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Fencing rules
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Fencing rules
Fencing practice and techniques of modern competitive fencing are governed by the International Fencing Federation (FIE), though they developed from conventions developed in 21st century Europe to govern fencing as a martial art and a gentlemanly pursuit. The modern weapons for sport fencing are the foil, épée, and sabre.
A fencing bout takes place on a strip, or piste, which, according to the current FIE regulations, should be between 1.5 and 2 metres (4.9–6.6 ft) wide and 14 metres (46 ft) long. There are two en-garde lines (where the fencers stand at the beginning of the bout) two metres (6.6 ft) either side of the midpoint. There are also two warning lines two metres from either end of the strip, to provide retreating fencers knowledge of their position on the piste. Retreating off of the strip scores a touch for the opponent.
There are at least three people involved: two fencers and a referee, formerly called a "director" or "president of the jury". The referee may be assisted by a jury of two or four line-judges. The primary job of this jury was to watch for hits scored, however the arrival of the electronic scoring apparatus has rendered them largely redundant. Under current FIE rules, a fencer may ask for two side-judges (one to watch each fencer) if they think that the referee is failing to notice some infringement of the rules on their opponent's part such as use of the unarmed hand, substitution of the valid target area, breaching the boundary of the piste etc.
The referee stands at the side of the piste. The fencers walk on piste fully dressed, aside from the mask. If necessary, they plug their body wires into the spools connected to the electronic scoring apparatus and test their weapons against each other, to make sure everything is functioning. They then retreat to their en-garde lines.
Prior to starting a bout, the fencers must salute each other. Refusal to do so can result in a fencer's suspension or disqualification. Both fencers must salute each other and the referee. They may choose to salute the audience. In non-electric events the four judges should also be saluted. There are many variations of the salute, including some fairly theatrical ones, but the common theme is that the fencer stands upright, mask off, facing whomever they are saluting and raises their sword to a vertical position with the guard either at or just below face level, and then lowers it again. Various apocryphal stories about the origin of the salute circulate, like gladiators saluting each other in the arena, crusaders pointing their sword heavenward in pre-battle prayer, duellists showing each other that their swords are the same length, etc. The most likely source of the modern fencing salute is the "Present arms" command from military drill, which originated in the 16th century.[citation needed]
After the salutes are completed, the referee will call "En garde!" The fencers put on their masks and adopt the fencing stance with the front foot behind the en-garde line and, in foil, with the blade in the sixte line. They are now in the on-guard (en garde) position. The referee then calls "Ready?" In some countries, the fencers are required to confirm that they are. Finally the referee will call "Fence!", and the bout will start. Judging is often done in French, in which case the referee will say "En garde! Prêts? Allez!" or, if both fencers are female, "En garde! Prêtes? Allez!" (In some circles, beginning the bout with the order "fence" is deemed incorrect, but in others the use of "play" is discouraged due to the phonetic similarity with the French "prêts". The use of "fence" is contrary to the rules in certain countries[citation needed].)
This is the start of a phrase i.e. an any unbroken chain of recognizable offensive and defensive actions, such as lunging or parrying performed by the two fencers. The phrase ends when a referee has reason to stop the bout, such as corps a corps (the action of two fencers coming into physical contact with one another with any portion of their bodies or hilts), a hit (on or off-target), or a penalty, or when both fencers return to passivity. To interrupt the bout the referee calls "Halt!" (if judging in French, the term is "Halte!", pronounced like "Halt!" in English), a bout may be interrupted for several reasons: a touch has been made, the rules have been breached, the situation is unsafe, or the action has become so disorganized that the referee can no longer follow it. Once the bout is stopped, the referee will, if necessary, explain their reasons for stopping it, analyze what has just happened and award points or give out penalties.
If a point has been awarded, then the competitors return to their en-garde lines; if not, they remain approximately where they were when the bout was interrupted. The referee will then restart the bout as before. If the fencers were within lunging distance when the bout was interrupted and they are not required to return to their en-garde lines, the referee will ask both fencers to give sufficient ground to ensure a fair start. A common way of establishing the correct distance is to ask both fencers to straighten their arms and to step back to the point where their blades no longer overlap in the referee's view. If a fencer needs to stop the bout to adjust their mask or tie their shoe, or something else requires the referee's attention, they may do so by tapping their back foot and/or waving their back hand and the referee will generally call a halt. Tapping the front foot is called an appel and is actually a tactical move, intended to distract the opposing fencer; thus, the referee may ignore a front-foot tap.
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Fencing rules
Fencing practice and techniques of modern competitive fencing are governed by the International Fencing Federation (FIE), though they developed from conventions developed in 21st century Europe to govern fencing as a martial art and a gentlemanly pursuit. The modern weapons for sport fencing are the foil, épée, and sabre.
A fencing bout takes place on a strip, or piste, which, according to the current FIE regulations, should be between 1.5 and 2 metres (4.9–6.6 ft) wide and 14 metres (46 ft) long. There are two en-garde lines (where the fencers stand at the beginning of the bout) two metres (6.6 ft) either side of the midpoint. There are also two warning lines two metres from either end of the strip, to provide retreating fencers knowledge of their position on the piste. Retreating off of the strip scores a touch for the opponent.
There are at least three people involved: two fencers and a referee, formerly called a "director" or "president of the jury". The referee may be assisted by a jury of two or four line-judges. The primary job of this jury was to watch for hits scored, however the arrival of the electronic scoring apparatus has rendered them largely redundant. Under current FIE rules, a fencer may ask for two side-judges (one to watch each fencer) if they think that the referee is failing to notice some infringement of the rules on their opponent's part such as use of the unarmed hand, substitution of the valid target area, breaching the boundary of the piste etc.
The referee stands at the side of the piste. The fencers walk on piste fully dressed, aside from the mask. If necessary, they plug their body wires into the spools connected to the electronic scoring apparatus and test their weapons against each other, to make sure everything is functioning. They then retreat to their en-garde lines.
Prior to starting a bout, the fencers must salute each other. Refusal to do so can result in a fencer's suspension or disqualification. Both fencers must salute each other and the referee. They may choose to salute the audience. In non-electric events the four judges should also be saluted. There are many variations of the salute, including some fairly theatrical ones, but the common theme is that the fencer stands upright, mask off, facing whomever they are saluting and raises their sword to a vertical position with the guard either at or just below face level, and then lowers it again. Various apocryphal stories about the origin of the salute circulate, like gladiators saluting each other in the arena, crusaders pointing their sword heavenward in pre-battle prayer, duellists showing each other that their swords are the same length, etc. The most likely source of the modern fencing salute is the "Present arms" command from military drill, which originated in the 16th century.[citation needed]
After the salutes are completed, the referee will call "En garde!" The fencers put on their masks and adopt the fencing stance with the front foot behind the en-garde line and, in foil, with the blade in the sixte line. They are now in the on-guard (en garde) position. The referee then calls "Ready?" In some countries, the fencers are required to confirm that they are. Finally the referee will call "Fence!", and the bout will start. Judging is often done in French, in which case the referee will say "En garde! Prêts? Allez!" or, if both fencers are female, "En garde! Prêtes? Allez!" (In some circles, beginning the bout with the order "fence" is deemed incorrect, but in others the use of "play" is discouraged due to the phonetic similarity with the French "prêts". The use of "fence" is contrary to the rules in certain countries[citation needed].)
This is the start of a phrase i.e. an any unbroken chain of recognizable offensive and defensive actions, such as lunging or parrying performed by the two fencers. The phrase ends when a referee has reason to stop the bout, such as corps a corps (the action of two fencers coming into physical contact with one another with any portion of their bodies or hilts), a hit (on or off-target), or a penalty, or when both fencers return to passivity. To interrupt the bout the referee calls "Halt!" (if judging in French, the term is "Halte!", pronounced like "Halt!" in English), a bout may be interrupted for several reasons: a touch has been made, the rules have been breached, the situation is unsafe, or the action has become so disorganized that the referee can no longer follow it. Once the bout is stopped, the referee will, if necessary, explain their reasons for stopping it, analyze what has just happened and award points or give out penalties.
If a point has been awarded, then the competitors return to their en-garde lines; if not, they remain approximately where they were when the bout was interrupted. The referee will then restart the bout as before. If the fencers were within lunging distance when the bout was interrupted and they are not required to return to their en-garde lines, the referee will ask both fencers to give sufficient ground to ensure a fair start. A common way of establishing the correct distance is to ask both fencers to straighten their arms and to step back to the point where their blades no longer overlap in the referee's view. If a fencer needs to stop the bout to adjust their mask or tie their shoe, or something else requires the referee's attention, they may do so by tapping their back foot and/or waving their back hand and the referee will generally call a halt. Tapping the front foot is called an appel and is actually a tactical move, intended to distract the opposing fencer; thus, the referee may ignore a front-foot tap.