There was a group of swordsmen that carried machetes and knew how to intimidate others. They were also eloquent and intelligent. Even so, they still could not find stable jobs, because they were too smart for their own good and always on the move.
Basically, they were all talk, no action.
To them, fighting was more like a game. Two parties competed against each other showing off their machete skills and trash talking. The party with the better performance won the game. The loser, if they obeyed the rules, left willingly, accepting the outcome publically after the game was over.
However, if they met any aggressive foes who were willing to fight to the death, they would run away immediately, even if they outnumbered the enemy.