Most fencing words come from French, and the referee's commands are often given in French or in English. You do not need to learn them before the first class; your child picks them up in class. This short glossary lists the words a parent hears first, grouped in the order you meet them. Definitions follow USA Fencing's glossary and rulebook, read on October 22, 2026.
Walking in
- Salle: a fencing hall or club.
- Strip, or piste: the long, narrow area where fencers fence, 14 metres long and about 2 metres wide (about 46 by 6.6 feet).
- Sabre: the weapon our club teaches. It scores with the edge or the point, above the hips except the hands. The other two weapons are foil and épée; sabre, foil and épée explains the difference.
The kit
- Mask: steel mesh over the whole face, with a padded bib for the throat.
- Jacket: the padded white jacket that covers the torso and arms.
- Glove: worn on the sword hand only, with a long cuff over the sleeve.
- Lamé: a conductive jacket worn over the fencing jacket in electric sabre, so the scoring machine can register hits.
- Body cord: the wire that runs from the weapon up the sleeve and connects the fencer to the scoring machine.
Beginners do not need the lamé or the body cord; what a beginner needs explains which kit comes when.
The start of a bout
- Salute: fencers salute the opponent, the referee and the spectators before and after every bout. It is required by the rules.
- En garde, or "On guard": the position fencers take before fencing starts, and the referee's first call.
- Prêts?, or "Ready?": the referee's question to both fencers.
- Allez, or "Fence": the start. Nothing done before it counts.
- Halt: the stop. After it, nobody may start a new action.
Moving
- Advance: a step towards the opponent.
- Retreat: a step back.
- Lunge: the most common attack: the fencer pushes off the back leg and reaches forward on the front one.
- Recover: returning to en garde after a lunge.
- Flèche: a running attack, used in foil and épée. It is forbidden in sabre.
Attacking and defending
- Attack: an action meant to score. In foil and sabre, the fencer who attacks first gets right of way.
- Parry: a defence that blocks the opponent's blade.
- Riposte: the attack straight after a parry.
- Beat: a sharp tap on the opponent's blade.
- Feint: a false attack, to draw a reaction and open the way for a real one.
- Point in line: the arm held straight, point at the opponent; a fencer in line has right of way until the opponent beats the blade away.
- Right of way, or priority: the rule in foil and sabre that decides who, if anyone, scores when both fencers hit at about the same time.
Sabre fencing for beginners shows how these actions fit together.
Scoring and the referee
- Touch, or touché: a hit that scores. "Touché" is French for "touched".
- Bout: one fight between two fencers: in pools to 5 touches or 3 minutes, in direct elimination to 15 touches, in three periods of 3 minutes in foil and épée; in sabre the first period ends at 8 touches or after 3 minutes, whichever comes first.
- Pool: a small group in which everyone fences everyone, the first round of most tournaments.
- Direct elimination, or DE: the knockout rounds after the pools.
- Referee: the official who starts and stops the bout and awards the touches.
- Yellow, red and black cards: a warning, a penalty touch, and exclusion from the competition.
Fencing rules for beginners explains how a whole bout runs, with the times and the cards.
Watching your child's first class
Parents are welcome to watch the free first class at our club. You will hear many of the words above, mostly the footwork ones, and you do not need to know any of them. If a word puzzles you, ask Coach Pasha after the class. Your child's first fencing class, step by step walks through the day.
Call Coach Pasha at (408) 592-1244. If he is on the strip, leave a voicemail: he calls back within 24 hours. Or leave your number and he calls you.
Where these definitions come from
- USA Fencing, Glossary of Fencing and Fencing 101.
- USA Fencing, Rules for Competition, October 2026: the salute, t.1; the commands, t.22 and t.23; the flèche in sabre, t.101; cards, t.158 to t.170.
Read on October 22, 2026.
