Practice of Fencing

The following description pertains to the practiceaccording to which the fencer who is the first to
of modern competitive fencing, as governed byinitiate an attack or the last to take a successful
the FIE and does not cover the many variationsparry receives priority. When both fencers hit
such as fencing within a circle popular with SCAmore or less simultaneously, only the fencer who
enthusiasts.had priority receives the point. If priority cannot
The fencing piste A fencing bout takes place on abe assigned unambiguously, no points are
strip, or piste, which, according to the current FIEawarded.
regulations, should be between 1.5 and 2 metersThese rules were adopted in the 18th century as
wide and 14 meters long. Two meteres eitherpart of teaching practice.
side of the mid-point, there are two the en-gardeTheir aim is to encourage
lines , where the fencers stand at the beginning of„sensible” fencing and reward
the bout. There are also two warning lines twoinitiative and circumspection at the same time. At
metres from either end of the strip, to let aleast in principle, in a prolonged phrase, the
retreating fencer know that he is nearly out ofinitiative passes smoothly from one fencer to the
space. Any fencer who retreats off the end ofother, and back again, and so on. The risk of both
the piste automatically loses a point.duellists charging onto one another’s
The participants There are at least three peopleswords is kept to a minimum. Despite the
involved: two fencers and a referee. The refereesimplicity of the underlying principles, priority rules
may be assisted by two or four side-judges. Thisare pretty convoluted, and their interpretation is a
was common practice prior to the introduction ofsource of much acrimony. Much of this acrimony
electronic scoring. Their function is somewhatis centred on the definition of attack.
similar to that of linesmen in soccer.According to the FIE rules, an attack is defined as
Their primary job used to be to watch for hits„the initial offensive action made by
scored. Consequently, the arrival of the electronicextending the arm and continuously threatening
scoring apparatus has rendered them largelythe opponent’s target...” The
redundant. Under current FIE rules, a fencer maygeneral consensus is that the referee should look
ask for two side-judges (one to watch him, onefor whose arm starts straightening first. In
to watch his opponent), if he thinks that thepractice, referees, especially inexperienced ones,
referee is failing to notice some infringement ofmay go for the easy option an give priority to
the rules on his opponent’s part (suchwhichever fencer happened to be moving
as use of the unarmed hand, substitution of theforwards. This is wrong, but, unfortunately, it is
valid target area, breaching the boundary of thefar from unusual.
piste etc.).There is also a school of thought, subscribed to
The protocol The referee stands at the side ofby a relatively small minority, that priority should
the piste. The fencers walk on piste fully dressed,be given to the fencer who was the first to
aside from the mask. If necessary, they plug theirstraighten his arm fully. This, again, is out of line
body wires into the spools connected to thewith the current rules. The adherents argue that
electronic scoring apparatus and test that theirthis is the more classical way of doing things, but
weapons against each other, to make surethis claim is somewhat dubious. It is clear that an
everything is functioning.attack which has failed (i.e. has missed or been
They then retreat to their en-garde lines. Prior toparried) is no longer an attack. The priority then
starting a bout, the fencers must salute eachpasses to the defending fencer; he is now free to
other. Refusal to do so can result in alaunch a riposte (if he has just parried an attack)
fencer’s suspension. They must alsoor a counterattack (if the attack missed of its
salute the refree and, strictly speaking, theirown accord).
audience (although this is rarely done other thanWhatever he choses to do, he must do it
at some exhibition events).immediately, as hesitation also leads to loss of
There are many variations of the salute, includingpriority. A hesitant defender may lose priority and
some fairly theatrical ones, but the commonget hit with a renewal of the initial attack.
theme is that the fencer stands upright, maskA parry, just like an attack, to be counted as
off, facing whomever he is saluting and raises hisvalid must fulfil certain criteria. In foil any action
the sword to a vertical position with the guardthat deflects a linear attack from its passage
either at or just below face level, and then lowerstowards the target (i.e. temporarily removes the
it again. Various colourful stories abound about thethreat) or breaks the momentum of an attack
origin of the salute, like gladiators saluting eachdeliverd by a swinging motion will, generally, be
other in the arena, crusaders pointing their swordgiven as a parry. Consequently, foilists often parry
heavenward in pre-battle prayer, duellists showingwith a sharp beating motion which does not
each other that their swords are the same lengthnecessarily end in a full cover. In sabre, according
etc.to the FIE rules, „the parry is properly
These are probably apocriphal. The most likelycarried out when, before the completion of the
source of the modern fencing salute is military drillattack, it prevents the arrival of that attack by
originating some time around the Enlightenmentclosing the line in which that attack is to
period, in particular the „Presentfinish”. In practice, when blades clash,
arms!” command.sabre referees tend to look at the point of blade
After the salutes are completed, the referee willcontact: contact of a defender’s forte
call „On guard!” The fencerswith an attacker’s foible is generally
put on their masks and adopt the fencing stancecounted as a parry, and the priority passes to the
with the front foot behind the en-garde line anddefender; whereas contact of a
the blade in one of the orthodox fencing positionsdefender’s foible with an
(generally sixte). They are now in the on-guardattacker’s forte is counted as a
(en-garde) position. The referee then callsmalparry, and the priority stays with the attacker.
„Ready?” In some countries,Penalties Modern fencing also includes the addition
the fencers are required to confirm that they are.of cards/flags (or penalties).
Finally the referee will callEach card has a different meaning. A fencer
„Play!” orpenalized with a yellow card is warned, but no
„Fence!”, and the bout willother action is taken. A fencer penalized with a
start. To interrupt the bout the referee callsred card is warned, and a touch is awarded to his
„Halt!”. There may be aopponent. A fencer penalized with a black card is
number of reasons for why a bout is interrupted:excluded from the competition, and may be
it could be because a hit has been scored; it couldexcluded from the tournament, expelled from the
also be because the rules have been breached, orvenue, or suspended from future tournaments in
because the situation is unsafe, or because thethe case of serious offenses.
fight has degenerated into such a mess that theOffenses are broken down into four group, and
referee can no longer follow it. Once the bout ispenalties are assesed based upon the group of
stopped, the referee will, if necessary, explain histhe offense. Group 1 offenses include actions such
reasons for stopping it, analyse what has justas making bodily contact with the opposing fencer
happened and award points or give out penalites.(in foil or sabre), delaying the bout, or removing
If a point has been awarded, then theequipment. The first group 1 offense committed
competitors return to their en-garde lines; if not,by a fencer in a bout is penalized with a yellow
they remain approximately where they werecard.
when the bout was interrupted. The referee willSubsequent group 1 offenses committed by that
then restart the bout as before. This procedure isfencer are penalized with a red card. Group 2
repeated until either one of the fencers hasoffenses include actions that are vindictive or
reached the required number of points (generally,violent in nature, or the failure to report to the
1, 5, 10 or 15, depending on the format of thestrip with proper inspection marks on equipment.
bout) or until the time allowed for the bout runsAll group 2 offenses are penalized with a red card.
out. Fencing bouts are timed: the clock is startedGroup 3 offenses include disturbing the order of a
every time the referee callsbout, or intentionally falsifying inspection marks.
„Play!” and stopped everyThe first group 3 offense committed by a fencer
time he calls „Halt!”. The boutis penalized with a red card, while any subsequent
must stop when the designated time has beengroup 3 offense is penalized with a black card.
reached (this again, varies, depending on theGroup 4 offenses include doping, manifest
format of the bout). If the bout goes to full time,cheating, and other breaches of protocol, such as
the fencer who has scored more hits wins. If thea failure to salute. Group 4 offenses are penalized
fencers are drawn at full time, they will be given awith a black card. There is also a specific penalty
minute of extra time. At the beginning of thatfor walking off the side of the piste: loss of one
minute a coin will be tossed to decide who is goingmetre distance. If this puts the fencer beyond the
to win if neither fencer scores during it.back edge of the piste, the fencer’s
Priority („right of way”) rulesopponent receives a point.
Foil and sabre are governed by priority rules,