Fencing sabre

The sabre (or saber) is one of the three weaponsthe lamé onto the sabre, causing any blade
of modern sport fencing.contact to be registered as a valid touch.
The sabre differs from both épéeTarget Area The target area for sabre consists
and foil in that it is possible to score with the edgeof the torso above the waist, as well as the arms
of the blade. In the other two weapons, validand head (excluding the hands). When fencing with
touches are only scored using the point of theelectric equipment, a manchette, or sabre cuff, is
blade. Like foil, sabre uses the convention ofused in conjunction with the lamé and
right-of-way to determine priority.electrically conductive mask to ensure that the
Sabre was the last weapon in fencing to makeentire target area forms a single circuit.
the transition over to using electrical equipment.Because touches can be scored using the edge of
This occurred in 1988, 31 years after Foil and 52the blade, there is no need for a pressure
years after Épée.sensitive head to be present on the end of the
The target area originates from dueling sabreblade (thus having the button). When fencing
training. To attack the opponent's leg would allow"electric" (as opposed to "dry") a current runs
him to "slip" that leg back and attack one'sthrough the sabre blade.
exposed arm or head given that the higher lineWhen the blade comes into contact with the
attack will outreach the low line (there is a classiclamé, the electrical mask, or the manchette,
example of the leg slip in Angelo's Hungarian andthe current flows through the body cord and
Highland Broadsword of 1790). The target area isinteracts with the scoring equipment.
from the waist up excluding the hands.Like the other weapons, sabre uses all four lights
Right-of-way applies, much as it does to foil.(the two white lights, known as secondary lights,
A common misconception concerning the origin ofand the red and green lights, known as primary or
sabre's target area is that the legs are removedscoring lights) on the scoring device (generally
as targets due to sabre's origin as a cavalryreferred to as the box). A red or green light
weapon.shows a positive touch, red being a touch from
Essentially, this line of reasoning goes, the legs ofthe left fencer and green being a touch from the
a horseman were not a valid target in war, sinceright fencer. A white light signifies that the fencer
cutting the leg of a man riding a horse would notis touching his blade to his own equipment, or
stop that man from continuing his charge. This(depending on the scoring machine) that their
myth has largely been refuted and several olderbody cord has come unplugged from their
texts demonstrate low sabre parries to protectweapon.
the mount's flanks and the fencer's legs. For moreLockout In sabre it is possible for both the red
information on this topic consult Christophand the green light to go on simultaniously, in
Amberger's book The Secret History of thewhich case it is up to the director to decide which
Sword.fencer receives the touch, however it is also
The Sword The sabre's blade is V-shaped, unlikepossible for one fencer to "lockout" another
the quadrangular shape of the foil and thefencer. This occurs when one fencer gets a valid
triangular shape of the épée.touch, thus triggering their light, and the other
Blades are standardly 88 cm (35 inches) in length.fencer does not make a valid touch within the
At the end of the blade, the point is folded overlockout time.
itself to form a "button". The bell guard of theThe lockout time for sabre was originally 300 to
sword is curved around the handle, giving the350 milliseconds (varying by the reliability of the
fencer hand protection. On electrical swords, amachine used). In 2005, however, the FIE voted
socket for the body wire is found underneath the51-33 to decrease the lockout time. They then
bell guard. A fastener known as a pommel isproceeded to vote 50-32 to decrease it to the
attached to the end of the sword to keep thespecified time of approximately 120 milliseconds.
bell guard and handle on. The handle of a sabre isIn the past, the action in sabre had been criticized
standardly a French grip. The entire sword isfor being extremely fast and hard to follow, and
generally 105 cm (41 inches) long, and 500 gramsthe cutting motion causes people to think of it as
(1.1 lb) in weight. It is shorter than the foil ora hack and slash weapon, despite the extreme
épée, and lighter than theprecision required to wield a sabre properly.
épée, making it easier to moveRecently, the rules for sabre have changed to
swiftly and incisively.prohibit the forward cross-over (one foot of the
Unlike the other two weapons, there is very littlefencer passing in front of the other). It is now
difference between an electric sabre and a dryimpossible to perform a fléche attack on
(non-electric) one. The blade itself is the same inone's opponent. Because of this, many sabre
dry and electric sabres, as there is no need for afencers have begun to use what is known as a
blade wire or pressure-sensitive tip in an electric"Flunge" (flying lunge). The attack begins like a
sabre. An electric sabre has a socket, which is afléche, but the fencer pushes off from the
Foil socket with the two contacts shortedground, and flies forward. The legs almost cross
together. It also has insulation on the pommel andat the high point of the jump, but then the front
on the inside of the guard to prevent an electricalleg is brought forward to catch the fencer. This
connection between the sabre and the lamé.move is somewhat frowned upon.
This is undesirable because it effectively extends