As we’ve said, fencing is not simply about overpowering or outpacing your opponent. There is much planning and strategy involved in considering not just your first attack, but every movement of your body and your weapon throughout your entire bout. Planning your tactics is an important part of your success.
The tactical [...]
Obviously you cannot expect your opponent to stand still while you come at him or her with your own attacks. You will be facing someone who is just as determined as you are to win the bout, so you need to be prepared with counter movements against their attacks as well.
Here [...]
It’s sometimes said that in sports, “the best offense is a good defense.”
Obviously it pays to be proficient in both offensive and defensive moves when it comes to fencing – and every other sport, for that matter – but in this section we’ll discuss some of those basic defensive moves [...]
Watching a sport that you don’t understand can be very confusing. American football, to someone who doesn’t understand each player’s position and purpose, can look like just a bunch of men who run a short distance and then fall down. If you don’t understand the rules of baseball, you may wonder [...]
Obviously everyone’s style and approach to the sport of fencing will be different; there’s no right or wrong way to approach the sport or your individual bouts. This is one of the aspects of the sport that makes it so fascinating; your approach will be just as different as your various [...]
Right of Way.
When using a foil, Right of Way or “priority” determines who receives a point when the fencers have both landed hits during the same action. In other words, it’s a “tie breaker” in some instances.
The fencer who started to attack first will receive the point if they hit a valid [...]
Line.
“Line” refers to a position or area on a fencer’s body. Imagine that the torso is bisected both laterally and vertically. There are then four quadrants or sections of the body. “High line” refers to the sections above the lateral line, “low line” are those below.
The quadrants on the chest [...]
Many contact sports have a certain etiquette or rules of conduct that combatants must follow, or risk point loss and even disqualification. Fencing is no different, and is considered by many to be one of the most disciplined of sports when it comes to rules of etiquette – both for participants [...]
To fully appreciate how the sport of fencing has evolved from a combatant role to the graceful sport that it is today, it’s good to take a closer look at its history and heritage.
European swords.
As early as 1500 B.C., the Europeans were making swords from bronze, eventually using steel instead. Their [...]
If you’re familiar with the sport of fencing, you’ve no doubt seen the protective equipment that the competitors wear. It’s important to know all the different pieces of equipment, as well as to have a familiarity with the different swords used, to really understand this sport.
The weapons.
Fencing has three weapons – [...]
