Fencing

Fencing is the Olympic sport of swordfighting which is directly descended from the duel. Two competitors face off in a "bout", and compete to score points on each other with their weapons. To beat an opponent, a fencer must use bladework, footwork, tactics and strategy. Fencing bouts are characterized by flurries of speed, highly aerobic movement, and lightning-fast blade movements.


Historical overview

Medieval swords were heavy and clublike, suitable for denting body armor. It was difficult to kill an armored knight with a sword, but you could break limbs or cause internal injury. Few if any early swordplay techniques survive in modern fencing.

With the advent of gunpowder, body armor was rendered superfluous by the penetrating power of the bullet. Armor became lighter, to enhance mobility, and then became ceremonial, eventually disappearing from warfare altogether. During the period in which guns were becoming light and reliable, 1700–1900, the fencing sword experienced its heyday.

No longer required to club through sheilds and armor, swords grew light and fast. Speed, dexterity and trickery were required to kill an opponent. Before long, the best fencers (the survivors) noticed certain "best practice" moves and methods which translated to a high survival value. These were codified into styles, some of which survive today: French, Italian, Hungarian.

The original fencing weapons were the Epeé and the Sabre. The Epeé is a point-weapon rapier. The Sabre is a curved cutting-edge military weapon. The Foil was introduced later as a lighter, safer training version of the Epeé, and still carries with it most of the rule-set devised to promote survivable encounters. Foils are still the predominant introductory weapon in modern times, for they instill good habits common to all weapons.

In the early 1900's, electrical scoring was introduced, and fencing moved into the realm of sport. Button-tips and electric scoring vests made new priorities: you no longer had to live through a one-hit bout, you had to score multiple hits against an opponent. The successful Olympic styles of today are recognizable amalgams of Hungarian, French, German and Italian technique.