Fencing Terms You Should Know About

Posted by VIVO FENCING CLUB on November 20th, 2019

‘To master a thing is to know everything about it!’ Unsurprisingly, the sport of fencing is no exception. If you want to do well, you need to make sure that you know all there is to know about fencing. It is always helpful to first familiarize yourself with the basics and terminology. Here are the terms commonly taught in beginners fencing lessons:

• Piste: The fencing “lane that you need to stay in during a bout.
  
  
• Bout: the competition between two fencers during practice or in a tournament.
  
  
• En-garde: French for ‘on guard’, The referee says this to make sure that the fencers are ready to go.
  
  
• En Garde Line on the piste: Lines on the piste where the fencer stands ready at the start of a bout.
  
  
• Advance: A forward movement 
  
  
• Epee: One of three fencing weapons.  This is characterized by its tapered blade and large bell guard. It's the heaviest of the three fencing weapons and touches in Epee are scored based on who hits first. The target area is anywhere on the body.  
  
  
• Foil: A fencing weapons characterized by its circular handguard and lightweight. Touches in foil are scored only with the tip. With foil, the target is limited to the torso, 
  
  
• Sabre: The third weapon in fencing.  You can “slash” sideways with the sabre as it comes from Calvary on horses. The target is the waist up.
  
  
• Attack: The forward motion that a fencer makes to hit the opponent using their blade.
  
  
• Parry: Defensive action to prevent an attack . For instance, blocking an attacking blade with your blade.
  
  
• Retreat: Basic backward movement.  There is a lot of moving up and down the piste, jockeying for the best position to make an attack.
  
  
• Salute: It’s a gesture of respect in which a fencer holds up the blade before and after the bout and then shakes the opponents’ non-fencing hand. The most common salutes acknowledge the opponent, referee, and crowd. Chivalry is not dead!

Bottom Line

If you want to learn more about fencing, it’s always best to enroll in the best fencing clubs.This is by far the easiest way of not only getting to know more about the sport but also making the most of your interest in it. These fencing clubs usually have skilled coaches, who still are or have been competitive fencers themselves. They will teach you everything you need to know.

Author’s bio: The author is a blogger and this article is about fencing terms you should know about.