Looking for an explanation of an acronym? Check the acronyms list here!
when swords are not in contact
to step forward
the last three fingers of the sword hand
the process of describing actions occurring in a fight, usually a phrase preceding a hit
creating an angle between the weapon and the sword arm by flexing the wrist and pronating or supinating the sword hand
a valid hit which is disallowed because of an infringement of the rules or a technical fault
beating the ground with the ball of the foot, either as a ‘front foot’ or ‘rear foot’ appel
friendly combat between two fencers
an initial offensive action made by extending the sword arm and continuously threatening the opponent’s target
ducking or moving sideways to avoid being hit
The edge of a sabre blade opposite to that of the cutting edge
a short, sharp jump forwards; usually used as a preparation.
a fight-off to determine a result in the event of a tie
crisp striking movement of the opponent’s blade creating a deflection, or obtaining a reaction; used as a preparation
a soft, padded attachment to the lower part of the mask to protect the neck and throat
taking of the foible of the opposing blade diagonally from high to low line, or vice versa
the main component of a sword on which the hilt is mounted
wire worn under a fencer’s clothing to connect the sword terminal to the retractable spool cable, when using the electrical apparatus
a fight for a specific number of hits
stepping back
white, knee-length trousers made of robust material; side fastening must be on the non-sword-arm side, and legs must have fastenings below the knees
when a pause is introduced into an action which is normally performed in one movement
actions which are performed with an unacceptable level of force or violence which causes discomfort to the opponent
soft covering over a non-electric foil or epee point
the rhythm in which a sequence of movements is made
a parry formed by giving way to an opponent who is taking the blade
a beat made after passing under or over the opponent’s blade
re-engagement of the opponent’s blade on the opposite side by passing under or over it
shields the breast, sternum and ribs from strikes when fencing
deflection of the opponent’s attacking blade by making a circle with the sword point
when two fencers are close together but can still wield their weapons
aggregate of individual bouts or team matches required to determine a winner
two or more single actions performed together as one continuous action
an attack comprising one or more feints
two or more consecutive takings of the blade, alike or different, with no loss of blade contact
riposte comprising one or more feints
the rules governing the method of fencing for each weapon
bell-shaped guard of a foil or epee
bodily contact between the fencers in a bout
the action of extending the sword arm and grazing lightly down the opponent’s blade, maintaining contact throughout
the offensive action made while avoiding, or closing the line against, an opponent’s attack
an indirect action which deceives a change of engagement
see counter attack
see circular parry
a riposte following the successful parry of the opponent’s riposte or counter-riposte
an action made by the attacker into a counter attack which is provoked by the opponent
see cut-over
the taking of the foible of the opposing blade from high to low line, and vice versa, on the same side as the engagement
a moulded grip with finger protrusions, used on foils and epees
a hit at sabre made by striking with the edge of the blade
an indirect action made by passing the blade over the opponent’s point
not being hit by the opponent’s offensive actions, either by parrying, avoiding, or moving out of distance
actions made after a pause; usually attacks or ripostes
evasion of the opponent’s attempt to beat or take the blade while the sword arm is straight and the point is threatening the target
when both blades break contact
extension of the sword arm accompanied by the lunge
deflecting the opponent’s attacking blade by moving from a high line guard to a low line guard on the opposite side and vice versa
actions made without passing the blade under or over the opponent’s blade
method of competition organisation where winners are promoted to the following rounds and losers are eliminated after one fight
the group of individuals (usually around 3 people) responsible for managing and and running the competitions.
by taking part in a fencing competition, fencers ‘pledge their honour’ to observe the rules for competitions and the decisions of judges and to be respectful towards the president and the members of the jury
indirect action made by passing the blade under or over the opponent’s blade
turning or ducking to remove the target area from its normal position, resulting in the non-valid target being substituted for the valid target
to be eliminated from a competition due to cheating or bad behaviour, or by default, e.g. late arrival
a compound attack which deceives the opponent’s circular parry
when both fencers choose exactly the same moment to make an offensive action
in epee only; after the time has expired, if both competitors have received the same number of hits (or neither has scored a hit), they are counted as both having received the maximum number of hits being fought for, and a defeat is scored against each, except in direct elimination where the fight goes on without limitation of time until there is a result
in epee only, when both competitors register a hit on each other simultaneously, the difference of time between the two hits being less than 1/25 of a second
A loss of contact between the first and second prise de fer
seeding of fencers to determine the bouts in a competition
actual fencing time allowed during a bout, ie a stop clock is started at the beginning of a bout, stopped each time the president halts the fencers and started again when the bout is restarted
guards of electric weapons must be earthed correctly so that weapon hits do not register on them
when using electrical equipment, metal pistes must be correctly earthed so that hits do not register on them
a pad worn on the fencer’s sword-arm elbow for protection
an electric box with red and green lights to register valid hits at foil, epee and sabre and white lights to register non-valid hits at foil. The apparatus is mounted centrally, adjacent to the piste and connected by floor leads to spools with retractable cables placed at both ends of the piste, to which the fencers connect their body wires
foils, epees and sabres suitable for use with electrical apparatus
when both blades are in contact
the taking of the foible of the opponent’s blade by making a complete circle and maintaining continual contact throughout
area around the piste which is typically restricted access – only for the referees, organisers, the fencers competing and depending on the stage of te competition access may be granted to limited numbers of accredited coaches.
threatening movement of the blade made with the intention of provoking a parry or similar response
when fencers are fencing each other it should be possible to draw a theoretical straight line running through both leading feet and rear heels
the side of the trunk of body on the sword-arm side
two judges who watch for floor hits when electric epee is used without a metal piste
the flexible half of the blade further away from the hilt
the half of the blade nearer to the hilt
deflecting the opponent’s blade by opposition of ‘forte to foible’ while blades are engaged
the part of the hilt to protect the sword hand
fencing positions – see prime, seconde, tierce, quarte, quinte, sixte, septime, octave
the position of the target above a theoretical horizontal line mid-way through a fencer’s trunk
the assembled parts of the sword excluding the blade, ie the guard, pad, grip and pommel
To strike the opponent with the point of the sword clearly and distinctly and with character of penetration. A cut with a sabre
a system used in competition to determine a fencer’s seeding after the first rounds. The first indicator is expressed as a ratio of the number of victories and the number of fights and the second indicator is the number of hits scored minus the number of hits received
an offensive action made by first passing the blade under or over the opponent’s blade
theoretical divisions of the target, corresponding to fencing guards
position of the target below a theoretical horizontal line mid-way through a fencer’s trunk
a method of getting closer to an opponent with acceleration to make an attack and while maintaining balance and making it possible for a rapid recovery to On Guard
the index finger and thumb of the sword hand
the loop of tape or leather attached to the grip and held to prevent a non-electric foil from flying out of the hand in the event of being disarmed
electrically-conductive material covering the piste in order that hits on the floor do not register on the electrical apparatus
low line, semi-supinated guard on the sword-arm side
the stance adopted in fencing
a compound attack which deceives the opponent’s simple parry
starting a movement with no prior knowledge of how it will finish, relying on reflexes to adjust and make the correct ending
blade movement maintaining constant contact with the opponent’s blade
general term for moulded grips of various designs used on foils and epees
defensive action to deflect an opponent’s attack by opposing forte to opponent’s foible
the teaching of a movement in parts, i.e. isolating the parts of the movement demanding most skill and practising them in isolation; then putting the parts together to make a whole movement
a step forwards with an appel from the rear foot at the same time as the front foot lands
a sequence of fencing movements performed without a break
the field of play on which a bout takes place
a half-jacket with no underarm seam, worn for extra protection on the sword arm under the fencing jacket; also a padded over-jacket worn by a fencing coach when giving individual training
a metal cap screwed to the end of the blade which locks the parts of the weapon together and provides a counter-balance to the blade
the grouping of fencers or teams in a competition
the movement of blade or foot to obtain the best position from which to make an attack
high line, pronated guard on the non-sword-arm side
the execution of a parry by the defender’s forte opposing the attacking foible, i.e. ‘opposition of forte to foible’
the right of way gained by the fencer at foil and sabre by extending the sword arm and continually threatening the opponent’s target
see bind, croise, envelopment
actions made with the sword point continually moving towards the opponent’s target
the position of the sword hand with the knuckles uppermost
high line, semi-supinated guard on the non-sword-arm side
low line, pronated guard on the non-sword-arm side at foil and epee; and a high guard at sabre to protect the head
the bringing of both feet together, either forwards or backwards, so that the heels are touching with the feet at right angles and the body in an upright position
the return to the On guard position
the renewal of an action after being parried by replacing the point on the target in a different line to the original action
the renewal of an action after being parried by replacing the point on the target in the line of the original action
the competition formula which gives losers of a direct elimination bout a second chance to stay in the competition
the renewal of an action made with a lunge by first returning to guard forwards or backwards
an offensive action following a successful parry of an attack
low line, pronated guard on the sword-arm side
low line, semi-supinated guard on the non-sword-arm side
high line, semi-supinated guard on the sword-arm side
Two or more consecutive parries made to defend against compound attacks
the position of the sword hand with the finger-nail uppermost
the part of the blade on which the hilt is mounted
high line, pronated guard on the sword-arm side
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