What is sword fencing?

Historically, the skilful and vigorous use of long-bladed edged and pointed weapons for defence and attack, sometimes to the death.

Today, the skilful and vigorous use of long-bladed edged and pointed weapons for recreation, fitness and enjoyment.

From left to right French grip epee sabre pistol grip epee.

Two close ups of an electric pistol grip epee with body wire.

Fencing Philosophy

So, the fencing master took a piece of paper and with a pencil drew two lines on it, one shorter than the other. He gave the pencil to the pupil and asked him to make the two lines equal. The pupil studies the lines, then drew a cut across the longer line, to make it the same size as the shorter one.

The fencing master rubbed out both lines with an eraser, after which drew the two lines again, once more one being shorter than the other. He then placed the pencil tip at one end of the shorter line and drew a line which extended it until it was as long as the other line, paused, then he kept the pencil on the paper and drew the line a little longer. The shorter line was longer than the other line, without trying to cut the longer line.

Moral: concentrate on improving your game (or lengthening your line) and do not constantly seek to find fault in your opponent. Extend yourself.

The visit to the sword fencing academy.

A famous sword fencing academy was located in Europe and a man who was interested in sword fencing asked to be allowed to visit it, to observe the finest swordsmen and swordswomen. He was granted permission and arrived at the academy at the beginning of the week.

He first saw a very mature sword fencer, wearing the full kit, looking very serious, giving instruction to a group of young fencers, who were vigorously practising the moves which he described to them.

He later saw a young fencer who was practising on his own, apparently without any instruction and very gently.

The visitor approached the chief fencing master and said: "I do not need to see much more than the older man tutoring the group of young sword fencers. Clearly he knows what he is doing and is the expert."

The chief fencing master replied: "Although that instructor has been at the academy for 40 years, he has never grasped the true nature of sword fencing. If you want to see someone practising sword fencing as an art, take a look at that young fencer who is making spirals with his weapon in the air. In three months he has learned more about the spirit of sword fencing than the experienced coach."

Moral: appearances can be deceptive. Study all sword fencers carefully, especially those against whom you will fence. Assume nothing, take nothing for granted.

The grand sword fencing master.

There was a sword fencing master who was the acknowledged champion of all sword fencers. He had beaten all comes from every corner of the globe. So after a while, he became bored with beating everyone.

"I know all there is to know about fencing," he said to himself. "In order to give me fresh fencing challenges, I will invent a new rule weapon. I will call it the sabfopee. It will have the blade of a sabre crossed with that of an epee, plus the guard of a foil. Only the torso will be a valid target area. That should prevent me from becoming bored and I should be able to fence with opponents for several years, before I master that weapon and beat them all."

That afternoon, a novice fencer walked into the fencing hall at which the grand sword fencing master was practising. The novice challenged the grand master to a bout with foil. In less than five minutes the novice had beaten the grand master, 5-0. The grand master was astonished and scrapped the designs for the sabfopee and began relearning his sword fencing skills with the traditional weapons.

Moral: no matter how good you think you are at sword fencing, there may be someone out there who is better than you. Never take your skill for granted. Never underestimate your opponent.

WHAT EQUIPMENT DO WE USE?

Chest or breast protector, a solid covering for the soft part of the upper body, usually worn by women as an addition to the under plastron;

Jacket, the indispensable garment which protects the upper body and the groin;

Breeches, which protect the groin and the legs to the knees, although many sword fencers prefer to wear loose fitting tracksuit or jogging trousers;

Glove, for the sword hand, which is padded to protect the hand.

Not essential but desirable are:

Socks, thicker at the front, if breeches are worn;

Sword fencing shoes, which are trainers with flat soles and special curved grips.

The weapons.

There are three types of swords:

Foil. This has a thin blade with a point at the end. It is regarded as the most elegant of the sword fencing weapons and is said to be the descendant of the swords which gentlemen is previous centuries used to settle matters of honour, by duels. It is a stabbing or thrusting weapon. The guard which protects the hand is quite small and saucer shaped. Points are scored during a bout by hitting the tip of the foil on a designated target area of the opponent, namely the torso (including the groin) and the back to the waist.

The grip or handle can be of various kinds, but the most common is either French, like a cylinder, or pistol ,like the handle and trigger of a hand gun.

Epee. This has a heavy blade which has a single V-shaped groove running the full length of it, with a point at the end. It is a stabbing or thrusting weapon which historically was used to kill opponents in serious duels to the death. The guard is large and cup or bell shaped and protects the hand well. Points are scored during a bout by hitting the tip of the epee on any part of the opponent's body, right from the toes, up to the head, including all parts in between.

The grip can be of various kinds, as for the foil.

Sabre. This has a medium weight blade with an edge, as well as a point at the end. It is the only one of the three swords which can be used both to stab and to slash, or to cut and to thrust. It has a curved guard of the basket hilt variety which gives very good protection to the hand. Points are scored during a bout by hitting the tip or the edge of the sabre on a designated target area of the opponent, comprising the torso, the back, the mask and the arms.

The grip is really only French, due to both the shape of the guard and to the nature of sabre sword fencing, although it is theoretically possible to have a pistol grip.

All three weapons are used when sword fencing at Loughton Fencing Club, although not always on the same night. There is considerable freedom of choice, although an evening might usually start with foil sword fencing, followed by a change to sabre sword fencing and if time permits, a bout or two of epee sword fencing. However, individuals may usually chose to fence with any weapons in any order.

Electric and steam (or dry) weapons.

In order to improve the accuracy and fairness of sword fencing bouts and competitions, electric scoring equipment has been developed.

Essentially, each weapon is electrified and this allows hits to be recorded by means of an illuminated box, which causes a red or green light to go in when a weapon touches an opponent on a valid target area.

When fencing electric, the following equipment is required:

For foil, electric foil, lame (a metallic jacket), body wire (which links the lame and foil to the scoring apparatus);

For sabre, electric sabre, lame, electric mask, mask wire (which connects the mask to the lame), body wire, lame glove;

For epee, electric epee, body wire.

Additionally, electric scoring apparatus including cables and light boxes is necessary, but Loughton Fencing club possesses this equipment, as well as a quantity of electric weapons, lames, etc.

From the above it will be apparent that electric epee is the cheapest system to purchase.

Sword fencing which is not electrified is referred to as steam or dry.

Other useful items.

Fluid or liquid, as sword fencing is a heat generating activity and the sword fencer needs to rehydrate regularly during the evening.

Chocolate, or glucose tablets, to restore sugar levels in the system. Sword fencing is an exhilarating activity and it burns energy very quickly.