He obviously used the force! Duh!
Actually, his head was turned and saw that he was going for the legs. Swordfighters usually have common moves with others, so for the second swish, he knew that the red guy would use his forward power to throw another swing, therefore he did that second hop. Hope that makes sense!
Also, they might look strange with a material on them. First, the specularities and things such as that would be separated throughout. Second, you couldn't blend textures into one another in the middle to the outside.
First of all, you really can't compare those. The grain on the right one is much bigger than the left. Also, we're not saying that your method can't be used, just that in some cases, like photorealism, a material would probably be a better choice...
I love that guy! I wish I had a character like that! (the first one)
Also, that guy reminds me of someone from Antz or Bugs' Life. Mostly Antz because of the color. Also, the dull expression going into that surprise looked like the guy from Antz! GREAT WORK!