Rules of Modern Fencing

Right-of-way

The "right-of-way" principle in foil and sabre states that the first person to initiate an attack has priority. Simply put, if one is attacked, one must defend oneself before attacking in return -- rather than attempting to hit one's opponent even at the risk of being hit oneself. Right-of-way is lost when the attack fails, either by falling short or encountering an opponent's parry. Priority then changes to the opponent, who may use the momentum to initiate a take over or immediately attack with a riposte of his or her own. The original attacker must parry the riposte before attacking again, but if the initial parry is ineffectual (mal parry), the riposte misses, or the defender hesitates before riposting, the attacker can continue to attack with a remise without parrying. None of these actions has priority, but if the defending fencer hesitates, then he will be considered to have missed his opportunity and the original attacker will regain priority.

For example, one fencer attacks, and the other immediately counter-attacks, with both registering touches on the scoring box. In this case, the first fencer's attack is considered successful, while the second is considered to have misjudged. If, however, the second fencer parries and then responds with a riposte, then a touch would be awarded to the second fencer.

When electrical scoring equipment is used in the modern sports of foil and sabre,(there is electrical epee scoring as well) both fencers will register a hit if they contact within a certain time of each other. Then the director must decide who had right-of-way at the time of the hits, and therefore who scores a touch. If the director is unsure of the action, he or she may abstain, and not award a touch to either fencer. No touch is awarded when both fencers are determined to have started their attacks simultaneously.

It is important to note that right-of-way is only a factor if both fencers register hits on the scoring box. If there are two simultaneous attacks and neither fencer has right-of-way, a touch will still be awarded if only one attack lands. Similarly, the counter-attack can score a touch in the event that the original attack misses.

Target Area
The target area for sabre consists of the torso above the waist, as well as the arms and head (excluding the hands). When fencing with electric equipment, a manchette, or sabre cuff, is used in conjunction with the lamé and electrically conductive mask to ensure that the entire target area forms a single circuit.

Sabre Target Area

Scoring
Prior to the introduction of electronic scoring equipment, the president of jury was assisted by four judges. Two judges were positioned behind each fencer, one on each side of the strip. The judges watched the fencer opposite to see if he was hit.

When a judge thought he saw a hit, he raised his hand. The president (referee or director) then stopped the bout and reviewed the relevant phrases of the action, polling the judges at each stage to determine whether there was a touch, and (in foil and sabre) whether the touch was valid or invalid. Each judge had one vote, and the president had one and a half votes. Thus, two judges could overrule the president; but if the judges disagreed, or if one judge abstained, the president's opinion ruled.

Epee fencing was later conducted with red dye on the tip, easily seen on the white uniform. As a bout went on, if a touch was seen, a red mark would appear. Between the halts of the director, judges would inspect each fencer for any red marks. Once one was found, it was circled in a dark pencil to show that it had been already counted. The red dye was not easily removed, preventing any cheating. The only way to remove it was through certain acids such as vinegar. Thus, epee fencers became renowned for their reek of vinegar until the invention of electronic equipment.

Today, electronic scoring is used in all major national and international, and most local, sport competitions. The electrical scoring system requires additional clothing for foil and sabre: Foil fencers wear a conducting vest, called a lamé, which covers the torso and groin. Sabre fencers wear a conducting jacket (also called a lamé), mask, and a special sabre glove or manchette which conducts up to but not exceeding the wrist. In both weapons, the fencers' weapons are also wired. When a fencer scores a touch on an opponent in sabre, an electric circuit is completed, which turns on a light and a sound to notify the referee that an attack has landed on valid target. The referee observes the fencers and the scoring machine to determine which fencer has the right-of-way.

In epee and foil, the weapons are wired with compressible tips. When a hit is registered, the tip of the weapon compresses an internal spring, completing (or breaking) a circuit to signal a touch. In foil fencing, the competitors wear special conductive vests (called lamés) covering the valid target area. A touch to this region causes a colored light (red or green) to turn on. If the touch lands off-target, a white light turns on. In epee fencing, since target area is the entire body, the fencers do not wear special conductive clothing; the strip itself must be grounded, to prevent a touch from scoring when the tip of a weapon hits the strip (as opposed to striking the opponent's toe, for example).

Fencers connect their weapons to the scoring apparatus via a body cord, which is threaded from a socket in the guard of the weapon, up the sleeve of the jacket and down to the waist. A spring-loaded spool of cable, called the reel, is placed at the end of the strip. The reel is then connects to the body cord. The springs in the reel ensure that the wiring extends taut from the fencer's waist to the rear of the piste, and doesn't interfere with the fencer's movements.

Recently, reel-less gear has been adopted for sabre at top competitions, including the Olympics. In this system, the lights to indicate touches are mounted on the fencers' mask. FIE regulations prohibit the use of transmitters in official scoring equipment to prevent cheating; however, extension lights may be wirelessly connected to the fencers so long as the wired lights (on the fencers themselves) remain the official indicators. Plans for reel-less epee and foil have not yet been adopted.

Whenever possible, organizers use a metal mesh or panels to electrically ground the piste, although this is not always possible for small competitions. Each competitor's coquille (hand guard) is always grounded, as it is often hit when trying to strike at an opponent's hand. This allows the scoring apparatus to ignore touches on both items.

Electronic scoring was introduced to epee in 1936, to foil in 1957, and to sabre in 1988.

Sabre Scoring

Because touches can be scored using the edge of the blade, there is no need for a pressure sensitive head to be present on the end of the blade (thus having the button). When fencing "electric" (as opposed to "steam") a current runs through the sabre blade. When the blade comes into contact with the lamé, the electrical mask, or the manchette, the current flows through the body cord and interacts with the scoring equipment.

Like the other weapons, sabre uses all four lights (the two white lights, known as secondary lights, and the red and green lights, known as primary or scoring lights) on the scoring device (generally referred to as the box). A red or green light shows a positive touch, red being a touch from the left fencer and green being a touch from the right fencer. A white light signifies that the fencer is touching his blade to his own equipment, or (depending on the scoring machine) that their body cord has come unplugged from their weapon.

Lockout
In sabre it is possible for both the red and the green light to activate simultaneously, in which case it is up to the director to decide which fencer receives the touch; however it is also possible for one fencer to "lock out" another fencer. This occurs when one fencer gets a valid touch, thus triggering their light, and the other fencer does not make a valid touch within the lockout time.

The lockout time for sabre was originally 300 to 350 milliseconds (varying by the reliability of the machine used). In 2005, however, the FIE voted 51-33 to decrease the lockout time. They then proceeded to vote 50-32 to decrease it to the specified time of approximately 120 milliseconds.

Penalties
Fencing uses a card system similar to that of soccer. Yellow cards are given for minor offenses, such as delaying the bout, or turning the back to one's opponent. Two yellow cards are the equivalent of a red card, which results in a touch being awarded against the offending fencer. Unlike soccer, fencing has a third card, reserved the most grievous of violations. The black card is given to a fencer who exhibits un sportsmanlike conduct, such as intentionally attempting to injure an opponent, or faking an injury to delay a bout, and results in disqualification from the competition in which one is competing.

The Piste
Fencing takes place on a piste, with the two fencers facing each other, four meters apart. In modern fencing, the piste is between 1.5 and 2 meters wide, and 14 meters long. There are designated points on the fencing strip; there is the en guard line (this is where the fencers start), the center line, the two meter warning lines and the end of the strip.

It is also possible to fence "in the round," meaning that the bout takes place in a circular or square area instead of on a strip, and fencers can circle in addition to moving forward or backward. This style of fencing is mostly practiced today by the SCA and does not exist in FIE tournaments.

Sabre
The modern sabre is descended from the classical northern Italian dueling sabre, a far lighter weapon than the cavalry sabre. The method and practice of sabre fencing is somewhat different from the other weapons, in that the sabre is an edged weapon. In modern electric scoring, a touch with the sabre, point, flat or edge, to any part of the opponent's valid target (head, torso, or arm) will register a hit.

The target area originates from dueling sabre training. To attack the opponent's leg would allow him to "slip" that leg back and attack one's exposed arm or head given that the higher line attack will outreach the low line (there is a classic example of the leg slip in Angelo's Hungarian and Highland Broadsword of 1790). The target area is from the waist up excluding the hands. Right-of-way applies, much as it does to foil.

A common misconception concerning the origin of sabre's target area is that the legs are removed as targets due to sabre's origin as a cavalry weapon. Essentially, the legs of a horseman were not a valid target in war, since cutting the leg of a man riding a horse would not stop that man from continuing his charge. This myth has largely been refuted and several older texts demonstrate low sabre parries to protect the mount's flanks and the fencer's legs.

Protective clothing
The clothing which is worn in modern fencing is made of tough cotton or nylon. Kevlar was previously used but found insufficiently durable. The complete fencing kit includes the following items of clothing:

Form-fitting jacket, covering groin and with strap (croissard) which goes between the legs.

Half jacket (plastron), which goes underneath the jacket and provides double protection on the sword arm side and upper arm. It is seamless in the armpit, because a seam there would line up with the jacket seam and provide a weak spot.

Glove, which extends up to the mid-forearm. This helps prevent weapons from going inside the sleeve, while also protecting the hand and providing a good grip. The glove is often made of synthetic material, or leather, or a combination of both.

Breeches (knickers), to below the knee

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Knee-length socks.

Mask, including bib which protects the neck.

Chest protector, typically worn by female fencers to protect the breasts. Versions for male fencers are also available, and are often worn in foil.

Traditionally, the uniform is white in color, to assist the judges in seeing touches scored (black being the traditional color for masters). However, recently the FIE rules have been relaxed to allow colored uniforms. The color white might also be traced back to times before electronic scoring equipment, when the blades were sometimes covered in soot or colored chalk to make a mark on the opponent's clothing.

Technique
A referee (formerly called president of jury, or director) presides over the contest, called a "bout." The referee's duties include keeping score, keeping time (sabre is usually fenced un timed because it moves very quickly), awarding points and maintaining the order of the bout. Often, another person will keep score or time. He or she stands on one side of the piste, watching the bout.

There are many types of modern fencing bouts, but in the two most common formats, the first fencer to score either 5 or 15 touches is declared the winner.

In the past, the action in sabre had been criticized for being extremely fast and hard to follow, and the cutting motion causes people to think of it as a hack and slash weapon, despite the extreme precision required to wield a sabre properly.

Recently, the rules for sabre have changed to prohibit the forward cross-over (one foot of the fencer passing in front of the other). It is now impossible to perform a fleche attack on one's opponent. Because of this, many sabre fencers have begun to use what is known as a "Flunge" (flying lunge). The attack begins like a fleche, but the fencer pushes off from the ground, and flies forward. The legs almost cross at the high point of the jump, but then the front leg is brought forward to catch the fencer. This technique has afforded only limited success in international competition. Nevertheless, it remains popular, especially among American sabre fencers.

Flunge

Bladework
The nine classical parries comprise basic bladework. The first parry that most fencers learn is quarte, known commonly as "parry four". Parries are named for the line that they defend from attack: parry four would defend line four, which is the high inside line.

Offensive bladework consists of the various means of scoring a touch on an opponent. The straight attack is a direct extension towards valid target. As it is easily defended against, fencers often use numerous feints to deceive their opponent into parrying and then disengage around the blade.

As a preparation for an attack, fencers may execute a prise de fer, or attack on the blade. This includes the simple beat, a sharp rap on the opponent's blade, and the more complex bind, in which the fencer forces the opponent's blade to a different line.

Footwork
The most commonly used footwork is the advance and retreat. Other types of footwork include the cross-advance/cross-retreat, double-advance/double-retreat, and jump forward/back.

Generally, feet are placed a shoulder-width apart at right-angles to each other. The front foot faces the opponent and the back foot forms a ninety-degree angle. The fencer's knees should be slightly bent to allow for more mobility. This allows for fairly easy advances and retreats, while minimizing the valid target area the opponent can attack. This is called the engarde or fencing position.

To execute an advance, the front foot is moved forward, landing with the heel and rolling forward. Then the back foot is raised and moved forward so that the fencer returns to the engarde position. The process is reversed for a retreat. During this process, the back foot does not move forward of the front. However, in a cross-advance (also known as a cross-step advance or crossover advance), the back foot moves forward of the front, and then the front foot is moved forward so that the fencer returns to the engarde position. The reverse is called a cross-retreat. These steps allow the fencer to gain or close distance more quickly, but it is not as stable or as versatile as a standard advance or retreat.

Varations and portions of the above movements can also be used by themselves. For example, a check-step forward is performed by moving the back foot as in a retreat, then performing an entire advance. This maneuver can deceive your opponent into thinking you are retreating, when in reality you want to close distance.

Other footwork actions include the appel (French for "call"), which is a stomp of the front foot; and the jump (also know as a balestra), which is a small jump forward used in conjunction with a variety of attacks.

Good footwork is essential to the performance of a fencer. Although fencing is the sport of bladework, it is very much a game of distance, and having superior footwork can easily determine the outcome of a bout. Even expert fencers almost always include a session of footwork drills in their practice sessions, some more so than bladework exercises.

FAC-KC

Fencing 101

Excerpted from Wikipedia

Rules of Modern Fencing
Sabre
The Piste (fencing strip)
Target Area
Scoring
Right-of-way
Penalties
Protective Clothing
Technique
Bladework
Footwork