Olympic Fencing Introduction

Fencing is a simple, exciting sport; fun and cheap to start and maintain both your body and brain active! With 3 different weapons and a range of fun behavior using foam and plastic swords, there is something for everyone and every age. For a bit of an introduction to the sport of Fencing, the three weapon used in sport of fencing are Foil, épée and sabre in the. While it is not extraordinary for fencers to battle in all three events, they commonly choose to build up their skills in one weapon. Until recently, women were permitted to struggle only in foil, but now the USFA & FIE offer national competitions for women in épée and sabre. The main objective of a fencing bout is to successfully score 15 points (in direct elimination play) or five points (in preliminary pool play) on your opponent before he scores that number on you. Each time a fencer scores a touch, he/she receives a point. Direct elimination matches consist of three three-minute periods.

One of the most complicated tasks to visualize in foil and sabre fencing is the rule of right-of-way. This rule was established to eliminate actually immediate attacks by two fencers.

In concentrate, right-of-way is the separation of offense and defense, made by the referee. The difference is important only when both the red and green lights go on at the same time in foil and sabre. When this happens, the winner of the point is the one who the referee determined was on offense at the time the lights went on.

Épée does not use the right-of-way in keeping with its dueling origin - he who first gains the touch earns the point. Or, if both fencers hit within 1/25th of a second of each other, both earn a point. However, it is equally key to have a sound defense for épée, since the entire body must be protected from a touch.

Europeans brought fencing to the New World, of course. The activity became slightly more normal at the end of the Civil War as some colleges started fencing programs. The Amateur Athletic Union began investment national championships in 1888; however, many fencers wanted independence from the AAU and created the Amateur Fencers League of America in 1891. That organization was renamed the US Fencing Association in 1981.

Fencing is a regular part of Olympic Games since 1896. It is one of just four sports to have been part of every Summer Games since then. Men's foil and saber were part of the first Games; epee was added in 1900. Women competed in Olympic fencing for the first time in 1924.Women's épée was added to the World Championships in 1989 and was held for the first time at the Olympic Games in 1996.

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Middle Ages and Renaissance in Fencing and Olympic Fencing Tickets

Fencing schools can be found in European historical records dating back to the 12th century. In later times fencing teachers were paid by rich patrons to produce books about their fighting systems, called treatises. Fencing schools were forbidden in some European cities during the medieval period, though court records show that such schools operated illegally.

The earliest surviving treatise on fencing stored at the Royal Armories Museum in Leeds, England, dates from around 1300 AD and is from Germany. It is known as I.33 and written in Medieval Latin and Middle High German and deals with an advanced system of using the sword and buckler together.

From 1400 onwards an increasing number of fencing treatises survived from across Europe, with the majority from the 15th century coming from Germany and Italy. In this period these arts were largely reserved for the knighthood and the nobility hence most treatises deal with knightly weapons, such as the roundel dagger, longs word, spear, poll axe and armored fighting mounted and on foot. Some treatises cover weapons available to the common classes, such as grebes Messer and sword and buckler. Wrestling, both with and without weapons, armored and unarmored, was also featured heavily in the early fencing treatises.

By the 16th century, with the widespread adoption of the printing press, the increase in the urban population and other social changes, the number of treatises increased dramatically. After around 1500 carrying swords became more acceptable in most parts of Europe. The growing middle classes meant that more men could afford to carry swords, learn fencing and be seen as gentlemen. By the middle of the 16th century many European cities contained great numbers of fencing schools, often clustered together, such as in London at "Hanging Sword Lane". Italian fencing masters were particularly popular and set up schools in many foreign cities. The Italians brought concepts of science to the art, appealing to the Renaissance mindset.

In 16th century Germany compendia of older Fechtbucher techniques were produced, some of them printed, notably by Paulus Hector Mair  and by Joachim Meyer, based on 14th century teachings of the Liechtenauer tradition. In this period German fencing developed sportive tendencies.

The rapier's popularity peaked in the 16th and 17th centuries. The Dardi school of the 1530s, as exemplified by Achille Marozzo, still taught the two handed spadone, but preferred the single handed sword. The success of Italian masters such as Marozzo and Fabris outside of Italy shaped a new European mainstream of fencing.

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Fencing Antiquity and Olympic Fencing Tickets

The origins of armed combat are prehistoric, beginning with club, spear and axe. Fighting with shield and sword developed in the Bronze Age; Bladed weapons such as the khopesh appeared in the Middle Bronze Age, and the proper sword in the Late Bronze Age.

Homer's Iliad includes some of the earliest descriptions of combat with shield, sword and spear, usually between two heroes who pick one another for a duel. Roman gladiators engaged in dual combat in a sport-like setting, evolving out of Etruscan ritual. Tomb frescoes from Paestum “4th century BC” show paired fighters, with helmets, spears and shields, in a propitiatory funeral blood rite that anticipates gladiator games.

Romans who frequented the gymnasia and baths often fenced with a stick whose point was covered with a ball. Vegetius, the Late Roman military writer described practicing against a post and fencing with other soldiers. Vegetius describes how the Romans preferred the thrust over the cut, because puncture wounds enter the vital organs directly whereas cuts are often stopped by armor and bone. Raising the arm to deliver a cut exposes the side to a thrust. This doctrine was exploited by Italian fencing masters in the 16th Century and became the primary rationale behind both the Italian and French schools of fencing.

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Fencing Terminology and Olympic Fencing Tickets

The English term fencing, in the sense of "the action or art of using the sword scientifically" dates to the late 16th century, when it denoted systems designed for the Renaissance rapier. The first known use of defens in reference to Renaissance swordsmanship is in William Shakespeare's Merry Wives of Windsor: "Alas sir, I cannot fence." This specialized usage replaced the generic fight.

The verb to fence derived from the noun fence, originally meaning "the act of defending", etymologically derived from Old French defens "defense", ultimately from the Latin. The first attestation of Middle English fens "defense" dates to the 14th century.  The origins of armed combat are prehistoric, beginning with club, spear and axe. Fighting with shield and sword developed in the Bronze Age; Bladed weapons such as the khopesh appeared in the Middle Bronze Age, and the proper sword in the Late Bronze Age. Homer's Iliad includes some of the earliest descriptions of combat with shield, sword and spear, usually between two heroes who pick one another for a duel. Roman gladiators engaged in dual combat in a sport-like setting, evolving out of Etruscan ritual. Tomb frescoes from Paestum “4th century BC” show paired fighters, with helmets, spears and shields, in a propitiatory funeral blood rite that anticipates gladiator games.

Romans who frequented the gymnasia and baths often fenced with a stick whose point was covered with a ball. Vegetius, the Late Roman military writer described practicing against a post and fencing with other soldiers. Vegetius describes how the Romans preferred the thrust over the cut, because puncture wounds enter the vital organs directly whereas cuts are often stopped by armor and bone. Raising the arm to deliver a cut exposes the side to a thrust. This doctrine was exploited by Italian fencing masters in the 16th Century and became the primary rationale behind both the Italian and French schools of fencing.

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Fencing Universities and schools and Olympic Fencing Tickets

Fencing has a long history with universities and schools. At least one style of fencing, Mansur in Germany is practiced only within universities. University students compete internationally at the World University Games. The United States holds two national level university tournaments including the NCAA championship and the USACFC National Championships tournaments in the USA and the BUCS fencing championships in the United Kingdom.

Equipment costs and the relatively small scale of the sport limit university fencing to a small number of schools. National fencing organizations have set up programs to encourage more students to fence. Examples include the Regional Youth Circuit program in the USA and the Leon Paul Youth Development series in the UK. In recent years, attempts have been made to introduce fencing to a wider and younger audience, by using foam and plastic swords, which require much less protective equipment. This makes it much less expensive to provide classes, and makes it easier to take fencing to a wider range of schools than traditionally has been the case. There is even a competition series in Scotland the Plastic and Foam Fencing Fun League specifically for Primary and early Secondary school age children using this equipment.

The UK hosts two national competitions in which schools compete against each other directly; the Public Schools Fencing Championship, a competition only open to Independent Schools and the Scottish Secondary Schools Championships, open to all secondary schools in Scotland. It contains both teams and individual events and is highly anticipated. Schools organize matches directly against one another and school age pupils can compete individually in the British Youth Championships. Many universities in Ontario, Canada have fencing teams that participate in an annual inter-university competition called the OUA Finals.

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United States Fencing and Olympic Fencing Tickets

In the United States, athletes compete at local and national levels, for the most part sanctioned by the United States Fencing Association (USFA). Locally, athletes register for tournaments in their division via a website called "Askfred.net." Nationally, athletes compete in tournaments called North American Cups, or NACs for short, as well as championship events including the Junior Olympics and Summer National Championships. At these tournaments, competitors are divided by sex, weapon, age group, and division. Age groups include Youth 10, or 10 and younger, 12 and younger, 14 and younger, Cadet, Junior, as well as a variety of Veterans' categories for fencers over 40, 50, 60, or 70.

National ratings are awarded by the USFA and range from A through E; A being the highest and E the lowest, with U for all unrated fencers. Ratings are awarded based on number of competitors in a tournament and the strength of the tournament. Some competitions require competitors to meet the rating criteria. Division I fencing requires ratings of C or higher; Division II requires ratings of C or lower; Division III requires D or lower. A national points system for the age groups as well as Division 1 is based on results at national events and determines qualification for World Championships, World Cups, and the Olympics.

In the most common tournament format, fencers first fence 5 to 7 others a round-robin "pool" in 5-touch bouts. The fencers are then seeded against all other competing fencers based on their pool results. A certain percentage of the lowest seeded fencers are sometimes cut from the competition prior to the direct elimination bracket. Fencers are then placed into a bracket based on the seeding and fence single elimination bouts, usually to 15 touches. The winners advance in the bracket, and the losers are eliminated from the tournament.
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Fencing Techniques and Olympic Fencing Tickets

Holding the grip too tight leads to numerous problems. The arm must be the primary strength control, although these muscles should be used to a minimum until action occurs. Many fencing attacks and parries require very flexible wrist movements in order to properly execute parries, counter-parries, envelopments, disengages and coupes. A tight grip also degrades the accuracy of point placement, since the arm will then move with the wrist and it displace the point. Any preliminary arm movement is a signal of things to come, and the movements become larger and slower.

The French foil is held and fenced differently, since the grip is comparatively long and must be maneuvered around the wrist as the blade changes position. Then lightly wrap the other fingers around the grip as shown below. The blade should be in line with the arm, both vertically and horizontally. Note that three fingers do most of the holding.

A characteristic undesirable bend at the wrist is not unusual for beginning fencers, and it must be corrected at the earliest possible opportunity. There should be a slight bend at the elbow in the en grade position, and the elbow must be kept in toward the body. Keep the blade aligned with your forearm so that the arm lies in a vertical plane. The blade will tend to go toward the direction in which it is pointed, so the blade must be in line with both the target and the forearm, pointed toward the target. There is a tendency to bend the hand to the right and somewhat downward, which will make the point go towards the right and below the target. Aldo Nadi taught very small, efficient movements and recommended the use of a tight wrist strap in order to be able to use very fine finger control for foil fencing. The wrist strap also helps keep the blade in line. Bella de Tuscan used very flexible wrist movements combined with finger control for sabre fencing, and this method can also be used for foil. The lunge will tend to move toward wherever you point your forward foot, so point it directly toward your opponent. The position of the knee can also cause problems, so keep it vertically over the front foot.

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