What is fencing!
Fencing has been called “Chess with muscles” because of its strategy and athleticism. Fencers wield one of three weapons.
Engarde! That’s “Ready!” to fencers,the modern decendants of medieval swordsmen and swashbuckling pirates. But the thrust, parries and ripostes of ErrolFlynn in Captain Blood bear little resemblance to fencing, in which athletes work along a designated strip, connect by wire to a scoring machine and wear protective clothing. This article is about the sport, which is distinguished from stage fencing and academic fencing.
How to play foil!
The light and flexible foil was originally a practice weapon for combat. Only touches made with the blade point on the torso count.
The foil is an originally developed in the mid 17th century as a training weapon for the small sword, a light one-handed sword designed almost exclusively for thrusting.The target area is restricted to the torso. Until 1 January 2009, the bib of the mask was not a valid target. Since 1 January 2009, the valid target area includes that part of the bib below a straight line drawn between the shoulders, under the rules of fencing's international governing body, the Federation International d'Escrime
when an exchange ends in a hit, the referee will call "halt", and fencing will cease. The referee will then analyse the exchange and phrase it in official terminology. The first offensive action is called the attack. All defensive actions successfully deflecting an opponent's blade are called parries. The first offensive action preceded by a parry is called a beat-attack. An offensive action of a parrying fencer directly following the parry is called a riposte. An offensive action of a fencer, who attacks without first withdrawing the arm directly after being parried, is called a remise. An offensive action of a fencer from the on-guard position, after being parried and then returning to the on-guard position, is called a reprise. An offensive action of a fencer after his/her opponent has lost the right to riposte via inaction is called a redouble. An offensive action begun by a fencer who is being attacked by his/her opponent is called a counter-attack.
How to play epee!
The epee evolved from the dueling sword, and hits must be made with the tip but can be scored over the whole body.
Épée, as the sporting weapon known today, was invented in the second half of the 19th century by a group of French students, who felt that the conventions of foil were too restrictive, and the weapon itself too light; they wanted an experience closer to that of an actual duel. At the point of its conception, the épée was, essentially, an exact copy of a small sword but without the needle-sharp point. Instead, the blade terminated in a point d'arrêt, a three-pronged contraption, which would snag on the clothing without penetrating the flesh.
Like the foil, the épée is a thrusting weapon: to score a valid hit, the fencer must fix the point of his weapon on his opponent's target. However, the target area covers the entire body, and there are no rules regarding who can hit when (unlike in foil and sabre, where there are priority rules). In the event of both fencers making a touch within 40 milliseconds of each other, both are awarded a point (a double hit), except when the score is equal and the point would mean the win for both, such as in modern
Like the foil, the épée is a thrusting weapon: to score a valid hit, the fencer must fix the point of his weapon on his opponent's target. However, the target area covers the entire body, and there are no rules regarding who can hit when (unlike in foil and sabre, where there are priority rules). In the event of both fencers making a touch within 40 milliseconds of each other, both are awarded a point (a double hit), except when the score is equal and the point would mean the win for both, such as in modern
pentathlon's one-hit épée, where neither fencer receives a point. Otherwise, the first to hit always receives the point, regardless of what happened earlier in the phrase.
How to play sabre!
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The sabre, similar to a cavalry swoard, is the only weapon that can be used with a cutting motion. The target area is above the hips, as it was when combatants fought on horseback. Sabre is the 'cutting' weapon: points may be scored with edges and surfaces of the blade, as well as the point. Although the current design with a light and flexible blade (marginally stiffer than a foil blade which bends easily up and down while a sabre blade bends easier side to side) appeared around the turn of the 19th and 20th century, similar sporting weapons with more substantial blades had been used throughout the Victorian era.
The sabre target covers everything above the waist, except the hands (wrists are included) and the back of the head. Today, any contact between any part of the blade and any part of the target counts as a valid touch. This was not always the case, and earlier conventions stipulated that a valid touch must be made with either the point or one of the cutting edges, and must arrive with sufficient force to have caused a palpable wound, had the weapon been sharp.
The sabre target covers everything above the waist, except the hands (wrists are included) and the back of the head. Today, any contact between any part of the blade and any part of the target counts as a valid touch. This was not always the case, and earlier conventions stipulated that a valid touch must be made with either the point or one of the cutting edges, and must arrive with sufficient force to have caused a palpable wound, had the weapon been sharp.
These requirements had to be abandoned, because of technical difficulties, shortly after electronic scoring was introduced into sabre fencing in late 1980s.
Scoring! A fencer scores a “touch,” or point, when he hits his opponent in a legal area with an accepted part of his weapon.A light on the sideline signifies a valid touch. The winner scores 15 touches or is ahead after nine minutes
