Today's lecture — FEN 101: Basic Fencing (or: 'Don't call them swords')

In searching for a topic for the first "Sports Department" lecture, one sport quickly sprang to mind as the most commonly misunderstood. Fencing is best known for producing actors like Errol Flynn. But ask any fencer about their sport and you will hear — forget Errol Flynn. To help you drop these misconceptions before Saturday's Harvard-Yale-Princeton meet at Jadwin, here are a few pointers.

A fencing match is broken down into several bouts that are won when one fencer scores five touches. The fencing squad is made up of nine fencers—three foils, three sabers, and three epees—and they fence against each of the other team's members in their particular weapon. A match is won when one team wins at least fourteen of the 27 bouts.

In order to understand what is going on at a fencing match, a spectator must have an understanding of the three weapons.

Foil

The foil was the first weapon used in modern fencing. It began as the dueling rapier, which was the common weapon for combat during the Renaissance. The foil is a light weapon, weighing less than a pound. It measures approximately 35 inches and is very flexible. The target area is the smallest of any of the three weapons, covering only the torso, both front and back. A touch can only be scored with the tip of the blade.

Due to the small target area and the small part of the weapon used, the foil is a very precise weapon. The foil fencer and opponent stay in continuous motion in order to execute the best attack and defense. A typical foil bout involves considerable parrying as a means of defending oneself. These bouts tend to be the most active, with fencers displaying great agility in blocking and attacking.

Epee

The epee is very similar to the foil in appearance, but that is where the similarities end. It is equal in length but weighs 27 ounces and has a bigger hand-guard than the foil (but not as big as the sabre's) to defend the hand from attack. It is not as flexible as the foil. As the modern dueling sword, it mimics the first blood tactics that ruled original swordplay. A touch is scored in epee when the tip hits any part of a fencer's body.

Epee bouts are usually the longest of the three weapons. Since fencers have so much of their bodies to protect, there is less weapon-to-weapon contact and more feints and body movements. Epee fencers have to be patient in order to develop their attacks. Since there is no right-of-way in the epee, whoever scores the first touch gets the point.

Sabre

The sabre was added to fencing in order to mimic the slashing cavalry sword. It is like the foil in weight and length but has a larger hand-guard. Mimicking the attack of horseback cavalry riders, the target area spans from the waist to the head, including the arms. However, the sabre can be used as both a thrusting weapon (using only the point) or a cutting weapon (using the broadside to slash).

Sabre bouts are very brief, recalling the tactics of cavalry charges. The fencers often use strong slashes in their attacks because, even though the opponent may be able to block it, the sheer power of the blow may still be able to cause a touch.

Right-of-way

"This is one of the most difficult concepts to understand," senior team captain and sabre Terry Kim said.

In both the foil and sabre, fencers must observe the right-of-way in scoring. Right-of-way is a rule made in order to place one fencer on the defensive and the other on the offensive, so that both fencers do not attack at the same time. Right-of-way is given to the fencer who began his or her attack prior to the other fencer. If the fencers both score touches at the same time, then the point would be awarded to the fencer who attacked first. However, if that initial attack is blocked and countered by the other fencer, and then a simultaneous touch were to occur, the fencer who counterattacked would be awarded the point. The referee makes the determination in a bout of who has the right-of-way.