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| A B C D E F G H I J L M O P Q R S T U |
| A | |
Advance |
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| From an en garde or balanced position, the fencer steps forward with his front foot and then immediately steps forward a corresponding distance with his rear foot. | |
Attack |
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An offensive action (or actions) whose sole purpose is to hit the opponent. |
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Attack on the blade (Attaque au fer) |
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| A forceful action against the defending blade, intended to open a line or to compel a reaction. See your coach for details regarding Beat, Press and Expulsion. | |
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| B | |
Bout |
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| A fight, usually formal, between two fencers for a prescribed number of hits within a specific period of time. | |
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| C | |
Conventions |
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| Mostly those specific rules and interpretations pertaining to priority or right-of-way in foil and sabre. Note: Epee the non-conventional weapon, has enough complicated rules of its own! | |
Counter-Attack (Contre-attaque) |
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| An offensive action executed (frequently) into your opponent's preparation or (occasionally) into his attack. Justification lies in the belief that the initial attack is slow, technically unsound or tentative. | |
Cut |
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| A stroke, restricted to Sabre fencing, that utilizes an edge of the blade. In Sabre, hits also may be scored with the point. | |
Cut-Over (Coupe) |
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| A change of engagement from high line to opposite high line via the high line. | |
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| D | |
Derobement (Avoidance) |
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| The fencer, having correctly put his point in line, successfully evades the attempt of his opponent, the would-be attacker, to find his blade. | |
Director |
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| See President. | |
Disengage |
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| A change of engagement from high line to opposite high line via the low line. | |
Double Hit (Coup Double) |
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| Both fencers score hits at the same time. Registered by the scoring apparatus, this must be done within .04 of a second. | |
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| E | |
Epee |
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| The non-conventional weapon formerly described as the Dueling Sword. | |
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| F | |
Feint |
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| A threatening movement of the blade intended to provoke a reaction. | |
| F.I.E. | |
| Federation Internationale d'Escrime | |
Foible |
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| The feeble or weaker part (1/3 to 1/2) of the blade. | |
Foil (Fleuret) |
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| The thrusting weapon that emphasizes theory and technique, is usually taught as an introduction to Fencing. | |
Forte |
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| The strongest part of the weapon, should be used exclusively for parrying. | |
French |
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| The international and official language of Fencing; also French School, one of the two great schools upon which both classical and modern fencing is based. | |
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| G | |
Glove (Gant) |
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| Invaluable protection for the fingers, hand and even wrist, especially against "flicks" and whipovers. Don't try to fence without one! | |
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| H | |
Hit (Coup) |
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| The point or edge of the weapon arrives on target. | |
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| I | |
Invitation |
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| For tactical reasons, the obvious exposure of valid target. | |
Italian School (see French) |
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| The other great classical school. Modern representatives would include the masters Barbasetti, Mangiarotti, Nadi and Santelli; and for the French masters, Merignac, Thirioux and Clery. | |
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| J | |
Jacket |
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In modern Fencing, now completely electrified, the regulation jacket is
now covered by an over-jacket, a metallic plastron commonly called a lame'.
Note: not to be confused with "lame," the French word for blade. |
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| L | |
Line, Lines |
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| Target areas defined to some extent by the position of the defending fencer's hand and blade. In the conventional weapons, the basic lines are high, low, inside and outside. | |
Lunge |
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| The classic attacking action - the extended sword arm is followed instantly by the straightened rear leg. | |
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| M | |
Mask |
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| Not the strip of cloth worn by Zorro, but an important piece of equipment that should be tested regularly and carefully. | |
Meter (Metre) |
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| A metric measurement equal to 39.37 inches. If you have to mark out a piste, think 3-3-3. (3 feet plus 3 inches plus 1/3 inch) | |
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| O | |
On Guard (En Garde) |
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| The basic fencing stance wherefrom the fencer can efficiently attack, parry or counter-attack. | |
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| P | |
Parry (Parade) |
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| A movement of the defending blade, consisting technically of opposition of forte to foible, that prevents the arrival of the attack. | |
Piste |
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| An area with specific dimensions regarding length and width whereon organized fencing competition is held. The fencing strip. | |
Pool |
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| A competition system aimed at eliminating a certain number of fencers while promoting the others. | |
President |
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| Formerly the official in charge of a jury. With the advent of electrified weapons, his modern counterpart is a Referee, an appelation that offends the traditionalists! | |
Prise de fer (Taking of the blade) |
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| An action against the opposing blade, intended to control or restrict it before concluding the attack. See your coach for details regarding Bind, Envelopment, Croise and Glide. | |
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| R | |
Referee |
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| See President. | |
Renewed Attacks (Remise, Redoublement, Reprise) |
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| Following his parry, the defending fencer commits a tactical error: fails to riposte, ripostes tardily or ineffectively, exposes his line or retreats. The first fencer, maintaining a straight arm, promptly resumes his original attack,either into the same line (remise) or into another line (redoublement). | |
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| S | |
Sabre |
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| The other conventional weapon, it utilizes cuts rather than thrusts, hitting far more often with the edge than with the point. | |
Simultaneous Action |
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| Both fencers get hit together, the consequence of actions that, in the opinion of the President, were simultaneous in concept and execution. | |
Step |
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| In Fencing a step means the movement of both feet, one slightly preceding the other. If, for example, a fencer moves only one foot, the movement technically is a half-step. (Demi-pas) | |
Stop-hit (Coup d'arret) |
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| A counter-attack that arrives on the penultimate movement (or earlier) of a compound attack. Correctly executed, it gains a fencing tempo. | |
Straight Thrust (Coup droit) |
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| A direct simple attack. Indirect simple attacks are the cut-over and the disengage. | |
Strip |
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| See Piste. | |
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| T | |
Target |
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| The specific area wherein the attack must arrive in order to score a valid hit. Each weapon has its own target area. | |
Tempo |
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| The time required by the individual fencer to execute a movement involving his blade, body or feet; also a principle underlying right-of-way in the convention weapons. | |
Thrust |
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| An attacking or forward movement of the point, usually made without a full lunge. | |
Time |
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| Intimately related to but not quite the same thing as Tempo. In Epee, for example, we mean clock time measurable by the scoring apparatus. In these cases the President makes a decision based on what happened or didn't happen within .04 (that's 1/25) of a second! | |
Time-hit (Coup de temps) |
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| In effect, a riposte-parry. The executant hits while closing the line in which the finale of the attack concludes. Correctly executed, this stroke creates a one-hit situation. | |
Trompement (Deception) |
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| As the fencer attempts to find the attacking blade (that is, to parry), the attacker deceives his movement by changing into another line. Compare with Derobement. | |
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| U | |
USFA |
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| United States Fencing Association (the governing body) part of the F.I.E - Federation Internationale d'Escrime (the international organization). | |
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