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The sword is one of man’s oldest weapons and many different types have been used throughout history. Fencing has developed from the various styles of fighting to become one of the fastest and most technologically advanced sports in the world. There are pictures of Egyptians practicing with swords from about 1200BC. More recently heavy suits of armour and shields were used by medieval knights and their swords were so large that they required both hands to wield them. As gunpowder and muskets came into use swords became smaller, and in the 17th and 18th centuries duelling with rapiers settled ‘matters of honour’. Fencing InformationModern fencing is one of the origional Olympic sports and fencers spend many hours developing the skills, speed and fitness required to succeed in national and international competition. These days there are three types of sword used by both men and women and there are competitions for Fencers at all ages from under 10s to Veterans. The swordsThere are three types of weapon used in modern fencing: The Foil - a light, flexible sword. Hits can be scored by thrusting the point at the opponent’s trunk. Hits on the arms, legs and head do not count. The Epee - a heavier thrusting sword. Valid hits can be scored with the point of the sword on any part of the opponent’s body. The Sabre - a lightweight, very flexible sword. Hits can be scored with any part of the blade by hitting the opponent’s body above the waist. Other fencing equipmentMask - worn over the head to protect the face and eyes. Jacket - made of a strong material to protect body and arms. Lamé - conductive silver jacket worn in electric foil and sabre to allow electronic scoring. Breeches - short trousers made of the same strong material as the jacket allow ease of movement. Shoes and socks - sport shoes and knee length socks provide good grip and cover the lower legs. The language of fencingOn Guard - The position fencers start fencing from. Lunge - stretching forward with your legs and sword arm to score a hit. Parry - defending against an opponent’s attack by blocking their blade. Riposte - Hitting back after parrying. Piste - The area used by two fencers while they are fighting each other usually 2m x 14m. Method of scoring:Fencing is a very fast sport and electrical apparatus is used for registering hits. Red and green lights show valid hits and, at foil, white lights show non-valid hits. In competitions a fencer wins when 5 hits are scored in pools, or 15 hits in Direct Elimination. Teams fight to 45 hits. A bout lasts a maximum of three minutes actual fencing. For details of the hand signals used during fencing please click here. It is easy to start fencing and there are clubs all over the UK. To find a club near you visit the British Fencing website at www.britishfencing.com or email
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. Alternatively you can call them on 020 8742 3032 or write to1 Baron's Gate, 33/35 Rothschild Road, London W4 5HT. Leon Paul are the preferred supplier of British Fencing. For fencing equipment please visit www.leonpaul.com, email:
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or call them on 020 7388 8132.
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Last Updated ( Sunday, 07 June 2009 15:03 )
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