Swashbucklers 

Wikipedia.org describes Swashbuckler as

a term that came about in the 16th century and was applied to rough, noisy and boastful swordsmen.  It came about due to the popularity of the fighting style using a side-sword with a buckler in the off-hand, which was filled with much “swashing and making a noise on the buckler.

     Today the term swashbuckler is used to denote a particular type of character and is usually applied to fictional characters.  A swashbuckler will display a strong sence of during combat.  The archetypical swashbuckler is a handsome young rapier-wielding European man from the 16^th to 18^th century, though as “swashbuckler” is a character type, it is not confined to time or place. The showiness of this type of swashbuckler is particularly appropriate as regards stage fighting, which has more in common with the art of fencing, in which the fighting is a stylized form originally used to teach the principles of actual dueling, while real sword fighting aims at bodily harm.