plot bunnies are starting multiply....
I'll need to review my fencing history files. I think the nobility were usually better at fencing because of more time to practice and access to superior teachers, but I'm not sure it was restricted to the nobility--depends on the place and era, probably. Knowledge of knife-fighting would probably go with fencing. There was a style of fighting popular in Spain around this time where you fought with a sword in one hand and a knife in the other, and there were probably other variations of that idea. He might also carry a small pistol, and perhaps be familiar with basic military training in the tactics of his time. Is he of aristocratic background?
Swords were always for the nobility, and so was sword-training. But even the lowest peasant carried a knife. It might be the only metal object they owned, and was a tool and eating utensil first and foremost. It could be used as a weapon, but was not very effective against a gentry armed with better steel, and with the free time time to train for something that was a badge of their rank.
To this day, elites hate the thought that the common man (at least in America) can posess firearms. The elites don't carry weapons any more, but hire lesser people to carry guns to defend them. But an American commoner with an inexpensive firearm is still a substantial threat to the elites and their guards, despite the fancier weapons and training of the guard.