by Joyful Lili

Created on: May 31, 2007

FENCE: because you only lose a duel to the death once.

The sport of fencing was initially developed in France in order to allow contestants to hone their skills and practice prior to actual combat.

Differentiated by blade, there are three types of fencing in modern tournaments: Foil, Epe, and Saber. Each weapon was developed to practice for a different kind of duel. So while there are some commonalities among the sports, they are quite easy to differentiate simply by knowing what the "real" fight was going to be in the end.

There are certain things that fencers of all three weapons have in common. Protective masks, jackets and other clothing to keep opponents from getting too badly hurt.

Olympic fencers wear jackets woven with Kevlar due to the speed and strength with which these athletes can move!

Modern fencing is scored electronically. Body-cords run through the fencer's jacket and sleeve to plug into the weapon, and plugged again into a retracting reel of cord (affectionately called "vacuum-cleaner-cords" by some). These reels sit at either end of the fencing strip and connect them to the score-box. The strip or "piste" is a marked area approximately 14m long and 1.5 - 2m wide that delineates the boundaries the fencers must stay within. The referee uses the red and green and white lights on the box to know who scored hits on or off target. The first fencer to obtain five points wins the bout.

FOIL

Foil fencing was initially developed as practice for a duel to the death.

For this reason, the target area on the opponent of a foil fencer is his torso. A jab in the knee will not score a point. Also because you would have to puncture your opponent into his vitals, a little tap will not score point one, nor will a swash-buckling style slashing motion. The foil is a light weapon, designed to move forward and into an opponent.

Foil fencers wear a silver lam vest over their protective jackets in order to identify their target. Competition foils are tipped with little sensors. Buttons that depress after sufficient pressure is applied to them. When the button depresses, and the tip of the foil is in contact with the metal of the lam, an electrical circuit is completed and an on-target hit is registered. If the button is depressed and the tip is not in contact with the target, another circuit completes and signals an off-target touch.

EPEE

Epe Fencing was intended to prepare a student for a duel to first blood.

Every part of an opponent is feasible target area except the bell

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