Weapon Types

Posted by admin on January 5, 2008

FOIL:  The word “foil” means a blunt practice sword.  In reality, the modern foil is a derivative of the smallsword (not short sword) of the eighteenth century, the ultimate development of the rapier.  The foil, like the smallsword, is strictly a point weapon, the edge being largely ineffective.  The object of dueling with the smallsword, was to kill, or disable, one’s opponent.  Therefore, its legitimate target is the torso.  A hit anywhere else is “off-target,” and doesn’t count.  Foil fencers must also learn “right-of-way.”  Once an attack has begun, it has “right-of-way” until it is removed (by a parry, etc.), at which time the riposte (counter attack following a parry) has “right-of-way.”  The concept of right-of-way with the small-sword, and therefore with the foil, is to prevent “suicide” by running onto an opponent’s point.

EPEE:  The epee is derived from the “dueling sword” of the late nineteenth century (which is also derived from the smallsword), and the duels of the Dreyfus affair,  when dueling was to “first blood” rather than to the death.  Since blood could as easily be drawn from the hand (or the foot) as from the torso, the method of attack and defense became considerably different from that of the foil.  For the same reason, there is no right-of-way, or off-target, in epee fencing.  The epee looks much like a somewhat large foil, but it is used considerably differently.  Like the foil, however, the epee scores with the point only.

SABER:  The modern fencing saber, in theory, is derived from the cavalry saber of the nineteenth century.  In reality, it probably more closely resembles single stick, the “Italian saber,” or even the German schlager in the way that it is used.  Even so, many of its techniques are, more or less, directly applicable to the cavalry saber.  In saber fencing, the point and both edges can score a hit on almost any target the hips, making its technique radically different from either the foil or the epee.  As with foil fencing, saber fencing includes both the concept of right-of-way, and of off-target Hits.