Likewise, stage fencing - the practice of representing sword-fights in stage or even screen; academic fencing - a form of ritualised combat good by occasionally German student fraternities.

For definitions of a fencing nomenclature utilized therein article, understand the glossary.

Etymology

From either fence - the shortening of the Middle English defens, from Latin defensum "thing protected or forbidden", from either defendere "ward off, protect," from either de- "from, away" + fendere "to strike, push". [http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=fence]

Number one utilized witharound writing as a verb in information to swordsmanship by Shakespeare, in The Merry Wives of Windsor (1598): "Alas sir, I cannot fence." [http://dictionary.oed.com/]

The emergence of modern fencing
Fencing may be traced at least when far back when Ancient Egypt. the earliest known depiction of the fencing bout, complete sustaining practice weapons, safety kit, judges & a score-card, occurs as relief in a temple touching Luxor built by Rameses III around 1190 BC. [http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0812969669/ref=pd_bxgy_img_2/103-9320701-9920669?v=glance&s=books] A Greeks and Romans had systems of martial arts and military machine how to videos that involved swordsmanship, & fencing-schools and sales person champions were known throughout mediaeval Europe, a earliest living record of American techniques of fencing is the manuscript called MS I.33, which was created in southern Germany c. 1300 & now lives at a Royal Armouries around Leeds. Throughout a Middle Ages, masters continued to teach systems for using the sword (together by having more weapons & grappling) to nobleman & non-noble like. a wearing of a br& by having civilian dress (the custom that experienced begun inside late fifteenth-century Spain) step by step produce to a fresh body of civilian swordsmanship depending other on the click than on the cut, sustaining the aim existence to keep the antagonist at a few feet away by having the point, and slay him there. This produce to systems of using the sixteenth- & seventeenth-century rapier & the seventeenth-and-eighteenth century smallsword. Though br& ceased to exist as an article of everyday dress when a French Revolution, it continued to become utilized inside warfare & to resolve disputes of honour within formal duels through a nineteenth century and into the twentieth.

Though antagonistic competition within fencing is when old when a art itself, a modern sport of fencing originated in the number one Olympic games in 1896. A 1st couple of years of fencing as a sport were chaotic, using crucial rule disagreements among schools of fencing from either different countries, notably a French & Italian schools. This state of affairs ended around 1913, by having a foundation of the ''Fédération Internationale d'Escrime (FIE) in Paris. A declared purpose of a FIE is to codify & regulate the practice of the sport of fencing, particularly for the purpose of international competition. A foundation of a FIE occurs as ready to h& breaking point between a serious music and the modern traditions of fencing.

Fencing philosophies
There are iv just about autonomous directions inside contemporary fencing:

Sports fencing, besides understand when Olympic fencing. This is a kind of fencing smart shoppers may understand around virtually all competitions (including the Olympic Games). These are conducted based on data from a system placed down per FIE (a international establishment), which are then rougly according to the conventions of "practice" fencing developed around XVII-XVIIIcc (so the means of preparing for the duel). Because of technical indicator developments & ideologic disagreements, these system come subject to frequent revisions & ammendments.

classical fencing This type of fencing usually attracts population world health organization sense that contemporary sports fencing has strayed as well far from either its martial art origins. A select few practician try to reconstruct old European systems of armed combat. Others single advocate the link to to an earliest placed of conventions inside sports fencing.

Historical fencing This type of fencing is according to a act of historical texts & traditions. Historical fencing might include longsword, lone-single-handedly cutting br&, pole arms, tuck and several more forms.

Stage fencing (fifty'escrime artistique). On text, a purpose is to achieve a maximal theatrical impact. Fights come, usually, choreographed, & fencing actions come somewhat exaggerated. These are non an exclusive preserve of actors & stuntmen - a bit of humans run know as a hobby.

Academic fencing. This occurs as German student tradition. Around several ways, these are similar to sports fencing: a combat requires place within accordance by having a strictly delineate placed of conventions, it involves specially intentional weapons & hard devices, & the ultimate goal is the development of private character nature & severity and morale. a difference is that a weapons have a acutely edge, & the loser is the foremost of these to bleed.

SCA fencing Fencing as conducted by members of the SCA (Society for Creative Anachronism) generally trying to fence around the pre 1600s fashion while however utilizing modern fencing safety devices, ordinarily disguised to pass when time wearable.

The weapons
Around each its modern & its authoritative pretense, fencing consists of tercet different weapons: foil, Épée and sabre. These trine weapons got turn into standard per late nineteenth century & a lot come represented at Olympic-level competition. inside addition, in definitive academies, a single might typically call for historical fencing weapons, such as grande canne, Main gauche'' or rapier-and-dagger, being taught.

Foil utilized to become a number one weapon taught to beginners, because a techniques of foil teach, inside abstract form, a first harmonic of fencing. In addition, it used to be that, women were sole allowed to fence foil, & a lightness of the weapon manufactured it gentler to cover for toddlers. In todays world, when these are typically advised to benefit at least the fundamental grasp of foil, swordsman typically commence by owning any of the ternion weapons.

Anatomy of the weapons
When a weapons swordsman have differ within size & purpose occasionally basic area of a weapon remain constant throughout the disciplines. a pommel, a weighted piece of metal at the prevent of the hold, called a grip, that holds the blade & address together when providing a counter-balance to the weight of the blade (around actual combat situations, the pommel can be utilized as a rather bludgeon). A grip may be one of troika types: French, Italian, or even side arm grip. A French grip is contoured to a curve of the h& and resembles within utilize the handgrip of virtually all brand. a Italian grip is similar to a French by having the addition of a metal bar across which the fingers slide; this grip has get archaic due to the total of torsion it web pages on the radiocarpal joint. the side arm grip (otherwise called the anatomical reference or even orthopedical grip), originally developed for a nineteenth-century Belgian master world health organization got misplaced fingers around a tram accident, contours completely to 1's h& and is held lot such as a handgun, hence the title. A guard separates a grip from either a blade & will bring protection for the hand.

Foil
A modern foil is descended from a educational videos weapon for the small-sword, the most common sidearm of the eighteenth-century gentleman. Notwithstanding, it has long ago been altered to exist as similar within length to the épée (averaging 35" or 890 mm). (Rapier and even longsword foils are also known to have been used but they were very different in terms of weight and use.) It is a light weapon, with a tapered, flexible, quadrangular blade, that scores only with the point. (In modern sport fencing, which makes use of electrical scoring apparatus, one must hit the opponent with the tip of the blade, with a force of at least 4.90 newtons (500 grams-force).)

The valid target area at foil is limited, due to its origins in a time when fencing was practised with limited safety equipment. Hits to the face were dangerous, so the head was removed from valid target. The target was then further reduced to only the trunk of the body, where the vitals are located. A touch which lands on a invalid target stops the bout, but no point is scored.

During the eighties began the overwhelming trend of "flicking," a move with which the fencer whipped his/her blade in such a manner that it bended almost to a square angle in midair, the point hitting the opponent only afterwards. If executed properly, this move had the ability to bypass most classical parries, and to hit in unusual or difficult places (such as the back). This technique not only made the traditional "correct-of-way" rules dependent on very subjective interpretations, but also made foil play lose all the resemblance of small-sword training that gave it historical substance. To circumvent this, in 2005 the FIE changed the "depression timing" of the tip. This caused most "flick touches" to be no longer detected by the scoring machines, thus favouring more classical, straight thrusts.

Épée
The modern épée is the closest weapon to an actual classical duelling weapon that is used in modern fencing, either descended from or inspired by the small sword as it had developed by the 18th Century. The épée is a long, straight and relatively heavy sword as compared to the foil, with a triangular, less flexible blade and a large, round, bell-shaped guard.

Like the foil, the épée is a point weapon. The reason for the large guard is that the hand is valid target, as is the rest of the body. Since double-touches are a possibility — and, since there is no right-of-way (see below) — épée fencing tends to be more conservative in style than the other weapons. In electric fencing, in order for a point to register, one must hit the opponent with the point, registering at least 7.35 newtons (750 grams-force) of force. Classical fencers sometimes use a ''point d'arret'', a three-pronged attachment that will actually catch the opponent's jacket.

Sabre
The modern sabre is descended from the classical northern Italian duelling sabre, a far lighter weapon than the cavalry sabre. The method and practice of sabre fencing is somewhat different from the other weapons, in that the sabre is an edged weapon. In modern electric scoring, a touch with the sabre, point, flat or edge, to any part of the opponent's valid target (head, torso, or arm) will register a hit.

The target area originates from duelling sabre training. To attack the opponent's leg would allow him to "slip" that leg back and attack one's exposed arm or head given that the higher line attack will outreach the low line (there is a classic example of the leg slip in Angelo's Hungarian and Highland Broadsword of 1790). The target area is from the waist up excluding the hands. Right-of-way applies, much as it does to foil.

A common misconception concerning the origin of sabre's target area is that the legs are removed as targets due to sabre's origin as a cavalry weapon. Essentially, the legs of a horseman were not a valid target in war, since cutting the leg of a man riding a horse would not stop that man from continuing his charge. This myth has largely been refuted and several older texts demonstrate low sabre parries to protect the mount's flanks and the fencer's legs. For more information on this topic consult Christoph Amberger's book "The Secret History of the Steel".

Right of way
The "right of way" principle in foil and sabre is that the first person to properly execute an attack has priority. Simply put, if one is attacked, one must defend oneself before counterattacking -- rather than attempting to hit one's opponent even at the risk of being hit oneself. Attacks can be made to fail either by bad luck, misjudgement or by action on the part of the defender. A properly executed parry (deflecting the incoming attack with one's own blade) causes priority to change and the defender has the opportunity to attack (riposte). The original attacker must counterparry the defender's riposte before attacking again, but if the parry is ineffectual (malparry, or counter parry), if the riposte misses, or the defender hesitates before riposting, the attacker can continue his attack (this can be called a remise, a reprise or a redoublement) without counterparrying. None of these actions (remise reprise or redoublment) has the right of way so if the defending fencer hesitates that will be called a counterattack and will receive the touch.

For instance, if one fencer attacks, and the other immediately counter-attacks into the attack, and each hits the other, the first fencer's attack is considered successful, while the second is considered to have misjudged. If, however, the second fencer parried the first attack and then responded with an attack of his own (or if he had counter-attacked and managed to avoid being touched), they would have taken the right of way away from the first fencer. It would then be incumbent on the first fencer to defend him - or her - self.

When electrical scoring equipment is used in the modern sports of foil and sabre,(there is electrical epee scoring as well) both fencers will register a hit if they contact within a certain time of each other. Then the referee must decide who had right of way at the time of the hits, and therefore who gets a point. If the referee cannot tell, then he will declare the touches null, and restart the bout from where it stopped.

Double hits are possible in épée as well, but only if both fencers contact within a very short timeframe (40 milliseconds, or 1/25th of a second). In this case, both fencers will receive a point.

Protective clothing
The clothing which is worn in modern fencing is made of tough cotton or nylon. Kevlar was previously used but found insufficiently durable. The complete fencing kit includes the following items of clothing:

Form-fitting jacket, covering groin and with strap (croissard) which goes between the legs Half jacket (plastron) which goes underneath the jacket and provides double protection on the sword arm side and upper arm. It is required not to have a seam in the armpit, which would line up with the jacket seam and provide a weak spot. Glove, which prevents swords going up the sleeve and causing injury, as well as protecting the hand and providing a good grip Breeches (knickers), to below the knee Knee-length socks Mask, including bib which protects the neck Chest protector, typically worn by female fencers to protect the breasts. Versions for male fencers are also available.

Traditionally, the uniform is white in colour, to assist the judges in seeing touches scored (black being the traditional colour for masters). However, recently the FIE rules have been relaxed to allow coloured uniforms. The colour white might also be traced back to times before electronic scoring equipment, when the blades were sometimes covered in soot or coloured chalk to make a mark on the opponent's clothing.

The practice of fencing
Fencing takes place on a strip, or piste, with two fencers facing one another. In modern fencing, the piste is between 1.5 and 2 meters wide, and 14 meters long. There are designated points on the fencing strip; there is the en guard line (this is where the fencers start), the center line, the two meter warning lines and the end of the strip. Prior to starting a bout it is required for fencers to salute each other as well as the director. Fencers technically must also salute the audience, but this is often not enforced. Some fencers choose to salute various other things (e.g. God). The fencer's salute has traditonally consisted of the blade going vertically before the fencer saluting with the belgard at face level and back to en garde position, however, in recent fencing, a great deal of variance has emerged, with some fencers merely raising the blade toward their salutee, while others have incorporated elaborate motions, such as flourishes or crossing motions. Opponents start in the middle of the piste, 4 metres apart, in the en garde position.

A referee (formerly called president of jury, or director) presides over the contest, called a "bout." The referee's duties include keeping score, keeping time (sabre is usually fenced untimed because it moves very quickly), awarding points and maintaining the order of the bout. Often, another person will keep score or time. He or she stands on one side of the piste, watching the bout.

There are many types of modern fencing bouts, but in the two most common formats, the first fencer to score either 5 or 15 touches is declared the winner.

Modern fencing also includes the addition of cards/flags (or penalties). In foil and sabre, yellow cards are awarded for bodily contact between opponents - the penalty going to the aggressor. Two yellow cards equals one red card, and a touch for the opponent. Black cards can mean disqualification and are given out for overtly aggressive actions such as beating one's opponent with the pommel of the sword as well as breaches of protocol such as failure to salute.

It is also possible to fence "in the around," meaning that the bout takes place in a circular or square area instead of on a strip, and fencers can circle in addition to moving forward or backward. This style of fencing is mostly practised today by the SCA and does not exist in FIE tournaments.

Electronic scoring equipment
Electronic scoring is used in all major national and international, and most local, sport competitions. (Classical fencing does not use such devices, as classical fencers feel that such devices hurt the practice of the art.) The electrical scoring system requires additional clothing for foil and sabre: Foil fencers wear a conducting vest which covers the torso and groin. Sabre fencers wear a conducting jacket, mask, and a special sabre glove or manchette that goes over a regular glove, which is conducting up to but not exceeding the wrist. Fencers used to wear a gauntlet (wrist/forearm cuff) before the weapon hand became off-target. In both weapons, the fencers' weapons are also wired. When a fencer scores a touch on an opponent, this completes an electric circuit which turns on a light and an audible alarm to notify the referee that a touch has been scored. The referee observes the fencers and the scoring machine to determine which fencer has the right-of-way.

In épée and foil, the fencers carry special weapons with compressible tips. When a touch is scored, the tip of the weapon compresses, completing a circuit and signalling a touch. In foil fencing, the competitors wear special conductive vests covering the target area that allows a "valid" circuit to be completed, and a coloured light (usually red or green) turns on. If the touch lands off of the valid target area, an "off target" circuit is completed, and a white light turns on. In épée fencing, since target area is the entire body, the fencers do not wear special conductive clothing. In both, the strip itself must be grounded, to prevent a touch from scoring when the tip of a weapon hits the strip (as opposed to striking the opponent's toe, for example). In epee it is considered "illegal" to strike the floor next to the strip to make the light go on since the floor is not grounded out. This action would receive a yellow card.

Fencers connect their weapons to the scoring apparatus via a bodywire, which is threaded from a socket in the guard of the weapon, up the sleeve of the jacket and down to the waist. A spring-loaded spool of cable, placed at the end of the piste, then connects to this bodywire. The springs in the spool ensure that the wiring extends taut from the fencer's waist to the rear of the piste, and doesn't interfere with the fencer's movements. The same effect is sometimes produced by a series of overhead wires connected by elastic instead of a spool on the ground.

The electronic scoring system caused an unexpected side effect in foil: touches can be scored by using the blade like a whip and depressing the tip on the back and other obscured target areas on an opponent. The F.I.E. recently adopted rules intended to remove this anomaly by changing how long you must hold the tip on valid target. The rule changes have been controversial, primarily on two accounts: some argue that "flicks" or "whip-hits" are a valid method of scoring a touch, and others contend that the changes cause scoring anomalies where touchs which have obviously landed do not register. If their intention was to remove the flick, they have been only partly successful, as they are still possible, albeit more difficult. However, there has also been recent speculation that the change in depression timing was a direct result of the ambiguity of Right of Way. Changing the times and removing the flick makes it easier for referees to have less ambiguity in their decisions.

Recently, reel-less gear has been adopted for sabre at top competitions, including the Athens Olympics. In this system, which dispenses with the spool, the lights to indicate touches are mounted on the fencers' mask. FIE regulations prohibit the use of transmitters in official scoring equipment to prevent cheating; however, extension lights may be wirelessly connected to the fencers so long as the wired lights (on the fencers themselves) remain the official indicators. Plans for reel-less épée and foil have not yet been adopted.

Whenever possible, organizers use a metal mesh or panels to electrically ground the piste, although this is not always possible for small competitions. Each competitor's coquille (hand guard) is always grounded, as it is often hit when trying to strike at an opponent's hand. This allows the scoring apparatus to ignore touches on both items.

Electronic scoring was introduced to épée in 1936, to foil in 1957, and to sabre in 1988.

Non-electronic scoring
Prior to the introduction of electronic scoring equipment, the president of jury was assisted by four judges. Two judges were positioned behind each fencer, one on each side of the strip. The judges watched the fencer opposite to see if he was hit.

When a judge thought he saw a hit, he raised his hand. The president (referee) then stopped the bout and polled the judges to determine whether there was a touch, and (in foil and sabre) whether the touch was valid or invalid. Each judge had one vote, and the president had one and a half votes. Thus, two judges could overrule the president; but if the judges disagreed, or if one judge abstained, the president's opinion ruled.

Épée fencing was later conducted with red dye on the tip, easily seen on the white uniform. As a bout went on, if a touch was seen, a red mark would appear. Between the halts of the director, judges would inspect each fencer for any red marks. Once one was found, it was circled in a dark pencil to show that it had been already counted. The red dye was not easily removed, preventing any cheating. The only way to remove it was through certain acids such as vinegar. Thus, épée fencers became renowned for their reek of vinegar until the invention of electronic equipment.

Notable modern fencers and fencing masters
Aldo Nadi, gold and silver medallist in the 1920 Summer Olympic Games, well-known fencing master, and author of the classic texts, On Fencing and "A Dwelling Steel". Nedo Nadi, Aldo's brother and winner of 6 Olympic Gold medals Italo Santelli, the fencing master who revolutionized sabre fencing with the "Hungarian" style in the 1920s. Aladar Gerevich - Hungarian sabreur who is the only athlete to win the same Olympic event six times. Giorgio Santelli, Italo's son, founder of the Santelli salle in New York City, coach to 5 U.S. Olympic teams, legendary fencing teacher, Olympic gold medallist. Laszlo Szabo, the Hungarian master who defined a system for developing coaches and wrote the defining Fencing and the Master, the only direct student of the legendary Italo Santelli to write of what he learned. Teacher of Olympic and World champions. Imre Vass, who authored the definitive guide to épée fencing David Tyshler - a member of the first generation of internationally successful Soviet fencers, best known for his achievements as a coach, one of the great theorists of the Soviet school of fencing Mark Rakita - a Soviet sabreur, Olympic Gold medalist, David Tyshler's pupil and a highly successful coach in his own right (pupils include Victor Krovopouskov and Victor Sidjak) Vladimir Nazlymov - Soviet sabre fencer/coach, 10-time world champion, three-time Olympic Team Gold medallist (1968, 1976, 1980). Twice named the world's best sabre fencer by the International Fencing Federation. Currently, head fencing coach of The Ohio State University fencing team. Viktor Krovopouskov - a Soviet sabreur, four-time Olympic Gold medalist Viktor Sidjak - a Soviet sabreur, four-time Olympic Gold medalist Bela Valter, Hungarian master and Olympic coach Pavel Kolobkov, Russian World Champion and Olympic Champion Sergei Golubitsky, World foil champion three consecutive times Alexander Romankov Francis Zold (1904-2003), Hungarian fencing master and a legendary promoter and teacher of fencing in the post-war US; a student of Italo Santelli, he served as captain of the Hungarian fencing team at the London Olympics in 1948. He emigrated to the United States following the Soviet invasion of Hungary in 1956 and worked as a fencing coach at a number of colleges and universities, including the University of Southern California and Pomona College in Claremont, CA. He died in 2003 at the age of 99. Edoardo Mangiarotti of Italy has won more Olympic titles and World championships than any other fencer in the history of the sport. Boris Onischenko, Russian modern pentathlete, individual silver medallist and team gold medallist in 1972, disqualified in 1976 for using a rigged weapon.

Notable United States fencers and fencing masters
Peter Westbrook, bronze medallist in the 1984 Summer Olympic Games, 13-time US National Men's Sabre Champion, author of Harnessing Anger, founder of the Peter Westbrook Foundation, teaching and helping youth through sport. Michael Marx Sharon Monplasir Ed Korfanty, U.S. National women's sabre team coach, formerly Polish national coach, coach to 7 x Jr. World Sabre Champion Mariel Zagunis, 2004 Cadet Sabre champion, Caitlan Thomas, U.S. World Champion sabre team of Chris Becker, Mariel Zagunis, Sada Jacobson, Nicole Mustilli. Coach to 2004 Olympic Gold medallist Mariel Zagunis. 2003 World Veterans Champion in Men's sabre. Keeth Smart, first American to be ranked #1 in the World, member of 2004 gold medal US Men's Sabre team at World Cup Mariel Zagunis, gold medallist in the first ever Women's Sabre event at the 2004 Summer Olympic Games in Sabre; first American woman to win gold; first American to win gold since 1904 Sada Jacobson, bronze medallist in the 2004 Summer Olympic Games in Sabre; first American female to be ranked #1 in the world, and only the second American ever to be ranked #1 Albert Axelrod, bronze medallist in the 1960 Summer Olympic Games in Foil Janice Romary, 1948, 1952, 1956, 1960, 1964, 1968 Olympian U.S. Foil Fencer Michael D'Asaro Sr. Csaba Elthes, legendary coach to 6 U.S. Olympic teams, immigrated from Hungary Daniel Bukantz, Olympian U.S. Foil Fencer Gay Jacobson D'Asaro, 1976, 1980 Olympian U.S. Women's Foil Fencer

Notable classical or historical fencers and fencing masters
Adam A. Crown William Gaugler Sean Hayes Ramon Martinez Nick Evangelista Chris Umbs David Achilleus Andrea Lupo Sinclair Paul MacDonald Neville Gawley Alberto Bomprezzi Keith Beattie Camillo Agrippa

National Governing Bodies
New Zealand

In New Zealand, the sport of fencing is governed by Fencing New Zealand (FeNZ)

Mexico

In Mexico, the sport of fencing is governed by the Federacion Mexicana de Esgrima(FME). Clubs affiliate to each state's association, who are affiliated with the FME.

United States

In the United States, the sport of fencing is governed by the United States Fencing Association (USFA).

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, fencing is governed by the British Fencing Association (BFA). The 'Home Nations' of Wales, England, Northern Ireland and Scotland have their own governing bodies under the auspices of the BFA: [http://www.welshfencing.org Welsh Fencing], [http://www.englandfencing.co.uk England Fencing], the [http://www.nifu.co.uk Northern Ireland Fencing Union] and [http://www.scottish-fencing.com Scottish Fencing] respectively.

Collegiate Fencing
Colligiate fencing has existed for a long time in the US. Some of the earliest programs came from the Ivy League schools, but now there are over a hundred fencing programs nation wide. Both clubs and varsity teams participate in the sport, however only the varsity teams may participate in the NCAA championship tournament. Due to the lack of schools in fencing, the teams actually fence inter-divison (teams from DIII fence teams from DI), and all divisions participate in the NCAA Championships. In 2005 Notre Dame edged out Ohio State to win the championship.

List of NCAA Fencing Schools List of club-level US collegiate fencing programs