Little chap with a degree of combatant expertise (3)
I believe the answer is:
dan
'little chap' is the definition.
'Dan' can be an answer for 'chap'. I am not sure about the 'little' bit.
'a degree of combatant expertise' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'a' could be 'an' and 'an' is found in the answer.
'degree' could be 'd' (abbreviation for the degree in measuring angles) and 'd' is found in the answer.
No letters remain.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).
'with' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for dan that I've seen before include "Level of proficiency in Japanese combative sport" , "degree of proficiency in judo, say?" , "Skill level in judo" , "Person proficient in judo" , "Proficient combative sportsman" .)