En Garde: An Introduction to Sport Fencing

Two men meet on a field of honor, their blades at ready. In a moment, they will be at each other, each trying desperately to find a weakness in their opponent's defense so that their blade might find it's mark. A signal is given, and the duel begins; a spectator has but a single question as the fight wears on. "What's with those funny pants?"

For a spectator, sport fencing might seem to be quite a confusing game. There aren't any teams to root for, and the action of the sport is more of a flurry of motion than most other sports; even the competitors themselves can seem confusing, as they're most likely dressed in almost the same outfits. Once you learn what is that you're watching, though, the excitement of fencing can become evident.

The first thing that you should know about fencing is the goal of the bouts. To put it simply, each competitor has a sword, and the pointy end goes into the other guy. In other words, the goal is to score points on the opponent, while preventing that same opponent from scoring points. Points are scored in different ways depending upon the weapon being used, but in the end the basic movements are the same.

And yes, before you ask, I did say that it depends upon the weapon being used. There are actually three weapons that can be used in sport fencing... the foil, the sabre, and the epee. The foil is straight and thin, and is the stereotypical fencing weapon; points are scored by making a hit with the tip of the weapon, anywhere on the torso of the body. The sabre is also long and thin, but has an added edge to it to simulate the cutting edge of a real sword. Sabres score points with either a hit by the point or by a hit from the "cutting edge" of the blade to the body from the waist up (including the arms and head.) The epee is the weapon that's designed to look the most like a rapier, with a wider tapered blade, and scores hits with the tip, anywhere on the body.