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TLDR: He killed the First Sword of Braaavos. Not the First Broken Stick of Braavos. And it's shoddy story-telling for Syrio Forel to survive.
Syrio Forel is older, of course. He's not in his prime.
He still managed to seriously injure or kill the other men-at-arms he was fighting with his stick. He is seriously badass.
But when Merynn Trant broke his stick, it was pretty much all over.
Meryn Trant was in full plate armor. Syrio Forel was wearing normal clothes.
Had Syrio Forel's stick stayed intact, I really believe he might have beaten Meryn Trant, who is, in Jaime's estimation, 'adequate' at arms.
But armed only with a stick, whats he going to do?
Try to tickle him in the armpits until he acquiesces?
We have no solid evidence that Syrio Forel can tickle anyone to death.
No, badass as he undoubtedly was, bieng a badass with a broken stick wasn't enough against the armored might of an 'adequate' fighter.
Of course, I could be wrong.
In which case there are two explanations. is h
1. He escaped! Hurray. that means Syrio Forel is alive and well somewhere. (But where? It's been 4000 pages. No sign.)
2. He was actually a Faceless Man. Jaqen H'ghar himself? Or Meryn Trant.
I don't like that theory because I think it's bad storytelling.
Think about it: Meryn Trant BEATS SANSA. Badly. Black and blue. Split lips. Swollen face. Black eyes. Badly bruised body.
Really.
Does that sound like something Syrio Forel would do?
And as for Syrio somehow transforming into Jaqen H'ghar....it's just not necessary for the story and it really makes no sense.
And let me tell you why.
ARYA's journey towards empowerment
Arya's story, her journey, is on a journey towards self-empowerment. A dangerous one. But it comes at a price. Namely the price of losing (or nearly losing)her identity. Not only once. Repeatedly. It's almost as if her psyche goes through a wash every few chapters and each time emerges more faded than the last.
The main think keeping her connected to her lost self is her direwolf Nymeria and their psychic bond, and her cherished memory of Jon Snow.
Baptism and rebirth
Arya is constantly going through symbolic deaths and rebirths.
Her rebirth in this chapter is shown metaphorically by her escape deep into the bowels of King's Landing (symbolically submerging herself in her own identity) to emerge from its sewers at the banks of the Blackwater.
There is also some baptismal imagery here, which is par for the course. Her story, each stage in her journey ends with a symbolic baptisms and more than once an escape through a subterrannean tunnels which, as often as it occurs, is a clear symbol of rebirth.
Mentor figure
Also, at each stage Arya has a mentor; a father figure, a teacher. (She very much shares this with other 'journeying/learning' Starks: namely, her sister Sansa and brother Bran--Bran's had at least one and probably two mentors die already(Luwin and Jojen. Arya's storyline is by far the most developed though.) Sansa has Littlefinger and....we'll see what happens with Sansa.
The hero learning at the feet of a master is a very common trope in fiction and movies. Surely you've seen it before:
The mentor for her first phase is, of course, her father, Eddard Stark; but it's also Syrio Forel.
In order for Arya to grow, Syrio(and Ned) has to die. She is headed on a journey ofempowerment. She can't become empowered when she has a protector that's so badass he can take out a largish company of armed and armored men with a stick.
Here, it is essential for her mentor die. It is essential as it puts her on the track to self-empowerment.
To have Syrio Forel somehow survive the battle; and then emerge without scathe to be her mentor again...is just...lame story telling.
She has other mentors on the way. Yoren. Jaqen H'ghar. The Hound.
Guess what? They all die too. If not literally, like Yoren and Ned, then metaphorically like Jaqen H'ghar and the Hound.
Are they all Syrio Forel too? Why is her 'third mentor' and her 'first mentor' the same? It makes no sense from a storytelling perspective.
It would be cheesy.
All of these characters' deaths (or "deaths", because GRRM can have his cake and eat it too) are essential to Arya journey towards self-empowerment.
She's reached a state of semi-autonomy in the books, but she's still being nurtured along by the Kindly Man.
But the time if coming for her to strike out on her own. Fully self-empowered. Fully fledged.
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