Fencing equipment

Foil In both its modern and its classical guise,artificial conventions: the restricted target area
fencing consists of three different weapons: foil,and the priority rules. In épée, a hit
épée and sabre.can be scored by landing a hit anywhere on the
These three weapons had become standard byopponent’s body. The fencer whose hit
the late nineteenth century and all arelands first receives the point, irrespective of what
represented at Olympic-level competition.happened in the preceding phrase. If two hits
Additionally, in classical academies, one will oftenarrive simultaneously (within 40 milliseconds of
find historical fencing weapons, such as canne,each other), a double hit is recorded, and both
bâton, main-gauche or rapier and dagger,fencers get a point (except for in modern
being taught.pentathlon one-hit épée , where both
Foil used to be the first weapon taught tofencers immediately suffer a „double
beginners, because the techniques of foil teach, inloss”).
abstract form, the fundamentals of fencing.In order for the scoring apparatus to register a
Additionally, in the past, women were only allowedhit, the push-button on the end of the weapon
to fence foil, and the lightness of the weaponmust remain fully depressed for 2-10 milliseconds.
made it easier to handle for children. Today, whileTo register, the hit must arrive with a force of at
it is still adviseable to gain at least a fundamentalleast 7.35 newtons (750 grams) - a slightly higher
grasp of foil before proceeding with either of thethreshold than the foil’s 4.9 newtons
other two weapons, fencers, especially those who(500 grams). All hits register as valid, unless they
intend to fence sabre, often begin with any of theland on a grounded metal surface, such as a part
three weapons. While the weapons fencers useof the opponent’s weapon, in which
differ in size and purpose some basic parts of thecase they do not register at all. At large events,
weapon remain constant throughout the disciplines.grounded conductive pistes are often used in
The pommel, a weighted piece of metal at theorder to prevent the registration of hits against
end of the handle, holds the blade and handlethe floor.
together and provides a counter-balance to theAt smaller events and in club fencing, it is
weight of the blade. The grip is also somewhatgenerally the responsibility of the referee to
universal, though several styles exist, and mostwatch out for floor hits.
are inappropriate for sabre fencing (for furtherThese often happen by accident, when an
discussion on grips, see grip (sport fencing)). Theépéeist tries to hit the
other parts of the weapons - the blades, guards,opponent’s foot and misses. In such
and electric components - are differentiatedcases, they are simply ignored. However,
enough that they cannot legally be swappeddeliberate hits against the floor are treated as
between weapons of different types. The„dishonest fencing” and
modern foil is a light weapon, with a tapered,penalized accordingly (see „The Practice
flexible, quadrangular blade, that scores only withof Fencing” below).
the point. „Electric” foils, usedIn the pre-electric era, épéeist used a
in modern sport fencing, have a button on thepoint d’arret, a three-pronged point
end which much be depressed with a force of atwith small protruding spikes, which would snag on
least 4.90 newtons (500 grams-force) to registerthe opponent’s clothing or mask,
a hit.helping the referee to see the hits. The spikes
The valid target area at foil is limited to only thecaused épée fencing to be a
trunk of the body, where the vitals are located. Anotoriously painful affair, and épéeist
touch which lands on an invalid target stops thecould be easily recognized by the tears in their
bout, but no point is scored.jacket sleeves. These days, the adherents of the
In addition to simply thrusting the point of thepoint d’arret are few and far between,
weapon at the opponent, a fencer may score aand non-electric weapons are generally fitted with
foil touch by „flicking” orfoil-style rubber buttons.
„whipping” the blade towardsÉpée fencing tends to be more
the opponent, bypassing most classical parries andconservative in style than the other weapons, and
hitting on the back or shoulders. This technique isthe game tends to be somewhat slower and
an unintended result of the foil rules, and ismore contemplative.
controversial as it is very far removed fromSabre The sabre is the
traditional, classical style fencing, but it is still„cutting” weapon, with a
perfectly legal. To circumvent the flick, in 2005curved guard and a triangular blade.
the FIE changed the „depressionHowever, in modern electric scoring, a touch with
timing” of the tip. This caused mostany part of the sabre, point, flat or edge, as long
„flick touches” to be no longeras it is on target, will register a hit.
detected by the scoring machines, thus favouringThe target area in sabre is everything from the
more classical, straight thrusts. Foil is one of thewaist up, except for the hands.
two weapons, the other being sabre, that use theLike foil, sabre fencing uses right of way rules.
rules of „right of way”.However, the definition of an
Épée The épée is the„attack” is different for the
heaviest of the three weapons (approaching thetwo weapons, and as a result the right of way
weight of an actual court sword). It has arules in the different weapons distinguish them
comparatively stiff blade with a V-shaped orsignificantly. Sabre right of way rewards very fast
approximately traingular cross-section, and a largefencing (on offense and defense), and so sabre
round guard which offers much more protectionfencing tends to be more aggressive in style than
to the wrist than the foil guard.the other weapons.
The épée was developed in the lateUnlike in foil and épée, the forward
19th century by a group of French fencers whocrossover has been disallowed, as before both
wanted a sporting weapon which gave a closerfencers could simply run and jump at each other
approximation of an actual duel.at the start of a touch.
Like the foil, the épée is a thrustingToday, some sabre fencers use a
weapon: to score a valid hit the fencer must fix„flying lunge”, or
the point of his weapon on his„flunge”, to produce a similar
opponent’s target. However,result without crossing over, but much of sabre
épée lacks the foil’s mostfencing stays entirely on the ground.