Fencing
In the
broadest possible sense, fencing is the art and science
of armed combat involving cutting, stabbing, slashing weapons
directly manipulated by hand, rather than shot or thrown
(in other words, swords, knives, pikes, bayonets, batons,
clubs, and so on). In contemporary common usage, fencing
tends to refer specifically to European schools of swordsmanship
and to the modern Olympic sport that has evolved out of
them. The current modern weapons for sport fencing are
the foil, épée, and sabre. The term 'Fencing'
derives from the label, "The Art of Defence",
meaning the art of defending one's self in combat.
Competitive
fencing
There are three forms of competitive fencing in practice. Variations make each
of them a distinct game. All three approach the activity as a sport, with varying
degrees of connectedness to its historic past
Olympic
fencing
Olympic fencing (or just "fencing") refers to the fencing seen in
most competitions (including the Olympic Games). It is marked by the use of
electronic scoring equipment, and conducted according to rules laid down by
the Fédération Internationale d'Escrime (FIE), the sports federation
governing most international fencing competitions. The current rules are very
loosely based on a set of conventions developed in 18th- and 19th-century Europe
to govern fencing as a martial art and a gentlemanly pursuit. The weapons used
are the electric foil, electric épée, and electric sabre.
This
article is predominantly about Olympic fencing.
Wheelchair
fencing
Wheelchair fencing, an original paralympic sport, was developed in post-World
War II England. Minor modifications to the FIE rules allow disabled fencers
to fence all three weapons. The most apparent change is that each fencer sits
in a wheelchair fastened to a frame. Footwork is replaced by torso or arm movement,
depending on the fencer's disability. The proximity of the two fencers tends
to increase the pace of bouts, which require considerable skill. The weapons
are identical to those used in Olympic fencing.
American
Fencing League fencing
American Fencing League (AFL) fencing is conducted in the United States according
to rules of the American Fencing League, which are based on the 1940 rules
of the old Amateur Fencers League of America. AFL fencing is not as purely
athletic a game as Olympic fencing, as it has longer "phrases," longer
time limits, 1-touch épée rules, a different approach to the
principle of "right of way," and a revival of 3-weapon bouts. It
uses the standard (non-electric) foil, standard épée, and standard
sabre. Confusingly, it is sometimes referred to as classical fencing (see below).
The United States Fencing Association (USFA) has taken the place of the AFL
as the governing organization of fencing in the U.S.
Fencing
as a Western martial art
Some practitioners of fencing approach it as a Western martial art, with the
goal being to train for a theoretical duel. The element of sport is absent
(or nearly so) from these forms of fencing, but they all share a common origin
with each other and with competitive fencing.
Classical fencing
Classical fencing is differentiated from competitive fencing as being theoretically
closer to swordplay as a martial art. Those who call themselves classical fencers
may advocate the use of what they see as more authentic practices, including
little or no emphasis on sport competition. There is strong interest within
the classical fencing community in reviving the European fencing practices
of the 19th and early 20th century, when fencers were expected to be able to
fight a duel using their training. Weapons used are the standard (meaning "not
electric", a usage from when electrical scoring was less common) foil,
standard epee (often equipped with pointes d'arret), and the blunted duelling
sabre.
AFL fencing
is often referred to as classical fencing, but this is
a misnomer.
Historical fencing
Historical fencing is a type of historical martial arts reconstruction based
on surviving texts and traditions, with a particular emphasis on pre-19th century
fencing practices. Predictably, historical fencers study an extremely wide
array of weapons from different regions and periods. They may work with bucklers,
daggers, polearms, bludgeoning weapons, etc. One main preoccupation of historical
fencers is with weapons of realistic weight, which demand a different way of
manipulating them from what is the norm in modern Fencing. For example, light
weapons can be manipulated through the use of the fingers, but more realistically-weighted
weapons must be controlled more through the wrist and elbow. This difference
is great and can lead to drastic changes even in the carriage of the body and
footwork in combat.
There
is considerable overlap between classical and historical
fencing —- especially with regard to 19th-century
fencing practices.
Weapons
Three weapons survive in modern competitive fencing: foil, épée,
and sabre.
The spadroon
and the heavy cavalry-style sabre, both of which saw widespread
competitive use in the 19th century, fell into disfavour
in the early 20th century with the rising popularity of
the lighter and faster weapon used today, based on the
Italian duelling sabre. The singlestick featured in the
1904 Olympic Games, but it was already declining in popularity
by that time. Bayonet fencing was somewhat slower to decline,
with competitions organized by some armed forces as late
as the 1940s and 1950s. At one time, staves of various
lengths, spears, halberds, axes, daggers, wrestling, shields
and flails were all included in Fencing. Today these weapons
are the preserve of historical fencing.
While
the weapons fencers use differ in size and purpose, their
basic construction remains similar across the disciplines.
Every weapon has a blade and a hilt. The tip of the blade
is generally referred to as the point. The hilt consists
of a guard and a grip. The guard (also known as the coquille,
or the bellguard) is a metal shell designed to protect
the fingers. The grip is the weapon's actual handle. There
are a number of commonly used variants (see grip (sport
fencing)). The more traditional kind tend to terminate
with a pommel, a heavy nut intended to act as a counterweight
for the blade.
Foil
The foil is a light and flexible weapon, originally developed in the mid 17th
century as a training weapon for the court sword (a light one-handed sword
designed almost exclusively for thrusting). It is the weapon that, traditionally,
many students practice first. Hits can be scored only by hitting the valid
target surface with the point of the weapon. The target area is restricted
to the torso. A touch on an off-target area stops the bout, but does not score
a point. There are "right of way" conventions or priority rules,
whose basic idea is that the first person to create a viable threat or the
last person to defend successfully receives a "right" to hit. If
two hits arrive more or less simultaneously, only the fencer who had the "right
of way" receives a point. If priority cannot be assigned unambiguously,
no points are awarded. The basic idea behind the foil rules was, originally,
to encourage the defence of one's vital areas, and to fence in a methodical
way with initiative passing back and forth between the two fencers and no last-minute
counter-attacks ---- which risk a double death.
In modern
competitive fencing "electric" weapons are used.
These have a push-button on the point of the blade, which
allows hits to be registered by the electronic scoring
apparatus. In order to register, the button must be depressed
with a force of at least 4.90 newtons (500 grams-force)
for at least 15 milliseconds (Originally 1-5 milliseconds,
but changed in 2004, done to counter the popularity of
the "flick attack"). Fencers wear conductive
(lamé) jackets covering their target area, which
allow the scoring apparatus to differentiate between on-
and off-target hits.
The 1980s
saw the widespread use of "flicks" — hits
delivered with a whipping motion which bends the blade
around the more traditional parries, and makes it possible
to touch otherwise inaccessible areas, such as the back
of the opponent. This has been regarded by some fencers
as an unacceptable departure from the tradition of realistic
combat, where only rigid blades would be used, while others
feel that the flick adds to the variety of possible attacks
and targets, thereby expanding the game of foil. Ironically,
flicks were not entirely an artefact of electronic scoring.
Indeed, in 1896, The Lancet published an account of an
early "electric scorer" and claimed among its
advantages, that "flicks, or blows, or grazes produce
no result."[1] Nevertheless, it is the introduction
of electronic scoring to high-level competitive foil in
the 1950s that is often blamed for the rise in the flick's
popularity. In 2004-2005, in an effort to curtail the use
of flicks, the FIE raised the contact time required to
trigger the scoring apparatus from 1 millisecond to the
current 15 milliseconds. This has not made flicks impossible,
but it has made them more technically demanding, as glancing
hits no longer register, and it is essential that the point
arrives more or less square-on. Before they changed the
rule, the blade could bend more easily so the back and
flanks were easier to hit and score.
Fencers
soon discovered new ways to take advantage of, and some
would say abuse (needs reference), these changes. Due to
the longer point depress time, and the fact that the point
will bounce off when it hits a hard surface, it was documented
that by wearing a plastic chest protector can often defect
a solid hit without registering a touch. In Junior fencing,
it has became a common practice for people to wear such
protector. During a competition, it's often seen that a
fencer hits his opponent with a great attack and the hit
was valid (heard with a loud bang as it hit the protector),
but the scoring box doesn't register a touch. It's an unwanted
side effect and makes attacking in foil a less attractive
action.
Épée
Épée fencing was started at the beginning of the 16th century.
While the use of two-handed longsword was declining and full suits of plate armour
became less common, this new weapon was born in Spain. The rapier épée
had a long fine blade with a sharper edge, and the tip could be used to cut and
thrust. The guard looked like a small basket drilled with holes, having a long,
straight ramrod bored through it to be used in engaging and breaking the opponent's
blade and point. The introduction of the rapier brought about a new style of
fencing, used almost entirely in the civilian realm of battle.
Like
the foil, the épée is a thrusting weapon:
to score a valid hit, the fencer must fix the point of
his weapon on his opponent's target. However, épée
lacks the foil's most artificial conventions: the restricted
target area and the priority rules. In épée,
a hit can be scored by landing a hit anywhere on the opponent's
body. The fencer whose hit lands first receives the point,
irrespective of what happened in the preceding phrase.
If two hits arrive simultaneously (within 40 milliseconds
of each other), a double hit is recorded, and both fencers
get a point (except for in modern pentathlon one-hit épée,
where neither fencer receives a point).
In order
for the scoring apparatus to register a hit, the push-button
on the end of the weapon must remain fully depressed (tip
must be depressed for a certain distance) for 2-10 milliseconds.
To register, the hit must arrive with a force of at least
7.35 newtons (the equivalent of 750 grams of stationary
mass) - a slightly higher threshold than the foil's 4.9
newtons (500 grams). All hits register as valid, unless
they land on a grounded metal surface, such as a part of
the opponent's weapon, in which case they do not register
at all. At large events, grounded conductive pistes are
often used in order to prevent the registration of hits
against the floor. At smaller events and in club fencing,
it is generally the responsibility of the referee to watch
out for floor hits. These often happen by accident, when
an épéeist tries to hit the opponent's foot
and misses. In such cases, they are simply ignored. However,
deliberate hits against the floor are treated as "dishonest
fencing," and penalized accordingly (see "The
Practice of Fencing" below).
In the
pre-electric era, épéeists used a point d'arret,
a three-pronged point with small protruding spikes, which
would snag on the opponent's clothing or mask, helping
the referee to see the hits. The spikes caused épée
fencing to be a notoriously painful affair, and épéeists
could be easily recognized by the tears in their jacket
sleeves. These days, the adherents of the point d'arret
are few and far between, and non-electric weapons are generally
fitted with foil-style rubber buttons.
The épée
is the heaviest of the three weapons (approaching the weight
of an actual court sword). However, ultra-lightweight blades
can actually reduce the weight of an épée
to below that of a foil.[2] On low-end weapons, the épée
has a relatively stiff blade, though new technology has
resulted in a flexible blade comparable to the other weapons.
The épée is characterized by a V-shaped or
approximately triangular cross-section, and a large round
guard which offers much more protection to the wrist than
the foil guard.
Épée
fencing tends to be more conservative in style than the
other weapons, and bouts tend to be somewhat more deliberate.
Sabre
A sabre fencer. Valid target (everything from the waist up, including the arms
and head) is in red (exception: The hands, which are shown in red, are not
valid targets).The sabre is the "cutting" weapon, with a curved guard
and a triangular blade. However, in modern electric scoring, a touch with any
part of the sabre, point, flat or edge, as long as it is on target, will register
a hit.
The modern
sabre is commonly believed to have taken its origins and
traditions from the cavalry sabre, but that has recently
been exposed as a myth.[citation needed] It is believed
that the Hungarians introduced sabre fencing in Europe
towards the end of the 18th century. Their sabre, derived
from oriental scimitars, had a flat, slightly curved blade
and was not as wide and thick as the French cavalry sabre.
The Hungarians could not perfect their sabre until they
were influenced by the Italian school, which helped them
to perfect their teaching.
The target
area in sabre is everything from the waist up, except for
the hands. A hit that lands off target will not register
a light or stop the bout.
Like
foil fencing, sabre fencing uses right of way rules. However,
the definition of an "attack" is slightly different
for the two weapons, and as a result, the right of way
rules distinguish sabre and foil, though the basic concepts
are the same. Sabre right of way rewards very fast fencing
(on offence and defence), so sabre fencing tends to be
more aggressive in style than the other weapons.
The clothing
which is worn in modern fencing is made of tough cotton
or nylon. Kevlar was added to top level uniform pieces
(jacket, knickers, underarm protector, and the bib of the
mask) following the Smirnov incident at the 1982 World
Championships in Rome. However, kevlar breaks down in chlorine
and UV light, so the act of washing one's uniform and/or
hanging it up in the sun to dry actually damaged the kevlar's
ability to do the job.
In recent
years other ballistic fabrics such as Dyneema have been
developed that perform the puncture resistance function
and which do not have kevlar's weakness. In fact, the FIE
rules state that the entirety of the uniform (meaning FIE
level clothing, as the rules are written for FIE tournaments)
must be made of fabric that resists a force of 800 newtons
(1600N in the mask bib).
The
complete fencing kit includes the following items of
clothing:
Form-fitting
jacket, covering groin and with strap (croissard) which
goes between the legs, a small gorget of folded fabric
is also sewn in around the collar to prevent a blade from
slipping upwards towards the neck.
Under-arm protector (plastron) which goes underneath the jacket and provides
double protection on the sword arm side and upper arm. It is required to
not have a seam in the armpit, which would line up with the jacket seam
and provide a weak spot.
Glove, with a gauntlet that prevents swords going up the sleeve and causing
injury, as well as protecting the hand and providing a good grip
Breeches, which are a pair of trousers. The legs are supposed to hold just
below the knee.
Knee-length socks, which cover the rest of the leg.
Mask, including a bib which protects the neck. For competition, the bib must
be sewn into the mask frame to eliminate a hole that might admit a blade.
Thus, masks with snap-in bibs are not legal for competition. The mask can
usually support 12 kilograms of force, however FIE regulation masks can
stand much more, at least 25 kg.
Plastic chest protector, mandatory for female fencers. While male versions
are also available, they were, until recently, primarily worn by instructors,
who are hit far more often during training than their students. Since the
change of the depression timing (see above), these are increasingly popular
in foil, as the hard surface increases the likelihood of point bounce and
thus a failure for a hit to register. Plastrons are still mandatory, though.
Traditionally, the uniform is white in colour. This is primarily to assist
the judges in seeing touches scored (black being the traditional colour
for masters), but rules against non-white uniforms may also have been intended
to combat sponsorship and the commercialization of the sport. However,
recently the FIE rules have been relaxed to allow coloured uniforms. The
colour white might also be traced back to times before electronic scoring
equipment, when the blades were sometimes covered in soot or coloured chalk
to make a mark on the opponent's clothing.
Fencing
Masters wear a heavier protective jacket, usually reinforced
by plastic foam to cushion the numerous hits an instructor
has to endure.
Sometimes in practice, masters wear a protective sleeve or a leg leather for
protection of their fencing arm or leg.
Practice
The following description pertains to the practice of modern competitive fencing,
as governed by the FIE, and does not cover the many variations such as
fencing within a circle popular with SCA enthusiasts.
Piste
A fencing bout takes place on a strip, or piste, which, according to the current
FIE regulations, should be between 1.5 and 2 meters wide and 14 meters long.
Two meters either side of the mid-point, there are two en-garde lines, where
the fencers stand at the beginning of the bout. There are also two warning
lines two metres from either end of the strip, to let a retreating fencer know
that he is nearly out of space. Retreating off of the strip scores a touch
for the opponent.
Participants
There are at least three people involved: two fencers and a referee.
The referee
may be assisted by two or four side-judges. This was common
practice prior to the introduction of electronic scoring.
Their function is somewhat similar to that of linesmen
in soccer. Their primary job used to be to watch for hits
scored. Consequently, the arrival of the electronic scoring
apparatus has rendered them largely redundant. Under current
FIE rules, a fencer may ask for two side-judges (one to
watch each fencer) if (s)he thinks that the referee is
failing to notice some infringement of the rules on his
opponent's part (such as use of the unarmed hand, substitution
of the valid target area, breaching the boundary of the
piste etc.).
Protocol
The referee stands at the side of the piste. The fencers walk on piste fully
dressed, aside from the mask. If necessary, they plug their body wires into
the spools connected to the electronic scoring apparatus and test their weapons
against each other, to make sure everything is functioning. They then retreat
to their en-garde lines.
Prior
to starting a bout, the fencers must salute each other.
Refusal to do so can result in a fencer's suspension or
disqualification. Both fencers must salute each other and
the referee. They may choose to salute the audience. In
non-electric events the 4 judges should be saluted also.
There are many variations of the salute, including some
fairly theatrical ones, but the common theme is that the
fencer stands upright, mask off, facing whomever he/she
is saluting and raises his/her sword to a vertical position
with the guard either at or just below face level, and
then lowers it again.
Various
apocryphal stories about the origin of the salute circulate,
like gladiators saluting each other in the arena, crusaders
pointing their sword heavenward in pre-battle prayer, duellists
showing each other that their swords are the same length,
etc. The most likely source of the modern fencing salute
is the "Present arms" command from military drill,
which originated in the 16th century.
After
the salutes are completed, the referee will call "En-garde!" The
fencers put on their masks and adopt the fencing stance
with the front foot behind the en-garde line and the blade
in the sixte line.[3] They are now in the on-guard (en-garde)
position. The referee then calls "Ready?" In
some countries, the fencers are required to confirm that
they are. Finally the referee will call "Play!" or "Fence!",
and the bout will start. Judging is often done in French,
in which case the referee will say "En garde. Prêt.
Allez". (In some circles, beginning the bout with
the order "fence" is deemed incorrect and is
contrary to the rules in certain countries).
To interrupt
the bout the referee calls "Halt!" (if judging
in French, the term is the same). A bout may be interrupted
for several reasons: a touch has been made, the rules have
been breached, the situation is unsafe, or the action has
become so disorganized that the referee can no longer follow
it. Once the bout is stopped, the referee will, if necessary,
explain his reasons for stopping it, analyse what has just
happened and award points or give out penalties. If a point
has been awarded, then the competitors return to their
en-garde lines; if not, they remain approximately where
they were when the bout was interrupted. The referee will
then restart the bout as before.
If the
fencers were within lunging distance when the bout was
interrupted and they are not required to return to their
en-garde lines, the referee will ask both fencers to give
sufficient ground to ensure a fair start. A common way
of establishing the correct distance is to ask both fencers
to straighten their arms and to step back to the point
where their blades no longer overlap in the referee's view.
If a fencer needs to stop the bout to adjust his/her mask,
tie his/her shoe or something else needs that requires
the referee's attention, he/she may do so by tapping their
back foot and/or waving their back hand and the referee
will generally call a halt. Tapping the front foot is called
an appel and is actually a tactical move, intended to distract
the opposing fencer...thus, the referee may ignore a front-foot
tap.
This
procedure is repeated until either one of the fencers has
reached the required number of points (generally, 1, 5,
or 15, depending on the format of the bout) or until the
time allowed for the bout runs out.
Fencing
bouts are timed: the clock is started every time the referee
calls "Fence" and stopped every time he calls "Halt!".
The bout must stop after three minutes of fencing (or 8
touches in saber). In 15 point bouts, a 1 minute break
occurs in between the three minute intervals. If 9 minutes
of fencing time elapse in a 15 touch bout, or 3 in a 5
touch bout, the bout is over and the current scores are
taken as final. If the score is tied when time runs out
then the director determines priority randomly.
After
priority is determined the fencers bout for one minute.
If a point is scored, then that fencer wins, however if
no points are scored then the fencer with priority wins.
Note that this concept of priority is not the same as the
priority used in foil and sabre to determine right-of-way.
Priority ("right of
way") rules
Foil and sabre are governed by priority rules, according to which the fencer
who is the first to initiate an attack or the last to take a successful parry
receives priority. When both fencers hit more or less simultaneously, only
the fencer who had priority receives the point. If priority cannot be assigned
unambiguously, no points are awarded. These rules were adopted in the 18th
century as part of teaching practice.
Their
aim is to encourage "sensible" fencing and reward
initiative and circumspection at the same time, in particular
to reward fencers for properly made attacks, and penalize
fencers for attacking into such an attack that lands, an
action that could be lethal with sharp blades. The risk
of both duellists charging onto one another's swords is
kept to a minimum. At least in principle, in a prolonged
phrase, the initiative passes smoothly from one fencer
to the other, and back again, and so on. In practice most
phrases are broken off quickly if neither fencer lands.
Despite
the simplicity of the underlying principles, priority rules
are somewhat convoluted, and their interpretation is a
source of much acrimony. Much of this acrimony is centered
on the definition of attack. According to the FIE rules,
an attack is defined as "the initial offensive action
made by extending the arm and continuously threatening
the opponent's target..." The general consensus is
that the referee should look for whose arm starts straightening
first. In practice, referees, especially inexperienced
ones, may go for the easy option and give priority to whichever
fencer happened to be moving forwards. This is technically
wrong, but it is far from unusual. There is also a school
of thought, subscribed to by a relatively small minority,
that priority should be given to the fencer who was the
first to straighten his arm fully. This, again, is out
of line with the current rules.
The adherents
argue that this is the more classical way of doing things,
but this claim is dubious, as actual practice decades ago
based right of way on which fencer started straightening
the arm (not which fencer completed the extension); and
the reworded rules conform better to actual, traditional
practice which was documented in some older editions of
the rules. For example, the 1957 Amateur Fencers League
of America (AFLA) rules said an attack "consists of
a forward movement of the weapon", and "the rules
do not require that the attack be made with a fully extended
arm" (pages 141-142).
It is
clear that an attack which has failed (i.e. has missed
or been parried) is no longer an attack. The priority then
passes to the defending fencer; he is now free to launch
a riposte (if he has just parried an attack) or a counterattack
(if the attack missed of its own accord). Whatever he chooses
to do, he must do it immediately, as hesitation also leads
to loss of priority. A hesitant defender may lose priority
and get hit with a renewal of the initial attack.
A parry,
just like an attack, to be counted as valid must fulfill
certain criteria. In foil any action that deflects a linear
attack from its passage towards the target (i.e. temporarily
removes the threat by deviating the point from the target)
or breaks the momentum of an attack delivered by a swinging
motion will, generally, be given as a parry. Consequently,
foilists often parry with a sharp beating motion which
does not necessarily end in a full cover. In sabre, according
to the FIE rules, "the parry is properly carried out
when, before the completion of the attack, it prevents
the arrival of that attack by closing the line in which
that attack is to finish". In practice, when blades
clash, sabre referees tend to look at the point of blade
contact: contact of a defender's forte with an attacker's
foible is generally counted as a parry, and the priority
passes to the defender; whereas contact of a defender's
foible with an attacker's forte is counted as a malparry,
and the priority stays with the attacker. Some fencers
refer to a retreat that makes an attack fall short as a "distance
parry", but this is informal use: an actual parry
requires blade contact.
Penalties
Modern fencing also includes the addition of cards/flags (or penalties). Each
card has a different meaning. A fencer penalized with a yellow card is warned,
but no other action is taken. A fencer penalized with a red card is warned,
and a touch is awarded to his opponent. A fencer penalized with a black card
is excluded from the competition, and may be excluded from the tournament,
expelled from the venue, or suspended from future tournaments in the case of
serious offences. Black cards are rarely given to a fencer, though. Note that
spectators can be (and occasionally are) carded or expelled.
Offences
are broken down into four groups, and penalties are assessed
based upon the group of the offence. Group 1 offences include
actions such as making bodily contact with the opposing
fencer (in foil or sabre), delaying the bout, or removing
equipment. The first group 1 offence committed by a fencer
in a bout is penalized with a yellow card. Subsequent group
1 offences committed by that fencer are penalized with
a red card. Group 2 offences include actions that are vindictive
or violent in nature, or the failure to report to the strip
with proper inspection marks on equipment. All group 2
offences are penalized with a red card. Group 3 offences
include disturbing the order of a bout, or intentionally
falsifying inspection marks. The first group 3 offence
committed by a fencer is penalized with a red card, while
any subsequent group 3 offence is penalized with a black
card. Group 4 offences include doping, manifest cheating,
and other breaches of protocol, such as a refusal to salute.
Group 4 offences are penalized with a black card.
There
is also a specific penalty for putting one or both feet
off the side edge of the piste: halt is called, and the
opponent may then advance one metre towards the penalised
fencer. The penalised fencer must retreat to 'normal' distance
before the bout can restart - that is, the distance where
both fencers can stand on-guard, with their arms and swords
extended directly at their opponent, and their blades do
not cross. If this puts the fencer beyond the back edge
of the piste, the fencer's opponent receives a point.
Electronic scoring equipment
Electronic scoring is used in all major national and international, and most
local, competitions. At Olympic level, it was first introduced to épée
in 1936, to foil in 1956, and to sabre in 1988. There are, however, still traditionalists
within the fencing community who have fundamental objections to the practice
(discussed later on in this section).
The central
unit of the scoring system is commonly known as "the
box". In the simplest version both fencers' weapons
are connected to the box via long retractable cables. The
box normally carries a set of lights to signal when a touch
has been made. (Larger peripheral lights are also often
used.) In foil and sabre, because of the need to distinguish
on-target hits from off-target ones, special conductive
clothing must be worn. This includes a jacket of conducting
(lamé) cloth (for both weapons) and (in the case
of sabre) a conducting mask and cuff (manchette).
Recently,
reel-less gear has been adopted for sabre at top competitions,
including the Athens Olympics. In this system, which dispenses
with the spool (by using the fencer's own body as a grounding
point), the lights and detectors are mounted directly on
the fencers' masks. For the sake of the audience, clearly
visible peripheral lights triggered by wireless transmission
may be used. However, the mask lights must remain as the
official indicators, as FIE regulations prohibit the use
of wireless transmitters in official scoring equipment,
to prevent cheating. Plans for reel-less épée
and foil have not yet been adopted because of technical
complications.
In the
case of foil and épée, hits are registered
by depressing a small push-button on the end of the blade.
In foil, the hit must land on the opponent's lame to be
considered on-target. (On-target hits set off coloured
lights; off-target hits set off white lights.) At high
level foil and épée competitions, grounded
conductive pistes are normally laid down to ensure that
bouts are not disrupted by accidental hits on the floor.
In sabre, an on-target hit is registered whenever a fencer's
blade comes into contact with the opponent's lamé jacket,
cuff or mask. Off-target hits are not registered at all
in sabre. It has been proposed that a similar arrangement
(non-registration of off-target hits) be adopted for foil.
This proposal is due to be reviewed at the 2007 FIE Congress.
In épée the entire body is on-target, so
the subject of off-target hits does not arise (unless you
count the hits which miss the opponent entirely and land
on an ungrounded section of the floor - needless to say
doing so on purpose is considered cheating). Finally the
competitors weapons are always grounded so hits against
an opponent's blade or coquille do not register.
In foil
and sabre, despite the presence of all the gadgetry, it
is still the referee's job to analyse the phrase and, in
the case of simultaneous hits, to determine which fencer
had the right of way.
"Electric" fencing
has not been without its problems. One of the most talked
about has been the registration of glancing hits in foil.
Traditionally, a valid, "palpable" hit could
only be scored, if the point were fixed on the target in
such a manner, as would be likely to pierce the skin, had
the weapon been sharp. However, the electric foil point
(the push-button on the end of the blade) lacks directionality,
so hits which arrive at a very high angle of incidence
can still register. In the 1980s, this lead to a growing
popularity of hits delivered with a whip-like action (commonly
known as "the flick"), bending the blade around
the opponent's parry. Many saw this as an unacceptable
deviation from tradition. In fact, the disputes over the
flick grew so bitter that a number of traditionalists advocated
(and still continue to advocate) complete abandonment of
electronic scoring as something detrimental to fencing
as an art.
In 2004-2005
the FIE brought in rule changes to address such concerns.
The dwell time (the length of time the point has to remain
depressed in order to register a hit) was increased from
1 millisecond to 15 milliseconds. This change has been
rather controversial. While it has not eliminated the flick
altogether, it has made it technically trickier thereby
denting its popularity. However, there have been some serious
problems with apparently "palpable" hits not
registering. Moreover, the imperative to make clear "square-on" hits
has lead to a number of unforeseen results, which, it has
been argued, have made foil less rather than more classical.
The
following have been reported:
Unwillingness
to attack, leading to long periods of inactivity and loss
of certain visually striking (but risky) manoeuvres;
Loss of popularity of the more sophisticated and technically demanding compound
actions;
A rise in the number of renewed offensive actions (at the expense of counter-ripostes)
delivered with a decidedly non-classical pumping action;
A rise in the number of counterattacks with avoidance (at the expense of ripostes);
Increased popularity of unorthodox "cowering" on-guard positions
among young fencers;
Hard hitting.
Bouncing from direct hits on certain protective gear.
Having said that, every one of the above claims is a subject of dispute.
In sabre,
the inadequacy of existing sensors has made it necessary
to dispense with the requirement that a cut must be delivered
with either the leading or the reverse edge of the blade
and that, once again, it must arrive with sufficient force
to have caused an injury had the blade been sharp (but
not so forcefully as to injure your opponent with a blunt
weapon!) At present, any contact between the blade and
the opponent's target is counted as a valid hit. Some argue
that this has reduced sabre to a two-man game of tag; others
argue that this has made the game more sophisticated.
The other
serious problem in sabre (universally acknowledged as a
problem) is that of "whip-over." The flexibility
of the blades is such that the momentum of a cut can often "whip" the
end of the blade around the defender's parry. The low success
rate of parries (compared to other weapons) is seen by
many as impoverishing the tactical repertory of the weapon.
In 2000 the FIE brought in rule changes requiring stiffer
blades. This has improved matters but not eradicated the
problem altogether. There has been talk of making the sabre
guard smaller, in order to make attacks on preparation
and counterattacks easier and thus slow down the momentum
of the attack, giving the defender more of a chance.
Finally,
the cut-out times deserve a mention. The cutout time is
the maximum time allowed by the box between two hits registering
as simultaneous (if this time is exceeded, only one light
will appear). In épée this time is very short:
40 milliseconds. This means that, so far as human perception
is concerned, the hits really do need to arrive at the
same instant. In foil and sabre, where priority rules apply,
the cutout times are considerably longer (hundreds of milliseconds).
This was a source of two problems:
Double
lights are a frequent occurrence, making refereeing difficult.
Too many decisions are disputed.
Once again, the attacker gains an unreasonable advantage. It is possible to
execute a long marching attack with only a hint of an arm extension, clearly
inviting an attack on preparation, which is then followed by a delayed trompment.
For those reasons, in 2004-2005 the FIE slashed the cut-out times for foil
and sabre from 750 milliseconds to 350 milliseconds and from 350 milliseconds
to 120 milliseconds respectively. While these changes were controversial at
first, the fencing community now seems to have accepted them. Some concerns
remain at sabre, where immediate renewals frequently "time out" indirect
ripostes.
Non-electronic scoring
Prior to the introduction of electronic scoring equipment, the president of
jury was assisted by four judges. Two judges were positioned behind each fencer,
one on each side of the strip. The judges watched the fencer opposite to see
if he was hit. This system is sometimes called "dry" fencing (USA)
or "steam" (United Kingdom, Australia) fencing.
When
a judge thought he saw a hit, he raised his hand. The president
(referee or director) then stopped the bout and reviewed
the relevant phases of the action, polling the judges at
each stage to determine whether there was a touch, and
(in foil and sabre) whether the touch was valid or invalid.
The judges would answer "Yes", "Yes, but
off-target" (in foil and sabre), "No", or "Abstain".
Each judge had one vote, and the president had one and
a half votes. Thus, two judges could overrule the president;
but if the judges disagreed, or if one judge abstained,
the president's opinion ruled.
Épée
fencing was later conducted with red dye on the tip, easily
seen on the white uniform. As a bout went on, if a touch
was seen, a red mark would appear. Between the halts of
the director, judges would inspect each fencer for any
red marks. Once one was found, it was circled in a dark
pencil to show that it had already been counted. The red
dye was not easily removed, preventing any cheating. The
only way to remove it was through certain acids such as
vinegar. Thus, épée fencers became renowned
for their reek of vinegar until the invention of electronic
equipment.
Despite
the problems mentioned in the previous section on electronic
scoring, the vast majority of fencing considers it a great
improvement over non-electric system described here. As
described in an article in the London newspaper, The Daily
Courier, on June 25, 1896: "Every one who has watched
a bout with the foils knows that the task of judging the
hits is with a pair of amateurs difficult enough, and with
a well-matched pair of maîtres d’escrime well-nigh
impossible." In addition there were frequent problems
with bias and collusion, leading to the wry expression
that a dry jury consisted of "4 blind men and a thief".
Some fencers, particularly in sabre, would hit hard to
ensure their touches could not be missed, and dry sabre
could be an extremely painful undertaking despite the protective
jackets.
Even
in the best of circumstances, it was very difficult to
accurately score hits, and it systematically under-reported
valid touches to hard-to-see areas, such as the back or
flank under the arm. Consequently, even though there are
limitations and controversy over electronic scoring, and
despite its rejection by the classical fencers, electronic
scoring is by far the dominant method used to determine
if touches land.
Competition
Fencing tournaments are varied in their format, and there are both individual
and team competitions. A tournament may comprise all three weapons, both
individual and team, or it may be very specific, such as an Epee Challenge,
with individual épée only. And, as in many sports, men and
women compete separately.
Individual events
Generally, an individual event consists of two parts: the pools, and the direct
eliminations.
In the
pools, fencers are divided into groups, and every fencer
in a pool will have the chance to fence every other fencer
once. The size and number of the pools is determined by
the number of athletes who have registered for the competition.
Pool
bouts are three minutes long, and are fenced to five points.
If no fencer reaches five points, then the one with the
most points after three minutes wins. Pool results are
recorded on a scoresheet, which must be signed by the fencers
after their last match. The referee will write down how
many points each fencer scored in the bout, although normally
if a fencer won with five points a "V" (for victoire)
is written down instead of a 5. Losing a pool match does
not eliminate a fencer from the tournament.
In some
tournaments, there are two rounds of pools, with the second
round following the same format, but with pools of different
fencers.
After
the pools are finished, the direct elimination round starts.
Fencers are sorted in a table of some power of 2 (16, 32,
64, etc.) based on how many people are competing. There
are rarely exactly the right number of people for this
to work out perfectly, so the lowest ranking fencers may
be eliminated, or they may be included in the next highest
power of 2 with the top fencers receiving a bye.
Once
the table size has been chosen, fencers are slotted into
the table like this: first place vs. last place, second
vs. second last, third vs. third last etc. A fencers place
is decided by their indicator score, which is calculated
by the numbers of hits for and against during the pool
rounds.
The elimination
round matches in foil and épée are fenced
in three periods of three minutes each. In between each
period, there is a one minute break. Sabre matches are
so much faster that the three minute mark is almost never
reached. Therefore, in sabre, when one fencer reaches 8
points, there is a one minute break.
In all
three weapons, the match goes until 15 points. If no one
has reached 15 points, then the fencer with the most points
wins. The rules for ties are explained above under Protocol.
The winner carries on in the tournament, and loser is eliminated.
Fencing
is slightly unusual in that no one has to fence for third
place. Instead, two bronze medals are given to the losers
of the semi-final round.
Team events
Team competition involves teams of three fencers. A fourth fencer can be allowed
on the team as an alternate, but as soon as the fourth has been subbed in,
they cannot leave again. The opposing team must be alerted of this substitution
at least one round before it happens.
The modern
team competition is similar to the pool round of the individual
competition. The fencers from opposing teams will each
fence each other once, making for a total of nine matches.
At the beginning of the team match, each team fills out
one side of a score sheet with the order they will fence
in. Teams are not aware of the order their opponents will
be fencing in, although the sheet is designed so that no
two athletes will fence each other twice.
Matches
between teams are three minutes long, or to 5 points, as
in the pools. There are important differences, however:
each match the score carries over, and the maximum score
for each match is increased by 5. For example, lets imagine
that Fencer A from Team 1 and Fencer X from Team 2 finish
their first bout at 5-3. Next, Fencer B and Fencer Y step
on the piste. They will be fencing to 10 points, but Fencer
B starts at 5, and Fencer Y starts at 3, right where their
team-mates left them. This means that Fencer Y can still
pull ahead, if she scores 7 points before Fencer B scores
5.
Imagine,
however, things go slowly, and after three minutes the
total score is 8-6. Although neither fencer reached the
limit of 10 total points for this match, the next pair
to fence will still be able to go as high as 15. In other
words, the maximum score for each round continues increasing
by 5 regardless of how many points were scored in the previous
match.
Since
there are 9 matches, the highest score possible is 45 points.
However, the winner is simply the team with the highest
score at the end of the ninth match, even if it is less
than 45. While sabre almost inevitably goes to 45, it is
not unusual to see an epee score in the mid to low thirties.
If there is a tie at the end of the ninth match, then the
usual tie-breaking rules apply, and it is the same two
fencers who will do the tie-breaker match.
Team
tournaments sometimes use pools and elimination rounds,
although given the possible length of a team match (often
a half-hour each), this is not so common, and they usually
begin in a direct elimination format. The seeding of the
teams in this case can be random, or based on the performance
of the individual members (if it is a tournament with both),
or even based on the results of the same team at other
tournaments (for example if it is a national team). Unlike
individual tournaments, teams must almost always fence
for bronze.
There
is also an older team format, no longer is popular use.
Under these rules, the teams were still three members each,
and still consisted of nine matches round-robin tournament
style. However, scores did not carry over. The team to
first win 5 matches (a majority) was declared the winner.
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Fencing
(sport). (2007, January 12). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.
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