Swordsmanship is part of the Saudi culture. Not that long ago it was a British thing too.
Did the Saudis have Abdullah the Butcher fighting on their side?
From back in 2015:
"Riyadh (AFP) - Saudi Arabia advertised vacancies for eight executioners Tuesday after beheading nearly as many people since the start of the year as it did in the whole of 2014."
https://www.yahoo.com/news/saudi-advertises-swordsmen-execution-rate-soars-103337479.html
Swordsmanship is part of the Saudi culture. Not that long ago it was a British thing too.