece's "Red-Haired" Shanks is a notorious pirate and a skilled swordsman whose duels with the resident best swordsman in the world Dracule "Hawk Eyes" Mihawk were said to have shaken the Grand Line. Even after losing his left arm (heavily implied to be his dominant hand) saving Luffy, he is still recognized as one of the [[TheDreaded Emperors Of The Sea]] and able to cross blades with [[WorldsStrongestMan Whitebeard]] with the impact of their clash splitting the sky.

To make things even more difficult for them, the missing arm is often their ''dominant'' arm. [[IAmNotLeftHanded One can only imagine how they would have been able to fight with both]]... though it may have even been not as well, since a common variation is for the incident that took the character's arm to [[TookALevelInBadass serve as a wake-up call to train to the point they're at now]].

* In ''Anime/DragonBallZTheHistoryOfTrunks'', Future Gohan {{Downplay|edTrope}}s it in that it's only the case for a relatively short time. Midway through the special, he loses one of his arms against the Androids, and continuing to train Trunks afterwards, before ultimately going after them again alone. He puts up a valiant fight and is still fully capable of holding his own for a while, but [[ForegoneConclusion as we already knew going in]], it ultimately [[HeroKiller wasn't enough]]. In video games such as ''VideoGame/DragonBallZBudokaiTenkaichi 3'' that draw attacks from moments in the series, he doesn't use the arm he lost in most of his attack animations despite his model still having it due to this being his most memorable fight.
* Manga/OnePiece's "Red-Haired" Shanks is a notorious pirate, and a skilled swordsman whose duels with the resident best swordsman in the world Dracule "Hawk Eyes" Mihawk were said to have shaken the Grand Line. Even after losing his left arm (heavily implied to be his dominant hand) saving Luffy, he is still recognized as one of the [[TheDreaded Emperors Of The Sea]] and able to cross blades with [[WorldsStrongestMan Whitebeard]] with the impact of their clash splitting the sky.

* ''Film/TheCrimsonCharm'', from Creator/ShawBrothers, the ''same'' studios behind ''One Armed Swordsman'', have a one-armed swords''woman'' heroine. She lose an arm when a ruthless marauder clan wipes out her family and killed her father, and after a TrainingMontage returns minus an appendage but still capable of kicking ass.

* The Taiwanese film, ''One Armed Swordswoman'', is a ForeignRemake of ''One Armed Swordsman'', where the titular heroine must sever an arm after being hit by a poisoned dart or lose her life. She was assumed to be dead from the poison by her enemies, but later returns seeking revenge.
* ''Film/{{Swordsman}}'' starring Creator/DonnieYen have Yen's character, Liu Jin-xi, being confronted by his former clan of assassins. The only way he can leave the clan is by severing his own arm, which he did, but he's still a capable fighter when his former mentor arrives to detain him.

* ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'': Former Bajoran resistance fighter Furel lost his left arm fighting against the Cardassian occupation during a mission to rescue some of his comrades. Even after the loss of his arm he continued fighting the Cardassians. Having offered his life to the Prophets in return for the rescue being successful, Furel declined an offer by a Federation doctor to be given a replacement arm, feeling to do so would be dishonoring his earlier offer to the Prophets.

* Members of warbands in ''TabletopGame/{{Mordheim}}'' can roll up a missing limb if taken down during a battle but can continue to fight. They take some stat penalties and can no longer use two handed weaponry for obvious reasons but if they've already leveled up a lot they could still be worth keeping around.

* ''VideoGame/AFKArena'': Thane lost his right arm in a duel against Brutus, the strongest of the [[ProudWarriorRace battle-hungry]] Maulers. Immediately after, he lost his best friend Baden, who [[HeroicSacrifice gave his life to stop Brutus from finishing the wounded Thane off]]. Before his arm was severed, he was talented but [[BreakTheHaughty arrogant]]; the tragedy, and the SurvivorsGuilt that came with it, made him devote himself to train more seriously in order to protect the ones he loves, developing a fighting style specializing in [[DeathOfAThousandCuts getting in a lot of slashes at speeds where he appears to be teleporting]]. In the present day, he is an equal to Brutus, who now considers him a WorthyOpponent.

* ''VideoGame/BugFables'': Astotheles, the leader of the bandit tribe in the Lost Sands, is a cricket who wields a sewing needle like a rapier, and despite his left arm having been destroyed protecting his men from the giant Dune Scorpion, is one of the most difficult opponents that the party faces. He's fast enough to get in several strikes in one turn, and slashes items out of the party's hands if they try to use any -- even breaking out of status effects to ensure this.

** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'': Raubahn gets his left arm cut off by Ilberd during the events of the Bloody Banquet. While he loses his ability to dual wield his twin swords, Tizona, he remains a formidable combatant despite having to adjust his fighting style to compensate. He's the most powerful foe the Warrior of Light faces during the Grand Melee and continually fights on the frontlines of every major conflict. He is also essential in the battle against [[spoiler:the Blasphemy Charlet alongside the Warrior and Fordola. He's also a member of the party that fights its way through the Tower of Babil to defeat the Blasphemy that was formerly Nerva yae Galvus]] in ''Endwalker''.

* Baiken from the ''VideoGame/GuiltyGear'' series is a Japanese woman who lost both an eye and one of her arms as a child when sentient weapons called "Gears" attacked her home. This hasn't prevented her from becoming a skilled swordswoman who prefers to fight using a katana in battle however.

* ''VideoGame/SuperHouseOfDeadNinjas'': The One-Armed Ninja managed to traverse the Ziggurat of Infinum reach Abarghus. He is only stoppes by Abarghus possessing him and later forcing him to fight his own daughter Nintai, thus having him serve as the penultimate boss before Abarghus.

* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'': Yamamoto is the captain-commander of the Gotei 13, and as such is one of the most powerful shinigami in the series. After losing his arm to Aizen, he refuses to have it restored despite there being a WhiteMage within reach, and we see most of his fighting after that happens.

* As with its tabletop origin characters in ''Video Game/MordheimCityOfTheDamned;; can lose an arm and keep on fighting, possibly quite effectively if they've leveled up a lot.

* ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublicIITheSithLords'': {{Downplayed|Trope}} with [[Characters/KnightsOfTheOldRepublicIITheSithLordsKreia Kreia]], who loses her left hand to Darth Sion. Unlike most of the many, ''many'' examples of characters losing hands in the ''Franchise/StarWars'' franchise, she never replaces it, and her left arm remains limp under her robe. She remains a ruthless mentor and an even more ruthless fighter regardless.