You're invited to a duel
Jargon buster
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Lunge: Extending your leading foot quickly to attack
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Parry: A defensive move to block your opponent’s blade
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Riposte: Scoring a hit after you’ve successfully executed a parry
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Piste: The field of play; also known as the strip
The beginner's guide to fencing
Fencing traces back as far as 1190BC and ancient Egypt. Its early roots were not in sport – fencing began on the battlefield and the duelling ground.
Over the years, fencing has developed enormously in skills and technique - to now an exquisite blend of fast bladework and nimble footwork. The fencing rules are simple, but they are applied under great pressure and at pace.
Fencing is one of only four sports that have appeared in every modern Olympic Games. Today’s Olympic programme features three types of weapon, with a total of ten Olympic gold medals up for grabs in 2012.
The foil
A point weapon, derived from the court sword.
Fencers score a hit by striking their weapon’s point on their opponent’s torso.
To start an attack - fencers extend the arm and thus establish the right of way. Defenders have three options: get hit - retreat and make the attacker miss - or block (known as ‘parry’) the attack with the blade.
Top foilists can draw their opponent’s blade with feints – mock attacks – in order to open up different lines of attack. But points are only scored by hitting the defined target area.
The épée
A point weapon derived from the duelling sword this is the heaviest of the three swords.
What’s more, the target area is far bigger. A hit may be recorded anywhere on the body. This includes the fencer’s sword hand, so the épée has a large protective guard.
This is the easiest weapon for beginners to understand as there is no right of way rule. The athlete simply has to focus on registering a hit.
Epéeists try to outwit their opponents by opening and closing the distance between each other, changing the position (‘line’) of their weapon and employing feints. Epée bouts tend to take longer than the other two weapons.
The sabre
A cutting weapon
Sabreurs can hit opponents with the edge of the blade as well as the tip.
The sabre was derived from the old cavalry sword, so the target area in the modern sport consists of everything above the waist including the head.
The same right of way rule applies as in foil, but since point accuracy is not essential in sabre, the bouts are considerably faster.
Fencers tend to specialise in one of the three weapons.
However, at the Antwerp 1920 Olympic Games, Nedo Nadi became the only fencer ever to win a gold medal with every weapon at a single Games.
Whichever the weapon, fencers must develop their footwork and bladework. Top fencers excel in both – neat, quick and accurate bladework is no good if footwork is poor.
A fencing outfit consists of:
- A close-fitting jacket (covering the groin)
- Underarm protector
- Glove for the weapon arm
- Breeches or knickers (endingjust below the knee)
- Thigh- or knee-high socks
- A bibbed mask
- Flat-soled shoes with special reinforcements
- Women also have to wear a plastic chest protector
By British Fencing's rules, tournament outfits must be made of fabric that resists a force of 800 newtons (180lb) and that the mask bib must resist double that amount.
An electrically-conductive layer of lamé is also worn over the fencing jacket to help register hits.
