# Greatest Warriors of All Time **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 23, 2010, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-warriors-of-all-time/537098 "2010-04-23T13:45:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2010, 10:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-warriors-of-all-time/537098/41 "2010-04-24T10:56:53Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > Sorry MMA fighters = thugs and bully boys Are you going to back that up with anything other than bluster? ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2010, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-warriors-of-all-time/537098/42 "2010-04-24T11:45:01Z")
Genghis Khan. Warrior, leader and conqueror of half the world. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2010, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-warriors-of-all-time/537098/43 "2010-04-24T12:34:59Z")
> [@ivan\_astikov](#): > > Are you going to back that up with anything other than bluster? Historically thugs and bullyboys were cannonfodder type ‘troops’ used in civil disorder. Good if you want someones head bashed in and a shop burned. Warriors were trained to obey orders and actually kill or capture the enemy. The trick with warriors is getting them trained to _stop_ on command, thugs and bullyboys are just interested in the destruction and rarely bother to obey any orders. [Nika Riots](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nika_riots) gangs of roaming bullyboys, oddly enough early sports hooliganism, more or less. Supporters of different sports teams of gladiators, charioteers and athletes. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spartacus](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spartacus) and the [Third Servile War](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_Servile_War) was a slave uprising, lead primarily by a small cadre of gladiators that killed civillian targets, not just miltary - sorry, military targets do not include children. [at the time children were valuable as slaves and not killed so they could be transported and sold] ---
**Author:** ![deadindays](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce73a5/32.png) [@deadindays](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/deadindays)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2010, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-warriors-of-all-time/537098/44 "2010-04-24T13:52:16Z")
Thanks everyone! I’m writing them all down. Any badass Chinese martial artists? I remember reading something about the Ten Tigers of Canton. Any Japanese swordsmen other than Musashi? ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2010, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-warriors-of-all-time/537098/45 "2010-04-24T14:00:49Z")
[Yue Fei](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yue_Fei). ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2010, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-warriors-of-all-time/537098/46 "2010-04-24T14:18:24Z")
How about Delta Force snipers Gary Gordon and Randall Shughart? Any pussy can kill a hundred enemy with superior tactics and effective use of terrain. These two guys demanded three times to get dropped off in the middle of ten thousand screaming Somali so they could defend Mike Durrant’s Black Hawk crash site, knowing that there would be little chance of relief. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2010, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-warriors-of-all-time/537098/47 "2010-04-24T16:32:16Z")
> [@jk1245](#): > > [Simo Hayha](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simo_H%C3%A4yh%C3%A4), Finnish sniper during the Winter War with the Soviet Union. > > Limited light and -20 to -40ºC. At least 500 confirmed kills, possibly over 800, and all in less than 100 days. Wow. Thanks for the link. ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2010, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-warriors-of-all-time/537098/48 "2010-04-24T16:34:51Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > Historically thugs and bullyboys were cannonfodder type ‘troops’ used in civil disorder. Good if you want someones head bashed in and a shop burned. Warriors were trained to obey orders and actually kill or capture the enemy. The trick with warriors is getting them trained to _stop_ on command, thugs and bullyboys are just interested in the destruction and rarely bother to obey any orders. Well, you are not going to get far up the MMA or boxing food chain if you aren’t disciplined. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2010, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-warriors-of-all-time/537098/49 "2010-04-24T16:35:34Z")
MMA fighters are neither warriors nor thugs and bully boys - they’re athletes. They may be [warriors](http://www.army.mil/-news/2010/03/04/35294-combatives-tournament-kick-starts-european-series/) as well, or they may (like any athlete) be [thugs](http://www.lvrj.com/news/mma-fighter-arrested-on-suspicion-of-sexual-assault-90954004.html) as well, but first and foremost they’re athletes. ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2010, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-warriors-of-all-time/537098/50 "2010-04-24T16:38:23Z")
I wouldn’t tell Cain Velasquez or Fedor Emilianenko they weren’t warriors, unless it was over the telephone. Does anyone really doubt they would likely be elite gladiators had they been born 2,000 years ago? Also, I’d like to see anyone from any military force manhandle either of those two people, or even neutralise them, without a machine gun or something. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2010, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-warriors-of-all-time/537098/51 "2010-04-24T16:50:10Z")
> [@deadindays](#): > > Thanks everyone! I’m writing them all down. Any badass Chinese martial artists? Not strictly a warrior, but [Huo Yuanjia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huo_Yuanjia) was a badass martial artist. > [@deadindays](#): > > I remember reading something about the Ten Tigers of Canton. Any Japanese swordsmen other than Musashi? Sure, lots. [Chiba Shusaku Narimasa](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiba_Shusaku_Narimasa), [Yagyū Munenori](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yagy%C5%AB_Munenori), [Tsukahara Bokuden](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsukahara_Bokuden), [The Forty Seven Ronin](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forty-seven_Ronin), etc. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2010, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-warriors-of-all-time/537098/52 "2010-04-24T16:54:10Z")
> [@ivan\_astikov](#): > > I wouldn’t tell Cain Velasquez or Fedor Emilianenko they weren’t warriors, unless it was over the telephone. Does anyone really doubt they would likely be elite gladiators had they been born 2,000 years ago? Absolutely, but…gladiators weren’t necessarily warriors either! 😃 I’m just going by the strict definition of warrior as “one who fights in wars,” not denigrating their talents or accomplishments. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2010, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-warriors-of-all-time/537098/53 "2010-04-24T17:13:35Z")
> [@pravnik](#): > > Sure, lots. [Chiba Shusaku Narimasa](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiba_Shusaku_Narimasa), [Yagyū Munenori](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yagy%C5%AB_Munenori), [Tsukahara Bokuden](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsukahara_Bokuden), [The Forty Seven Ronin](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forty-seven_Ronin), etc. See also: [Kensei](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kensei). ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2010, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-warriors-of-all-time/537098/54 "2010-04-24T17:20:07Z")
For good measure, a Thai who defeated 10 Burmese in a row in hand to hand combat while being held as a POW: [Nai Khanom Tom](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muay_Thai#Nai_Khanom_Tom) ---
**Author:** ![pancakes3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ba9def/32.png) [@pancakes3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pancakes3)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2010, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-warriors-of-all-time/537098/55 "2010-04-24T17:21:26Z")
King Arthur Hercules Roland Wong Fei Hong Saladin ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2010, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-warriors-of-all-time/537098/56 "2010-04-24T22:59:45Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > Sorry MMA fighters = thugs and bully boys, warriors kill. It’s further worth noting that several of the badasses listed so far killed multiple armed enemies with their bare hands. That’s more enemies than an MMA fighter ever faces; much better armed; he’s still unarmed himself; and he killed them. It’s _orders of magnitude_ more difficult, more impressive, and more badass than MMA. ---
**Author:** ![wedgehed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8edcca/32.png) [@wedgehed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wedgehed)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2010, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-warriors-of-all-time/537098/57 "2010-04-24T23:38:10Z")
Nathan Bedford Forrest enlisted as a private in the Confederate States Army. By war’s end, he had attained the rank of lieutenant general. It is believed that Forrest killed over thirty men in close quarter combat using pistol, saber, or shotgun. ---
**Author:** ![UncleBill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/d26b3c/32.png) [@UncleBill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBill)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-warriors-of-all-time/537098/58 "2010-04-25T01:02:00Z")
> [@ivan\_astikov](#): > > I wouldn’t tell Cain Velasquez or Fedor Emilianenko they weren’t warriors, unless it was over the telephone. Does anyone really doubt they would likely be elite gladiators had they been born 2,000 years ago? > > Also, I’d like to see anyone from any military force manhandle either of those two people, or even neutralise them, without a machine gun or something. While I don’t know these two guys from Adam, or follow the sport enough to know the difference between them and these UFC athletes (Forrest Griffin, Rashad Evans, Gabriel Gonzaga, and Marcus Davis), these four didn’t fare so well at Quantico, either in the hand to hand aspect, or the Obstacle Course, or other physical training exercise that train Marines for the rigors of combat. Whether they have the intestinal fortitude to kill, noone can say until they are faced with it. ![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/ZhxDQgbuZ3o/maxresdefault.jpg)https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZhxDQgbuZ3o?feature=oembed&wmode=opaque ![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/Pj9wpZaTtyM/maxresdefault.jpg)https://www.youtube.com/embed/Pj9wpZaTtyM?feature=oembed&wmode=opaque ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-warriors-of-all-time/537098/59 "2010-04-25T01:52:07Z")
How about [David Hackworth?](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Hackworth#Military_decorations) ---
**Author:** ![deadindays](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce73a5/32.png) [@deadindays](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/deadindays)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-warriors-of-all-time/537098/60 "2010-04-25T02:09:28Z")
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