Fencing is the sport of sword-fighting. Along with athletics (track & field), cycling, gymnastics and swimming, fencing is one of the only five sports to be included in every one of the modern olympic games.
There are three weapons used in modern fencing. These are foil, épée and sabre. All three weapons have different rules and target areas on the body. This results in three very different, but equally interesting and challenging, branches of the sport.
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Foil
The first of these weapons is the foil. The foil is up to 1.05m long from the tip of the blade to the end of the handle. The blade has a square cross section and a small guard to protect the hand. The target area at foil consists of the area covering the torso and groin. Hits at foil are made with the tip only.
The foil was historically used by coaches to teach men to fight. It was blunted to prevent swordsmen accidentally killing their own teachers as they progressed.
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Épée
The next weapon is the épée. Like foil, hits at épée are made with the tip of the weapon only. The épée is slightly longer than the foil at a length of up to 1.1m. The blade has a triangular cross section and the hand is protected by a large, bell-shaped guard. The target area at épée consists of the whole of the body.
The modern épée dervies from the rapier, an ancient duelling weapon. The rapier was used by gentlemen to settle disputes over matters of honour prior to the introduction of the duelling pistols.
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Sabre
The sabre is quite different from the foil and épée. It is a cutting and thrusting weapon, meaning that hits may be made with any part of the blade. The sabre is 1.05m long from the tip to the end of the handle. Depending on the individual weapon, the cross section of the blade may be either I or Y shaped at the base, becoming flat towards the tip. Where the foil and épée have electric buttons on the tip (for detecting hits), sabre does not. For safety reasons, the tip of the weapon is folded back on itself. The sabre has a much larger guard, which curves around to protect both the hand and fingers. The target area at sabre covers the body above the waist, including arms and head, but not the hands or fingers.
Whilst sabres have been used historically by cavalry, the modern fencing sabre actually derives from an Hungarian duelling weapon of the same name, incorporating elements from the French and Italian schools of swordmaking.The foil was historically used by coaches to teach men to fight.
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