He literally ended him with first named move he used...
Lol, Zoro literally looking the other way, and defending himself from that side, and goofing around.
*REAL* Swordsman was never mentioned in the manga like ever, not once.
Of course not, as that would only come up in a debate like this. However it is true by definition about Mihawk that he's the purest
type of swordsman, as that is all his fighting is about. It is sort of a "fact" or observation about him. This doesn't mean there can't be other types of swordsman.
But boy, this thread is confusing.
I think there can be no doubt that one has to distinguish different types or degrees of sword fighters and that at a certain point it makes little sense to compare them directly anymore. It is just a matter of semantics of where one draws the line of "relying on a sword".
(Wanted to make this shorter, but whatever:)
Maybe one doesn't even have to say they are weaker without a sword (which applies standardly in certain situations), but have not many other properties they rely on that don't directly feed into or serve their sword ability. For example, one could weaken Big Mom to some extent by taking away her sword, but I think she would still have all the properties of being a "Yonko", and could compete physically and otherwise with them as a brawler. And anyone below that level would have roughly the same trouble of seriously taking her down (and her sword didn't seem to make her attacks stronger at all, except do serve as a tool against Kaido's club). Whether a swordsman could represent themselves like that or not, they would never bother about being about that, whereas a Yonko like Big Mom is about being a "full package" of things. It is similar for someone like Rayleigh, probably. In turn, those who can use a sword but are not "swordsmen", aside from fighting with completely other means than swords at least 50% of the time, don't focus on special feats with their swords.
However, it might be possible that they could and so switch around competing with the WSS and being a "Yonko", like Shanks.
I have already commented on Law, which was one of OP's main points. Simply put, his depiction is wrong, and Law uses his sword both in defense and attack all the time, basically as main attack, and combines his DF with it for special slashes. It is nonsense to not allow for different types and degrees, when they simply exist, and so Oda calls Law a swordsman, but that doesn't make everyone a "swordsman" who occasionally uses a sword either.
