Photo by John Sheahan

WHAT IS FENCING

Fencing is an exciting & dynamic sport that requires athletes who possess good coordination, balance & timing. Participation in competitive fencing builds skills in problem solving, time management & goal-setting while at the same time providing a unique physical challenge for young athletes. It is an Olympic, Pan-American, Canada Winter Games, & Ontario Winter Games sport offering many opportunities for young Canadian athletes to pursue competitive fencing at all levels from provincial to international.

In the early stages of a fencer's career, he/she will learn the sport primarily during group practices. A typical practice may include a warm-up, fencing-specific physical training, footwork drills, bladework training done with a partner or in a group line lesson with the coach, and finally sparring.

As a fencer progresses in skill, he/she will eventually need to take individual lessons with the coach. These one-on-one training sessions can vary in length (from 20 to 60 minutes) and intensity depending on the goal of the lesson. An individual lesson may focus on teaching specific technical skills, training the athlete to perform these skills in different tactical environments (offense, defense or counter-offense), or on preparing the athlete for competition by more closely simulating an actual bouting scenario. These individual training sessions are crucial for the athlete who wants to progress and compete at a high level. 

The typical fencing season for most begins in late August or early September and finishes at the end of May. During the summer 'off-season', the athlete may enjoy some down-time from fencing by participating in another sport, work on their physical conditioning, which the coach can help to plan, and attend summer training camps. The serious athlete will continue to train with the coach during the summer months as well, although at a much lower intensity.

Elite athletes however, will have very little time away from the sport, as they do not want to lose the technical skills that they have acquired during the season. Senior athletes may also continue to compete in international competitions such as World Cups during the summer.

 There are three different fencing disciplines: epée, sabre, & foil each having its own unique characteristics & rules.

Epée

The epee is the longest and heaviest of the three weapons. This sword is the closest of the modern fencing weapons to the rapier, which was the most commonly used sword for dueling. In modern epee fencing, hits are scored with the tip or end of the blade only. All epees used in competition are wired for electronic scoring & have blunted sprung metal tips.

The entire body from head to toe is considered valid target in epee. If the point of the epee is depressed on any part of the body with sufficient force (750 grams of pressure), a valid hit will be registered on the scoring apparatus.

In epee, the fencer that hits first scores the point. Should both fencers hit each other within 1/25 of a second of one another, then they are both awarded one point. Epee is the only event in fencing to allow hits to be scored to the legs and feet. The majority of hits however, are scored to the weapon arm & wrist, due to the close distance of these targets.

Sabre

In the history of fencing, the sabre was traditionally used as a cavalry weapon, wielded while on horseback. In modern sabre fencing, hits are scored primarily with the side or 'cutting' edge of the blade, but can also be made with the tip. The edges of the sabre blade are dull & the tip is rolled over so that there are no sharp surfaces that can cut the fencers.

The valid target area in sabre is defined as any part of the body from the waist up, including the arms & head. A special electric jacket, mask & glove are worn to define the target for competition. The electric mask, jacket & glove are made of a conductive, metallic material. When the sabre blade makes contact on the conductive material, a valid hit will be registered on the scoring apparatus. Only hits made to the valid target area can score points. Hits scored to other parts of the body are referred to as 'off-target' hits, and do not score points.

Scoring in sabre is also governed by the rule of 'priority'. The fencer who first initiates an attack by extending the weapon arm forward towards the opponent is the one with priority. If a fencer whose opponent has priority, wants to score a hit, he/she must defend against the original attack prior to initiating his/her own attack. A referee is used to control the bout and determine which fencer has priority. Once priority has been determined, he/she then refers to the scoring apparatus to determine whether the hit scored by the fencer with priority was a valid on-target hit.