Fencing for Dummies

(an overview)

Since most people don't know much about fencing except what they see in movies (and that's usually fake), I thought that I would give a quick overview of the modern sport of fencing.

While it is true that in times of yore, fencing was used as a form of combat, to duel to the death or otherwise injure the opponent.   Today, fencing weapons are no longer sharp.   The object, instead of killing or maiming your opponent, is to strike your opponent in target area appropriate to your weapon before he does so to you. Even though the weapons are not sharp, fencers wear protective gear to reduce bruising and punctures from broken weapons.

Fencers fall under three categories: foil, epee, and saber - each with its own blade, set of rules, and target area.   Some rules, however, remain constant for all three weapons.

In all weapons, if you touch your opponent in valid target area, and your opponent does not touch you, you are awarded a point.   If both fencers hit at the same time, the point goes to the fencer with right of way.   The first fencer to 5 points wins a bout, in pools.   The winners of the pools fence each other in bouts to 15 points, usually direct-elimination.

This is just a quick overview in as simple terms as I can muster. For more complete and more accurate information, visit one of the fencing FAQs on the internet. For quick reference, you can try my glossary.