When people say "fencing", they can mean three different things. Foil, épée and sabre share the strip, the white uniform and the mask, but the rules of scoring differ so much that fencers usually specialise in one. All three are Olympic events: foil and sabre were on the program of the first modern Olympics in 1896, and épée joined in 1900. US college fencing uses all three too: the NCAA championship has a women's and a men's event in each weapon, as fencing and college: what the numbers say explains.
The short version
| Rule | Foil | Épée | Sabre |
|---|---|---|---|
| How you score | With the point | With the point | With the edge or the point |
| Where you may hit | The torso and the bib of the mask | The whole body, head to foot | Above the waist, including the head and arms, but not the hands |
| Right of way | Yes | No | Yes |
Foil
The foil is a light weapon, and you score only by hitting with its tip. The target is the torso, plus the bib of the mask under modern rules. Foil is famous for its precision: long exchanges of attacks and parries, and touches decided by a few centimetres.
Épée
The épée is the heaviest of the three, and again you score only with the point, but anywhere on the body, from the mask down to the shoes. There is no right-of-way rule: whoever hits first scores, and if both fencers hit within a fraction of a second of each other, both get the point. Épée bouts are often patient and tactical, because one careless step forward can cost a touch.
Sabre
Sabre comes from the cavalry sword, and that history shows. You can score with the edge of the blade as well as the point, so cuts count, and the target is everything above the waist except the hands: the torso, the arms and the head. Sabre is the fastest of the three. Many actions last well under a second, and a bout moves in short, explosive phrases.
What "right of way" means
Foil and sabre use a rule called right of way, or priority. If both fencers hit at about the same time, the referee decides which of them had priority and gives that fencer the point; if neither clearly had it, no point is given. In simple terms, the fencer who starts a proper attack first has priority, and the other fencer has to defend, with a parry or by making the attack miss, before answering with an attack of their own. So in sabre and foil it is not enough to land a hit. You have to land it at the right moment.
That rule is a big part of why fencing is called a thinking sport. A fencer learns to read the opponent, to judge distance and timing, and to make decisions under pressure, all within a couple of seconds.
How touches are counted
In competition, all three weapons are scored electrically: the weapons and the target are wired to a scoring machine, which lights a lamp for each touch. In sabre, the fencer wears a conductive jacket called a lamé over the target area, and the mask is conductive too, connected to the lamé by a short cord. Beginners do not need any of this at first. It becomes relevant when a fencer starts to compete, and the coach will tell you when that time comes.
Why we teach sabre
Our head coach, Pavel Bykov, is a sabre fencer. He placed fourth in men's team sabre at the 2012 London Olympics. Sabre is the weapon he competed in, and it is the one our club teaches.
It also suits many children well. Sabre is quick and energetic, the rules about where to hit are easy to understand, and children get to move a lot from the very first class. At the same time, right of way gives them something to think about from day one.
Can a fencer switch weapons later?
Yes, and some do. Footwork, distance, timing and the habit of reading an opponent carry over between weapons. What changes is the scoring and the technique of the blade, which takes time to relearn.
If you want to see sabre for yourself, the easiest way is a free first class. Call Coach Pasha at (408) 592-1244.
