Right of Way

Foil and saber fencers must follow right of way.

The purpose of right of way is to emulate the fear of death.   When attacked by someone wielding a real, sharp blade, and trying to kill you, it is assumed that you will first deflect the attack, or otherwise avoid being killed, before making your own attack.   Therefore, in foil and saber, if one fencer starts an attack, the defender must parry or dodge the attack before making his own attack.   If the defender fails to defend himself adequately, even if he counter-attacks successfully, the point still goes to the attacker.

Epee does not employ right of way.   It is the simplest to follow:   the fencer to hit his opponent first, wins the point.   If they both hit at the same time, both fencers get a point.