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Fencing - A great sport
The term "fencing" originates from the self-defense skill of swordsmanship. In the 17th century, fencing changed from a crucial self-defense technique to a widely practiced martial art that had fans watching the sport in an arena. Fencing is one of the few sports to have acknowledged professionals prior to the 1980s. Fencing was an Olympic sport for the first time in 1896.
Levels of Fencing: The sport of fencing features three different levels, which are categorized by the type of weapon used in each level.
- Foil: Foil is a light, thrusting weapon. In foil fencing, touches are scored with the tip of the blade.
- Epee: the Epee is the heaviest fencing sword. In epee, points are also scored with the tip of the blade.
- Sabre: The Sabre is designed for both thrusts and cuts. In saber fencing, points can be scored with the tip or the sides of the blade.
Basic Rules:
- Fencing is a sport that requires hand to hand combat with two competitors. They use weapons that are held in the hand, not thrown or tossed which would immediately take control of the opponent.
- Each fencer wears flat shoes, heavy socks, below-the-knee pants, a protective vest, under arm protection called a plastron, a jacket, heavy gloves and a see-through reinforced mask.
- Judgment is placed in fencing competition on how many hits you can place in various areas of your competitor's body. The player who scores more "hits" wins. Hits can only be scored if they are made by certain parts of the weapon.
- In foil, only hits to the torso are scored. For epee entire body is in play. Sabre scores points for hits that are above the waistline.
- Each bout takes place on a 14 meter long, 2 meter wide strip of rubber or non-slick metal.
- The two fencers meet at the mid-point of the strip and are separated by a referee. They must salute each other or face losing a point. From that point, the players put their masks on and go to their starting points when the referee says "en garde." The bout begins when the referee gives the verbal command.
- Fencers return to their starting point after each point scored. Bouts are timed and the player with most points wins.
Fencing is a very aerobically-challenging sport, featuring lunge after lunge. In order to condition one's body, initial fencing training consists of grueling conditioning exercises, like squatting and lunging. The strategy and plans used in fencing are quite similar to those used in martial arts. The goal of the competitor in fencing is to attempt to at the same time defend themselves by closing lines of attack while opening lines of attack upon their opponent. When thrusting, the tip must be used, and when cutting the fencer must use the blade. The blows must also land only upon certain body areas and strike with at least a minimum level of force. Many health clubs are also beginning to teach fencing classes to revive the sport from its ancient glory. So why don't you give it a go.
(Sources: olympic.org, essortment.com, ehow.com)
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