More about Fencing

Fencing

		History The history of fencing dates back to the about 1200 BC, where evidence of this sport was found on a carving located in Egypt. It has been practiced in many forms in various cultures since then. Swordsmanship has evolved through the ages of the short, wide swords favored by the Greeks and Romans, to the heavy two-handed broad swords in style during the age of chivalry. When gunpowder and firearms were invented, armor became obsolete, and lighter swords gained popularity as the sidearm of choice for European officers and gentlemen. Today this sport has become more reliant on individual technique, rather than rational fencing styles. New technology such as wireless scoring devices may change the sport of fencing in the future.
		Foil The foil is a light, steel, rectangular blade with a rubber tip on the point. It has a grip where you put your hand, and a bell guard, made of a light piece of steel, which protects your hand. Then there is the electric foil, which is heavier. A cord is connected to the bell guard of the electric foil, which is threaded through the jacket down to the machine. When you fence foil, you have to wear a white jacket, a chest protector, an arm protector (plastron), white knickers, and white socks that come to the knee. If you are fencing electric, you also have to wear an electric jacket, called a lame. The target, in which the fencer must hit in order to get a touch, is only on your torso. If the fencer hits any other part on your body it is considered off target. So they do not score a touch.
		Epee The epee is the heaviest and stiffest of all the weapons. The bell guard is larger than a foil, but it is shorter. The target is your whole body. Since there is no off target zone, if any touch hits, it is that persons point. There can be times in which both fencers touch, and therefore they both get a point. You only have to wear a jacket, chest protector, lame, knickers, and socks.
		Sabre The saber is longer than an epee, but much lighter. The target for saber is the torso, head, and arms. Hits could be scored by just slashing at the fencer, so you don’t necessarily have to directly hit the person in order to score a touch. The blade is rectangular near the bell guard, but thins out into a narrow strip with a button tip on the end. The bell guard is like a foil’s, but connects out onto the grip.
		Dry/Electrical Bout When you fence against another person it is called a bout. A bout lasts three minutes, and whoever gets the most touches scored at the end of the time, wins the bout. When you fence you fence on a strip. A strip is the official field of play. It is usually made of a cork, plastic, or rubber terrain. The strip is six feet wide, and 39 feet four inches long.
		There are seven lines drawn on the strip parallel to each other. In the middle of the strip there is the center line. Behind the center line there is the “en garde” line, on which the fencer must start. Then near the end of the strip there is the warning line which tells the fencer he/she is getting too close to the end. Finally there is the end line which
		terminates the field of play, and if the fencer goes past that line twice, the other fencer automatically gets a point. There is no electrical equipment needed in a dry bout. When you fence there is a referee, who directs the bout, standing on one side of the strip and another person, who signifies who gets the touch, standing on the other. In an electrical
		bout, which is used mostly in competitions, you have to put on your electrical equipment. On one side of you there is a referee, and on the other side of you there is the machine, which lights up when someone scores a touch. That is what dry and electrical bouts are. Now you will be ready for a competition.
		Competition When you go to a competition, there are usually 40-80 fencers there. The competitions last about nine hours or more, depending on the number of fencers. The directors put you on a strip into groups, or pools, of 6-7 fencers. There could be 4-10 strips going on at the same time. You will have to go against each of the fencers in your pool. The directors
		determine your score by how ever many bouts you’ve won, and how many touches you’ve scored. When all the pools are done, then the directors put all of the fencers in order based on where you placed in the pool. Then they pick one fencer to go against another for direct eliminations, or the DE rounds. The DE’s last 15 minutes, with three
		breaks in between every 5 minutes. When one fencer loses, they are done for the day. The other fencer who wins gets to go up in the rounds and gets to fence another person. When you go up in the DE’s, you get ratings. The highest rating is “A”, and the lowest is “E”. Make sure before a competition that you eat well and get plenty of rest.