How It's Used

"The three swords used in the men's fencing competitions are the epee, foil and sabre, and both team and individual competitions are held in each. For the women, only individual and team competitions in the foil are held.

"The foil has a flexible, rectangular blade and a blunt point. Touches must be made between the collar and the hips. The epee has a rigid triangular blade with a point that is covered by a cone with barbed points. Touches may be made on any part of the body. The sabre is a flexible triangular blade with a blunt point. Both the point and the cutting edges can be used to score touches, which must be made above the waist.

"Competitors try to touch their opponent five times to win a match. The fencers wear an electronic chest plate that gives off an automatic signal every time they are touched by the metal sword."

—"Mini-Guide to Many Sports: Who to Watch; How to Watch," The Washington Post, July 20, 1984.

"The foil, one of three swords used in Olympic fencing, is a light, flexible weapon wielded with precision by U.S. team members Felicia Zimmermann and Ann Marsh...

"The foil, a modern version of the dueling rapier, typically weighs less than a pound. It has a flexible, rectangular blade with a blunt point. Scoring touches must be made with the point on the torso, shoulders to groin. In epee, the sword is about 27 ounces, with a rigid, triangular blade. Touches can be made on any part of the body. The sabre, a modern version of the cavalry sword, has a flexible, triangular blade with a blunt point. The point and edge can be used to score touches, which must be made on the body above the waist."

—"Footwork, speed score Keeping out of touch the way to get ahead," USA Today, July 3, 1996.

"There are three swords in standard fencing — the foil, the epee and the saber. Fencers thrust with the foil and the epee; with the saber, they also cut. Richard Wills, a fencer who's in middle school, held a saber in the Montville gym. 'It's like a pirate sword,' he said."

—Carolyn B, "Lessons in Guile Served Up on the Piste," The New York Times, July 27, 1997.

"In a sport of fluctuating fortunes (the foil is the lightest of the three swords), Ukraine's Sergei Golubitsky last year became the first fencer to win three straight world titles. His chief rival will be world No. 1 Ralf Bissdorf, of Germany."

—"Sydney's Games: A Bluffer's Guide It looks easier to qualify for the Olympics than to stay in touch with dozens of events and more than 10,000 competitors. Take the lazy route to sporting scholarship with our up-to-the-minute crib sheet," Time, September 18, 2000.

“Each one of the weapons—foils, épée, and saber—has its own personality. The foil, used only as a thrusting weapon, is the most popular. Since its one target—the torso—is small and you can only score with the tip, foil fencers move gracefully to set up their opponent for a touch. Westbrook compares foil to ballet.

“Épée is a more classic dueling weapon. The target extends from head to toe, and the blade hardly bends. Since even tapping the épée point on the wrist scores a point, épée fencers have to calculate their moves so they don’t get hit while launching an attack. The action is not as fast as with other weapons, but involves a lot of strategy.

“Saber fencing, which is my choice, has the most violent action. The target is from the waist up, and it’s the only weapon that can score a touch with its point or edge. Saber fencers wear a lot of bruises, despite their layers of protection. A saber bout is as close as fencing gets to the Errol Flynn-style of swordplay we’ve all seen in the movies. ‘Saber fencers are a little more wild-spirited, a little crazy,’ says Westbrook.”

—David Welch, “Thrust and Parry, Anyone? The joys—and health benefits—of learning to fence,” Business Week, October 15, 2001, p. 127.

Links

Related on eAlmanac
Double-Edged Sword

Beyond eAlmanac
Wikipedia article on Fencing
How Stuff Works articles on Fencing
Fencing.net Web site