Fencing Overview

     My favorite sport (currently) is fencing. Three days a week I go to a practice at a local fencing place.      I enjoy fencing because it requires strategy and planning, and is fast-paced and exiting.There are three styles of fencing, and for each there is a different sword, and different rules. The three forms are épée, foil, and sabre. Of the three, I fence sabre.

     In épée, each fencer is allowed to poke (only poke, no slashing) his/her opponent with their sword. The fencer can be poked anywhere on there body. The sword that is used in épée has a guard similar to a flat circle with an edge that extends downward.

     In foil, like épée, the fencer is only allowed to poke. For foil, the target area is just the torso, no arms, legs, of head. The sword used in foil has a small, circular guard.

     In sabre, the fencer can poke and slash. The area that can be hit is the torso, arms, and head. The sabre guard is a large, some-what convex circle, with a side piece connecting the end of the handle to the top of the handle (think pirate sword).