What is Fencing?
The sport of fencing is fast and athletic, a far cry from the choreographed bouts you see on film or on the stage. Instead of swinging from a chandelier or leaping from balconies, you will see two fencers performing an intense dance on a six-feet-by-40-feet strip. The movement is so fast the touches are scored electrically – more like Star Wars than Errol Flynn. The Weapons Foil, pe and sabre are the three weapons used in the sport of fencing. While it is not unusual for fencers to compete in all three events, they generally choose to develop their skills in one weapon. Until recently, women were permitted to compete only in foil, but now the USFA & FIE offer national competitions for women in pe and sabre. Women’s pe was added to the World Championships in 1989 and was held for the first time at the Olympic Games in 1996. Foil and pe are point-thrusting weapons. Sabre is a point-thrusting as well as a cutting weapon. The target areas differ for the three weapons, though all three are
Fencing is a combat sport that uses weapons. You may think of Zorro or the Three Musketeers when hearing the word fencing , but the actual sport is fast and athletic, and the bladework that Zorro does would make him lose his bout. The object of fencing is to effectively score a set number of points on your opponent before he scores that number on you. Points are scored by getting touches on your opponent. How you can get touches varies from weapon to weapon, and the target areas will be discussed on each specific weapon page. Bouting takes place on a strip, usually made of non-reactant metal. In high school and local tournaments, a strip may be on a gymnasium floor and marked with tape. A bout is usually 3-4 minutes for 5 point bouts and 3 3 minute sessions for 15 point bouts. In foil and epee, a fencer may very often use all of the time alloted to them, but in sabre, a five point bout rarely exceeds one minute.
