Outline of fencing

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The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to fencing:

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Fencing – family of combat sports using bladed weapons. Fencing is one of four sports which have been featured at every one of the modern Olympic Games. Also known as modern fencing to distinguish it from historical fencing.

Fencing pictogram.svg

What type of thing is fencing?

Fencing can be described as all of the following:

Types of fencing

A foil fencer. Valid target (the torso) is in red. Fencing foil valid surfaces.svg
A foil fencer. Valid target (the torso) is in red.
A sabre fencer. Valid target (everything from the waist up, including the arms and head) is in red. Fencing saber valid surfaces.svg
A sabre fencer. Valid target (everything from the waist up, including the arms and head) is in red.
An Epee fencer. Valid target (the entire body) is in red. Fencing epee valid surfaces.svg
An Épée fencer. Valid target (the entire body) is in red.

History of fencing

Facilities

Equipment and gear

Weapons

Olympic weapons and their parts

  • Épée – A fencing weapon with triangular cross-section blade and a large bell guard; also a light dueling sword of similar design, popular in the mid-19th century, which was also called an 'Épée de Terrain.'
  • Foible – The top third of the blade. This section of the blade is weaker in terms of leverage, and is used for beats, presses, and other motions where speed is needed and leverage is not crucial.
  • Foil – A fencing weapon with rectangular cross-section blade and a small bell guard. More generally, any sword that has been buttoned or had its point turned back to render it less dangerous for practice.
  • Forte – The bottom third of the blade, so named for the strength in leverage that it provides. Always perform your parries with the forte. Hitting the opponent with the forte is not recommended.
  • French Grip – A traditional hilt with a slightly curved grip and a large pommel.
  • Guard – also Bell and Bell Guard. A Cup-shaped metal (steel or aluminum) weapon part which protects the hand. Foils use small concentrically mounted bell guards, épées use larger offset-mounted bell guards, and sabres have a knuckle guard that wraps around the hilt to protect from cuts to the hand.
  • Hilt – Everything that you hold. The handle of a sword, consisting of guard, grip, and pommel.
  • Maraging steel – A special steel alloy used for making blades rated for international competition. Usually stronger and more durable than conventional carbon-steel blades, but more importantly, it tends to break less frequently than carbon-steel blades. This is because propagation of micro-cracks in the blade is approximately 10 times slower in maraging steel than in carbon-steel. It is a fencing urban myth that a maraging steel blade is designed to break flat; the breakage patterns are identical. Both maraging and non-maraging blades break with the same degree of jaggedness. The sole reason for requiring a maraging steel blade (or a non-maraging one that has the same longevity under FIE testing) is that less blade breaks equals less potential for follow-on injury. [3]
  • Pistol Grip – A modern, orthopedic grip, often shaped vaguely like a small pistol (generally with more protrusions than a real pistol's grip). Varieties are known by names such as Belgian, German, Russian, and Visconti. Orthopedic grips were introduced to aid a fencer who has lost some fingers and was unable to use a traditional grip.
  • Point – In foil and épée, the point is the only part of the blade with which to score points. The point may also be used in sabre.
  • Pommel – From the old French word for 'apple'. This fastener affixes the grip and guard to the tang of the blade. It has female threading, but the threaded hole does not go all the way through as is the case with a nut. It is screwed onto the distal end of the tang, locking guard, grip and electric connector is position by compression and friction. The pommel traditionally acts as a counterweight on non-orthopedic grips of foils and épées, and on all sabres. In electric sabre, it is covered with plastic as to not interfere with the detection of valid hits by allowing stray currents. Orthopedic (pistol-grip) weapons use only a pommel nut, usually fitting inside a cylindrical hole in the grip.
  • Sabre – A fencing weapon with a flat blade and knuckle guard, used with cutting or thrusting actions; a military sword popular in the 18th to 20th centuries; any cutting sword used by cavalry. The modern fencing sabre is descended from the dueling sabre of Italy and Germany, which was straight and thin with sharp edges, but had a blunt end.

Non-Olympic weapons and styles

  • Backsword – A type of heavy sabre, generally single-edged with a 'false edge' down the top third of the back of the blade. Typified by a basket hilt. In use from the 16th to 20th centuries.
  • Broadsword – A military sword and fencing weapon popular in the 18th-19th centuries, similar to a heavy sabre. Beginning only in the late 20th century, this term came to be inappropriately applied to almost any straight-bladed, double-edged, single-handed cutting sword, especially of the Medieval and Renaissance eras.
  • Longsword – also Hand-and-a-half Sword. A larger cutting sword that could be use with one or two hands. Manuals detailing the use of such swords are among the earliest extant, dating back to the 14th Century.
  • Great Sword – also Two-handed Sword. A very large cutting sword, generally double-edged, intended for use with both hands. Great Swords could be as tall as the swordsman, and were often used as front-line offensive weapons in late 17th Century warfare.
  • Italian Grip – A traditional hilt with finger rings and crossbar. Used only in foil and épée. The Italian grip provides more 'grip' than the French grip, but less than a 'pistol-grip'. The finger rings and crossbar are descendants of the swords that used quillions. This type of grip is rarely, if ever, used in Olympic-style fencing.
  • Quillion – also Quillon, Cross-guard. A bar that composes all or part of the guard of a sword. The quillions (usually two) extend from the hilt of the sword, perpendicular to the line of the blade, on the same plane as the edge(s) of the blade. In simple medieval swords, the quillions usually form the entire guard. In later, more complex hilts, rings and other protective structures were extended in front of the quillions. One or two fingers can be wrapped around the quillions, providing better control of the weapon. In modern fencing weapons, the Italian grip is the only one that retains quillions.
  • Rapier – A long, double-edged thrusting sword popular in the 16th-17th centuries. Rapiers began as swords which were designed to use the point, in addition to heavy cuts. Some consider the 'estoc' a precursor to the rapier. As the styles of combat changed, and heavy armor was lightened, the rapier became more focused on the use of the point, and less on heavy cutting strokes. Hilts were designed to allow the forefinger to wrap around a quillion and provide better control. Hilts could be of complex 'swelp-hilt' design, or shaped like a deep cup.
  • Ricasso – An unsharpened portion of the blade in front of the quillions. In complex rapier and smallsword hilts, the ricasso is behind the guard, or the forward portion of the hilt.
  • Smallsword – Also court sword. A light dueling sword popular in the 18th century. These were, as often as not, a fashion accessory as much as a gentleman's weapon, and were decorated as such.

Other equipment or gear

Bouting

Officiating and rules enforcement

Tactics and techniques

Footwork

Blade Work

Attacks

  • Attack – The initial offensive action made by extending the sword arm and continuously threatening the valid target of the opponent.
    • Compound Attack – Also composed attack. An attack or riposte incorporating one or more feints to the opposite line that the action finishes in. A compound attack does not necessarily lose right of way during its execution; it just comprises more than one indirect action. Compound attacks are usually used to draw multiple reactions from an opponent, or against an opponent who uses complex parries. A counter-attack into a compound attack must hit a clear tempo ahead of the compound attack to be valid.
    • Coulé – Also graze, glisé, or glissade. An attack or feint that slides along the opponent's blade. In performing a sliding action along the opponent's blade, it is generally the goal to establish leverage by moving forte against foible, or forte to forte.
    • Counter-attack – An attack made against, or into, an attack initiated by the opponent. In foil and sabre, a counter-attack does not have the right-of-way against the opponent's initiated attack. Counter-attacking is a common tactic in épée, where one may gain a touch by hitting first, and avoiding the opponent's attack. Counter-attacks, especially in épée, are often accompanied by an action on the blade (beat, opposition, prise-de-fer, transfer).
      • Stop Cut – also Stop Thrust, Stop-in-Time. A counter-attack that attempts to take advantage of an uncertain attack. A properly performed Stop Hit allows a fencer to counter-attack into an oncoming attack, hit his opponent, and then still parry the oncoming attack (allowing a possible valid riposte as well). It may try to break the continuance of an attack by 'stopping' into it. However, it is still a Counter-attack, and does not have Right-of-Way against a continuous attack.
    • Counter-time – an attack that responds to the opponent's counter-attack, typically a riposte following the parry of the counter-attack.
    • Cut – An attack made with a chopping motion of the blade, landing with the edge. Cuts, that is, attempts to hit with the edge, are only valid in sabre.
      • Flick – A cut that lands with the point, often involving some whip of the foible of the blade to strike at a concealed target. In foil and épée, flick attacks often start out without the point directly threatening the target area, and comes in with a circular action, to allow the blade to bend at the end of the attack, placing the point on target, possibly by whipping past a parry.
      • Moulinet – In sabre, a circular cut. A moulinet is often composed of a parry, usually prime or seconde, moving thence into a circular cut. This action, while flashy and impressive, is slow, since the action pivots around the wrist and elbow, and is rarely used in modern sabre. In Historical Fencing, this is the circular motion of the fighter's blade around the opponent's blade. The hilt does not move during this maneuver.
    • Coupé – also Cut-Over. Another indirect attack, being an attack or deception that passes around the opponent's tip. Following a feint, the blade is pulled up and over the opponent's parrying blade. Use of the fingers and wrist ONLY is permitted, since moving the blade backwards at any time during this move invalidates the established right-of-way. Done in proper time, and with proper distance, the point may never be moved backwards, and the cut-over retain right-of-way during its entire execution.
    • Direct – an attack or riposte that finishes in the same line in which it was formed, with no feints out of that line. Most attacks that hit are done with straight attacks.
    • Double – an attack or riposte that describes a complete circle around the opponent's blade, and finishes in the opposite line. The full circle is done in reaction to the opponent's attempt to parry the attack or riposte with one or more parries, generally circular in nature. An attempt to perform a double' against an opponent who does NOT parry results in the attack running onto the opponent's blade, and parrying itself. A double' may be composed of simply a circular deception, which is effective against a defender's circular or semicircular parries, or it may be a combination of a disengage and cut-over, which is effective against two lateral parries.
    • Extension – The simplest action of attacking. A simple offensive action, consisting of extending the weapon arm forward. The point should move in the smoothest possible line towards the target, without wavering. Excess motion can ruin the control needed for precise, consistent hits.
    • False attack – an attack that is intended to miss or fall short, so as to produce a reaction from the opponent.
      • Feint – An offensive movement resembling an attack in all but its continuance. It is an attack into one line with the intention of switching to another line before the attack is completed. A feint is intended to draw a reaction from an opponent. This is the 'intention', and the reaction is generally a parry, which can then be deceived.
        • Disengage – A type of feint. Disengages are usually executed in conjunction with an extension/attack, though technically, they are just a deception around the opponent's blade. To use in an attack, feint an attack with an extension and avoid the opponent's attempt to parry or press your blade, using as small a circular motion as possible. Circle under the opponent's blade. The first extension must be a believable feint in order to draw a reaction. Be prepared to proceed forward with a straight attack if no parry response is forthcoming.
    • Indirect – An attack or riposte that finishes in a line different from that in which it was formed.
    • Insistence – Forcing an attack through the parry, using strength.
    • Remise – An immediate, direct replacement of an attack that missed, was short, or was parried, without withdrawing the arm. A remise is a direct continuation, meaning that no deceptions or changes of line occur with the continuation (replacement) of the attack. This may be done with a simple further extension of the arm, or may be accompanied with additional forward footwork (e.g. a reprise). In foil and sabre, a remise does not have right of way over a direct riposte.
    • Riposte – An attack with right-of-way following a valid parry. A simple (or direct) riposte goes straight from the parry position to the target. A riposte may attack in any line. Consider its equivalent in a conversation.
      • Compound-Riposte – A riposte made with one or more feints. A riposte may incorporate disengages, beats, and so on, as long as it is a continuous attack.
      • Counter-Riposte – A second, third, or further riposte in a fencing 'phrase' or encounter. A counter-riposte is the offensive action following the parry of any riposte.
    • Simple – An attack or riposte that involves no feints.
    • Redoublement – An indirect renewal of an attack that missed, was short, or was parried. This used to be defined as an attack after a return to en-garde, or a withdrawal of the arm after a failed attack. A reprise is now defined as a continued attack that uses an indirect action to reach the target. This indirect action may consist of a change of line, opposition, a withdrawal of the arm, or other action that does not immediately threaten the target. In foil and sabre, a reprise does not have right of way over a direct riposte.
    • Thrust – An attack made by moving the sword parallel to its length and landing with the point.
    • Trompement – The action of hitting an opponent at the end of a feint, after a successful deception.
    • Whip-over – In sabre, a touch that results from the foible of the blade whipping over the opponent's guard or blade when parried. Whip-overs are usually not counted, and used to be a way of saying that even though the blade hit, it was parried prior to body contact, and was not valid. However, with the advent of electric sabre, whip-overs are being allowed more often. The FIE has resolved this by introducing a new standard of stiffness for sabre blades (put into effect in 1999).

Engagement

  • Engagement – During an encounter between two fencers, the point at which the fencers are close enough to join blades, or to make an effective attack. Blade contact is also referred to as an engagement, whether just standing there, during a parry, attack au fer, or prise de fer.
    • Conversation – The back-and-forth play of the blades in a fencing bout, composed of phrases (phrases d'armes) punctuated by gaps of no blade action.
      • Attaque au Fer – An attack on the opponent's blade, e.g. beat, expulsion, pressure.
      • Change of Engagement – An engagement of the opponent's blade in the opposite line. Changes of engagement are sometimes performed to place one fencers blade on the side of his/her opponent's blade that he feels has an advantage, or could be just to fool with the opponent. Often, a bout with a left-handed fencer versus a right-handed will see both of them jockey for position with changes of engagements.
      • Prise de Fer – (French : Literally take the steel); also "Taking the Blade"; an engagement of the blades that attempts to control the opponent's weapon. See also beat, press, expulsion, bind, croisé, envelopment, opposition, transfer.
        • Beat – A simple preparatory motion. A sharp controlled blow to the middle or 'weak' of the opponents blade, with the objective of provoking a reaction or creating an opening. The action should knock the opponent's blade aside or out of line. Your foible should contact the opponent's forte.
          • Counter-Beat – Also Change-Beat. A beat that is preceded by a circle under the opponent's blade. This can provoke a reaction with a beat from an unexpected quarter.
        • Bind – also Lie, Liement; An action in which one fencer forces the opponent's blade into the diagonally opposite line, (that is, from high line to low line on the opposite side, or vice versa) by taking it with the guard and forte of his own blade. See also Transfer.
        • Croisé – also Cross, semi-bind; an action in which one fencer forces the opponent's blade into the high or low line on the same side, by taking it with the guard and forte of his own blade. See also Transfer.
        • Envelopment – an action to seize the opponent's blade in one line and lead it (without losing contact) through a full circle to end in the same line. See also Transfer.
        • Glide – An attack or preparatory movement made by sliding down the opponent's blade, keeping it in constant contact.
        • Opposition – An action to seize the opponent's blade and control it progressively (moving along the blade) in the same line (of the opponent). An attack or counter-attack in the same line as the opponent's blade; a combined parry and riposte. This is, by definition, an offensive maneuver, since to 'progressively' control the opponent's blade you must move along its length, closing distance towards him. See also Transfer.
        • Press – also Pressure. An attempt to push the opponent's blade aside or out of line from engaged blades. A press can precede a direct or indirect attack, depending on the opponent's reaction, but should be followed by an immediate threat (a full or partial extension). A press which is not followed by a threat may invite a disengage from the opponent, and an attack thereby. From an engagement, press smoothly on the opponent's foible, taking his/her blade out of line, and perhaps provoking a response. The thumb and fingers should provide the force behind this action.
      • Derobement – An avoidance of an attempt to take the blade. A derobement is a reaction to the opponent's attempt to entrap, beat, press or take the blade, in a circular, lateral, vertical or diagonal motion.
      • Opposition – engagement in one line, and continuing the control with that same line. Also, moving the blade laterally, controlling with the same side of the blade, and the same line of the opponent's. e.g. quarte to sixte, septime to octave, and vice versa.
      • Preparation – Any action that precedes the actual launch of an attack. Preparation usually consists of actions against the opponents blade to take it out of line, or to provoke a reaction. In foil and sabre, any action that occurs during a phrase or conversation that precedes the establishment of right-of-way on the part of a fencer, often accompanied with a movement forward. In calling the actions in a foil or sabre bout, a referee may indicate preparation on the part of one fencer, meaning the fencer was moving forward without establishing right-of-way, and was vulnerable to an attack made during this time.
    • Point-in-Line – An established threat made with the extended arm. A point-in-line is a static threat, created by one fencer by extending the weapon and arm prior to any actions in a phrase. In foil and sabre, a Point-in-line has right of way, therefore, if the line is not withdrawn, any attack launched by the opponent does not have right of way. This can be likened to a spear poking up from the ground: If you throw yourself upon it, you have only yourself to blame. A successful attack on the blade will invalidate a point-in-line or causing the opponent to withdraw his/her arm. In épée, Point-in-line has no right of way advantages, but is still an effective tactic.
  • Coup d'arrêt – see Stop-Hit.
  • Invitation – A line that is intentionally left open to encourage the opponent to attack.
  • Presentation – Offering one's blade for engagement by the opponent.
  • Posting – A method of holding a weapon further down the handle in order to extend the reach by a few inches. Posting is a trade-off; the fencer loses a little control over their blade work in return for the longer reach. This is most commonly done using a french grip épée, where there is no need to establish right of way, and hitting first can result in being awarded the touch. Technically, it is not legal to slide one's hand on the grip from front to back during an action (see USFA t.16), so a fencer who wishes to post must do it while the action is stopped, or risk a possible penalty.
  • Salute – A blade action performed before a bout or lesson. Indicates respect and good sportsmanship. A handshake is usually exchanged after a bout.
  • Touché (French pronunciation: [tuʃe] ) – the French word for "touched" is used to acknowledge a hit, [4] called out by the fencer who is hit. Conversely, if a fencer concedes a hit when no hit was actually made, the fencer's adversary would say, "'pas de touché'" (French pronunciation: [pɑdətuʃe] ; English: no touch) to indicate that the hit should not be counted. [5]

Parrying techniques

  • Line – The main direction of an attack (e.g., high/low, inside/outside), often equated to the parry that must be made to deflect the attack; see also point in line.
  • Lines – The means of referring to a position or area on a fencer's body. The idea behind 'lines' is that the torso, as facing the viewer in 'en garde', is bisected both laterally and vertically. There are then four quadrants of the body. The quadrants which are above the lateral line are referred to as 'high line,' those below as 'low line.' The fencer's left-hand-side, referred to as chest, is the inside. The fencer's right-hand-side, referred to as flank, is the outside. The lower chest side quadrant is then referred to as 'inside low line.'
The common parries in foil and epée are: sixte (outside-high), quarte (inside-high), octave (outside-low), and septieme (inside-low). Angled (up-and-down) parries can also be used. In sabre, tierce replaces sixte to guard the inside-high line, quarte becomes more erect, seconde replaces octave on the inside-low line, and prime replaces septieme. Quinte is used in sabre to protect the head.
  • Parry – A simple defensive action designed to deflect an attack, performed with the forte of the blade. A parry is usually only wide enough to allow the attacker's blade to just miss; any additional motion is wasteful. A well-executed parry should take the foible of the attacker's blade with the forte and/or guard of the defender's. This provides the greatest control over the opponent's blade. In sabre, the guard should be turned appropriately using the fingers to protect the wrist.
Parries generally cover one of the 'lines' of the body. The simplest parries move the blade in a straight line. Other parries move the blade in a circular, semicircular, or diagonal manner. There are eight basic parries, and many derivatives of these eight. (see Prime, Seconde, Tierce, Quarte, Quinte, Sixte, Septime, Octave, Neuvieme). See also Lines.
In foil, the opponent's blade should not only be deflected away from the target, but away from off-target areas as well. An attack that is deflected off the valid target but onto invalid target still retains right-of-way. In sabre, the opponent's blade need only be deflected away from valid target, since off-target touches do not stop the phrase. Sabre parries must be particularly clean and clear to avoid the possibility of whip-over touches. In épée, a good parry is simply any one that gains enough time for the riposte; opposition parries and prise-de-fer are commonly used, since they do not release the opponent's blade to allow a remise.
    • Beat Parry – deflecting the incoming attack with a sharp striking motion.
    • Counter-Parry – also circular parry. A parry that moves in a circle to end up in the same position in which it started. A counter-parry usually traps an attack coming in a different line, but in the same high/low line. Thus, Parry Counter-Six (circular outside hide) is effective against attacks in the Four line (inside high).
    • Opposition Parry – deflecting the incoming attack without ever losing contact with the blade from the initial engagement.
    • Ordinal parries
      • Prime – Parry #1; blade down and to the inside, wrist pronated. The point is significantly lower than the hand. Covers the inside low-line (this is a rare sabre parry).
      • Seconde – Parry #2; blade down and to the outside, wrist pronated. The point is significantly lower than the hand. Covers the outside low line in sabre, replacing octave.
      • Tierce – Parry #3; blade up and to the outside, wrist pronated. The point is significantly higher than the hand. Covers the outside high line. This is the basic en garde position in sabre. Then retreat toward original position.
      • Quarte – Parry #4; blade up and to the inside, wrist supinated. The point is higher than the hand. Covers the inside high line.
      • Quinte – Parry #5; blade up and to the inside, wrist pronated. The point is higher than the hand. This parry, more than any other, is subject to different interpretations in different schools (in foil and épée). In foil and épée, this parry generally covers the inside high line, since the pronated wrist can push further down that the supinated wrist (in Quarte). If the point and hand are lifted, this parry can also cover the inside low line with a sweeping action upwards, carrying the opponents point over the outside shoulder. In sabre, the blade is held above the head to protect from head cuts, but should still point slightly forward ready for riposte.
      • Sixte – Parry #6; blade up and to the outside, wrist supinated. The point is higher than the hand. Covers the outside high line. This is generally the parry taught as the basic en garde position in foil and épée.
      • Septime – Parry #7; blade down and to the inside, wrist supinated. The point is lower than the hand. Covers the inside low line.
      • Octave – Parry #8; blade down and to the outside, wrist supinated. The point is lower than the hand. Covers the outside low line.
      • Neuvieme – Parry #9; blade behind the back, pointing down; alternatively, similar to elevated sixte. Originally used in sabre, to defend the back against a passing or overtaking opponent. Covers the outside line on the back.
    • Semicircular Parry – A parry that moves from a high line to a low line, or vice versa. The parry can also cross the body. The parry must be made in a semicircle to provide the enveloping movement needed to trap the attacking blade.
    • Yielding Parry – deflecting the incoming attack by maintaining contact with the blade and changing the point of contact between the blades, moving from a position of poor leverage to one using the forte for strong leverage.
  • Pronation – The position of the hand when the palm is facing down. See supination.
  • Supination – The position of the hand when the palm is facing up. See Pronation.

Other maneuvers

  • Counter-Attack – An attack into an established attack (that already has right-of-way). In foil and sabre, a counter-attack does NOT have the right-of-way, and will not gain a touch if the opposing fencer's attack lands. Breaking the arm in the middle of a perfectly good attack can turn your attack into a counter-attack without right-of-way.
  • Displacement – Moving the target to avoid an attack; dodging.
  • In-fighting – Fencing at closed distance, where the distance between the two fencers is such that the weapon must be withdrawn before the point can threaten or hit the target.
  • Inside – The direction to the front of the body. (The left for a right-hander.)
  • Opposition – An attack that is made fully in contact with the opponent's blade. The purpose is to control the opponent's blade from the starting point (usually a parry) throughout the attack. This is often used as a counter-offensive technique, especially in épée, but can be a problem if a disengagement is made by the opponent. Also Lateral Transfer.
  • Outside – The direction away from the front of the body. (The right for a right-hander.)
  • Passé – An attack that passes the target without hitting.
  • Point-in-Line – An extended arm and blade that threatens the opponent, which is established before any other valid attack from the opponent. For instance, from outside of engagement distance, a fencer performs an extension, establishing right-of-way. Until this extension is broken, it maintains right-of-way. Any direct attack made against it (without a beat, or other similar action) will be considered a counter-attack.
  • Preparation – The initial phase of an attack, before right-of-way is established.
  • Priority – In sabre, the now-superseded rules that decide which fencer will be awarded the touch in the event that they both attack simultaneously; also used synonymously with right-of-way. In the 1995 revision of the rules for all weapons, priority is also awarded when time expires with a tied score. The priority is determined by the flip of a coin at the start of the last minute, and the winner of the toss wins the bout if the score is tied when time expires.
  • Redoublement – A new action that follows an attack that missed or was parried. This is distinguished from a remise, reprise, or riposte by being a NEW action. See also redoublement under Footwork.
  • Remise – An immediate, direct replacement of an attack that missed, was short, or was parried, without withdrawing the arm. This is a continuation of an attack, and does not have priority (in foil and sabre) over a direct riposte.
  • Reprise – An indirect renewal of an attack that missed or was parried. This is a continuation of an attack, and does not have priority (in foil and sabre) over a direct riposte.
  • Right-of-Way – The rules for awarding the point in the event of a double touch in foil or sabre. The concept involved in being the first to establish a valid threat to an opponent's target area. Extending is the usual means to establishing this threat. Breaking the extended arm during an attack means relinquishing right-of-way. An opponent can take right-of-way by parrying the opponents blade.
  • Riposte – An attack made immediately after a parry of the opponent's attack.
  • Salle – (French: "room") A fencing hall or club.
  • Second-Intention – In general, a term used to imply that the first action initiated is NOT the one intended to score. The fencer may initiate a move, anticipating (or intending to draw) a certain response from the opponent, against which a second action is planned. For example, Lunge Attack (anticipating that it will be parried), Parry the riposte, and Redouble with a Counter-Riposte.
  • Simple – An attack or riposte that involves no feints.
  • Simultaneous – In foil and sabre, two attacks for which the right-of-way is too close to determine.
  • Target Area – The area delimited for valid hits in that weapon. Foil target area consists of the entire torso, including the groin and the bottom of the mask which covers the lame, and down to the waist in back. Head, arms and legs are considered off-target in foil. Épée uses the entire body for target. Sabre uses all the body area above the waist, except the hands and the back of the head.

Fencing organizations

Fencing clubs

Fencing competitions

Fencing publications

Fiction

Persons influential in fencing

Other forms of fencing

See also


Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fencing</span> Type of armed combat sport

Fencing is a combat sport that features sword fighting. The three disciplines of modern fencing are the foil, the épée, and the sabre ; each discipline uses a different kind of blade, which shares the same name, and employs its own rules. Most competitive fencers specialise in one discipline. The modern sport gained prominence near the end of the 19th century and is based on the traditional skill set of swordsmanship. The Italian school altered the historical European martial art of classical fencing, and the French school later refined that system. Scoring points in a fencing competition is done by making contact with an opponent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parry (fencing)</span> Fencing bladework maneuver

A parry is a fencing bladework maneuver intended to deflect or block an incoming attack.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Foil (fencing)</span> Weapon and type of modern fencing

A foil is one of the three weapons used in the sport of fencing. It is a flexible sword of total length 110 cm (43 in) or under, rectangular in cross section, weighing under 500 g (18 oz), with a blunt tip. As with the épée, points are only scored by making contact with the tip. The foil is the most commonly used weapon in fencing.

<i>Épée</i> A weapon and type of modern fencing

The épée, also rendered as epee in English, is the largest and heaviest of the three weapons used in the sport of fencing. The modern épée derives from the 19th-century épée de combat, a weapon which itself derives from the French small sword.

The remise is a renewal of an attack in fencing. It is performed when one fencer's attack has failed, either because their opponent has parried or they missed. If the attacker immediately continues their attack in the same line, they have executed a remise. The name also is applied to repetitions of other actions which did not initially succeed. The remise is at the bottom of actions in taking priority.

Classical fencing is the style of fencing as it existed during the 19th and early 20th centuries. According to the 19th-century fencing master Louis Rondelle,

A classical fencer is supposed to be one who observes a fine position, whose attacks are fully developed, whose hits are marvelously accurate, his parries firm, and his ripostes executed with precision. One must not forget that this regularity is not possible unless the adversary is a party to it. It is a conventional bout, which consists of parries, attacks, and returns, all rhyming together.

In fencing, a riposte is an offensive action with the intent of hitting one's opponent made by the fencer who has just parried an attack. In military usage, a riposte is the strategic device of hitting a vulnerable point of the enemy, thereby forcing them to abandon their own attack.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sabre (fencing)</span> A weapon and type of modern fencing

The sabre is one of the three disciplines of modern fencing. The sabre weapon is for thrusting and cutting with both the cutting edge and the back of the blade.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Attack (fencing)</span>

In fencing, an attack is "The attack is the initial offensive action made by extending the arm and continuously threatening the opponent’s target, preceding the launching of the lunge or flèche". In order for an attack to be awarded successfully, the fencer must accelerate their hand towards the target. If the fencer does not accelerate the hand, this is a preparation.

Rapier combat is a style of historical fencing practiced in the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA). The primary focus is to study, replicate and compete with styles of rapier sword-fighting found in Europe during the Renaissance period, using blunted steel swords and a variety of off-hand defensive items. Participants wear period clothing while competing, along with or incorporating protective equipment for safety. In the April 2020 update of the rules, the sport was renamed 'Fencing Combat'.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flick (fencing)</span>

The flick is a technique used in modern fencing. It is used in foil and to a lesser extent, épée.

In fencing, a body cord serves as the connection between a fencer and a reel of wire that is part of a system for electrically detecting that the weapon has touched the opponent. There are two types: one for epee, and one for foil and sabre.

In fencing, the grip is the part of the weapon which is gripped by the fencer's hand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flèche (fencing)</span> Fencing technique

The flèche is an aggressive attacking technique in fencing, used with foil and épée.

The Amateur Fencers League of America (AFLA) was founded on April 22, 1891, in New York City by a group of fencers seeking independence from the Amateur Athletic Union. As early as 1940, the AFLA was recognized by the Fédération Internationale d'Escrime (FIE) and the United States Olympic Committee as the national governing body for fencing in the United States.

Priority or right of way is the decision criterion used in foil and sabre fencing to determine which fencer receives the touch, or point, when both fencers land a hit within the same short time-frame. After this window, if one fencer had already landed a hit, the electrical scoring apparatus would "lock-out," or fail to record, an opponent's subsequent hit, and thus the one fencer to land a hit is awarded the touch. In épée fencing, if both fencers land valid hits at the same time, they each receive a point. Because of this, foil and sabre are considered conventional weapons. After a halt, a referee parses what happened into actions, from which it can be determined whether to award a point or not.

Fencing practice and techniques of modern competitive fencing are governed by the International Fencing Federation (FIE), though they developed from conventions developed in 18th- and 19th-century Europe to govern fencing as a martial art and a gentlemanly pursuit. The modern weapons for sport fencing are the foil, épée, and sabre.

The oldest surviving manual on western swordsmanship dates back to the 14th century, although historical references date fencing schools back to the 12th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fencing tactics</span> Movement or approach used in competitive fencing

Tactics are very important to playing well in modern fencing and although technique is important in the sport, using an array of tactics will help fencers make the most of that technique.

This is a glossary of terms used in fencing.

References

  1. ↑ "Definition of sport". SportAccord. Archived from the original on 2011-10-28. Retrieved 2012-07-28.
  2. ↑ Council of Europe. "The European sport charter" . Retrieved 2012-03-05.
  3. ↑ Popular Mechanics "Noncarbon steel in fencing weapons reduces the chances of breakage and injury.". The Hearst Corporation. July 1996. p. 73.
  4. ↑ "Renaissance Fencing". Archived from the original on 2011-07-24. Retrieved 2011-06-01.
  5. ↑ Why Study Classical Fencing?
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