Fencing: Then and now

Fencing has its roots in ancient sword fighting. As a sport, it began in the 17th century when the ‘foil’ – a sword with a flattened tip - was invented as a practice weapon to help duellers prepare for their deadly contests. A set of rules was soon developed, followed by wire-mesh face masks, which made it a safe activity.

How to play – and win

A Fencing bout is a sword fight over three three-minute rounds. It takes place on a ‘piste’ – a narrow strip that is 14 metres (46 feet) in length. There are three types of weapon used – Foil, Epée and Sabre – with a separate competition for each. Fencers score points by touching their opponent’s body with the tip of their sword, or often with the edge of the blade in Sabre. Each competitor is wired up to a system that records when they’ve been hit. In Team events, three fencers face each member of the other team. The bout is decided by the combined total of hits at the end.

Fencing at the Games

Fencing is one of just four sports to have featured at every modern Games. It was also the first to include professionals in medal competition, after Games founder Pierre de Coubertin arranged special ‘masters’ events in Athens 1896 and Paris 1900. Women’s Fencing first appeared at the Paris 1924 Games, while women’s Epée was added to the programme in Atlanta 1996. Sabre is the newest addition – it joined in Athens 2004.

Facts about Fencing

• After the Paris 1924 Games, the Italian and Hungarian teams settled a scoring controversy with a real-life duel.
• The Fencing ‘piste’ is designed to look like a castle hallway – the setting for many real sword fights in medieval times.
• Originally, there was no time limit for a Fencing contest. This was changed after one match lasted seven hours in the 1930s.
• Hungarian Fencer Aladar Gerevich holds the record for the longest gap between Olympic medals. He first won gold at the Los Angeles 1932 Games, but waited 28 years for his second success.
• French has been the language of Fencing since 1570 when Henri Saint-Didier, a pioneer of the sport, came up with most of the terms for the moves that Fencers still use today.

Jargon buster

• En garde: French for "on guard" - the position that fencers take before a bout begins
• Bout: A Fencing match
• Fleche: A running attack
• Lunge: The basic attack in Fencing where a fencer moves his front leg forward while keeping his back leg still.
• Parry: A defensive action used to block an opponent’s blade

Get involved

Fencing is great way to improve your balance and co-ordination – useful skills for any sport. If you’re interested in taking part, you can get started through a local club (see 'related websites')