If we are talking non Star Wars:
Miyamoto Musashi
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miyamoto_Musashi
He starts as a bully but with a heart and learns "the way of the sword" and throughout his life he evolves with every new obstacle to a better and more pure form of swordsman, the last duel in the below book with his nemesis is pure Zen!
Read the book by Eiji Yoshikawa called "Musashi" about his life, its one of the best reads ever!