Fencing has a lot of rules, so we will briefly explain some of them here to make fencing and spectating more enjoyable for everyone.
There are three different weapons: the foil, the épée and the sabre. Our club starts people off with foil and later people may choose to begin épée or sabre. We will list some of the common rules, and then list rules specific to each weapon.
The main point of fencing is to hit your opponent on the target area and prevent yourself from being hit by your opponent. Fencing is usually done electrically, so a red or green light will come up when a fencer scores a hit (or a white light when there is a non valid hit in foil and sabre) which makes it easier to see who got the point. In competitions, there will be poule bouts, which is where everyone fences everyone else in their poule (or group). These bouts go up to three minutes or five points, whichever comes first. After this, all the fencers in the competition are sorted into best to worst, based on how they performed in their poule bouts. The best fencer fences the worst fencer, the second best fencer fences the second worst fencer, and so on. This continues until one person is left, who is the winner. A referee judges the bout, decides who has made the hit and makes sure neither fencer is infringing on the rules.
Rules for Foil
The foil is the lightest sword. In foil, a hit can be scored by hitting with the point of the sword on the opponent's target area, which is the torso. Both fencers wear a lamé which registers when a hit has been scored. In foil, if both fencers hit at the same time, the referee must decide who had the 'right of attack' ie. who attacked first and they will then get the point. An attack is when you are straightening your arm and are threatening your opponent by moving forwards. If an attack is parried or avoided, the person who parried now has the right of attack.
Rules for Épée
The épée is the heaviest sword. In épée a hit can be scored by hitting with the point of the sword on the opponent's target area, which, unlike the foil, is the whole body. Unlike in foil and sabre however, there is no right of attack. If both fencers hit simultaneously, they are both awarded a point, which is a double point. If both fencers are on match point, then no point will be awarded until one fencer scores a single hit.
Rules for Sabre
The sabre is a lightweight sword. In sabre, a hit can be scored by hitting with the point or edge of the sword on the opponent's target area, which is the entire area above the waist. Both fencers wear a lamé and conductive mask which registers when a hit has been scored. In sabre, like foil, if both fencers hit at the same, the referee must decide who had the 'right of attack' ie. who attacked first and they will then get the point.
Refereeing and more comprehensive understanding of the rules:
The rules listed above are only a brief summary of the most relevant rules. If you are looking at refereeing, or you want a more thorough understanding of the rules, the technical rulebook is here.
There are three different weapons: the foil, the épée and the sabre. Our club starts people off with foil and later people may choose to begin épée or sabre. We will list some of the common rules, and then list rules specific to each weapon.
The main point of fencing is to hit your opponent on the target area and prevent yourself from being hit by your opponent. Fencing is usually done electrically, so a red or green light will come up when a fencer scores a hit (or a white light when there is a non valid hit in foil and sabre) which makes it easier to see who got the point. In competitions, there will be poule bouts, which is where everyone fences everyone else in their poule (or group). These bouts go up to three minutes or five points, whichever comes first. After this, all the fencers in the competition are sorted into best to worst, based on how they performed in their poule bouts. The best fencer fences the worst fencer, the second best fencer fences the second worst fencer, and so on. This continues until one person is left, who is the winner. A referee judges the bout, decides who has made the hit and makes sure neither fencer is infringing on the rules.
Rules for Foil
The foil is the lightest sword. In foil, a hit can be scored by hitting with the point of the sword on the opponent's target area, which is the torso. Both fencers wear a lamé which registers when a hit has been scored. In foil, if both fencers hit at the same time, the referee must decide who had the 'right of attack' ie. who attacked first and they will then get the point. An attack is when you are straightening your arm and are threatening your opponent by moving forwards. If an attack is parried or avoided, the person who parried now has the right of attack.
Rules for Épée
The épée is the heaviest sword. In épée a hit can be scored by hitting with the point of the sword on the opponent's target area, which, unlike the foil, is the whole body. Unlike in foil and sabre however, there is no right of attack. If both fencers hit simultaneously, they are both awarded a point, which is a double point. If both fencers are on match point, then no point will be awarded until one fencer scores a single hit.
Rules for Sabre
The sabre is a lightweight sword. In sabre, a hit can be scored by hitting with the point or edge of the sword on the opponent's target area, which is the entire area above the waist. Both fencers wear a lamé and conductive mask which registers when a hit has been scored. In sabre, like foil, if both fencers hit at the same, the referee must decide who had the 'right of attack' ie. who attacked first and they will then get the point.
Refereeing and more comprehensive understanding of the rules:
The rules listed above are only a brief summary of the most relevant rules. If you are looking at refereeing, or you want a more thorough understanding of the rules, the technical rulebook is here.
HELPFUL LINKS
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