What are the differences between the foil, épée and sabre fencing disciplines?

Records of fencing date back more than 3,000 years, with the discipline used as a tool for survival and hunting. The objective of fencing is to touch the opponent with the tip of a sword without being touched yourself, and the sport is practised on a piste (or strip) that is 14m long and between 1.5m and 2m wide. It is the only Olympic combat sport in which body contact is not permitted.

Individual fencing contests consist of three rounds (bouts) that last three minutes each, or until an athlete touches the opponent 15 times. The fencer who has scored the greater number of touches is declared the winner. If at the end of regulation time, the scores are equal, athletes will compete for a deciding hit, with a maximum time limit of one minute.

Over the centuries, fencing was used for military training, with an organised form of the sport practised in Central Europe from the 14th and 15th centuries onwards.

During the 17th and 18th centuries, the sport gained popularity when a set of rules were put in place that established the target area, while fencers also started to wear masks made out of wire mesh. At the same time, a sword with a flat tip, known as a foil, was developed.

Throughout the 19th century, the sport’s regulations were improved, arbitration was established and its swords (or disciplines) were established: foil, épée and the sabre. The sport has been practised at the Olympics since the first Games of the modern era: Athens 1896.

But what are the differences between each of the fencing disciplines? Continue reading below to find out more.

Foil

Foil forms the basis of modern fencing. It was developed in the 18th century for training purposes, without the use of a blade or a point.

The objective of the discipline is to score points through strikes with the tip of the sword on the target area, which is the opponent's torso. It is a light weapon (0.5kg), 110cm in length, with a 90cm blade. The weapon is also flexible and shaped like a trapezoid.

Foil is the most common discipline among fencers and has featured on the Olympic programme since Athens 1896. Among its famous proponents, Thomas Bach (GER), President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), won the gold medal in the team foil event at the Montréal 1976 Games.

Épée

The objective of the épée is to touch or strike any area of the opponent's body with the tip of the weapon, with fencers allowed to score from simultaneous touches.

As the épée can reach the opponent's entire body, the competitors' actions are more conservative and, therefore, fencers maintain a more vertical stance. The Épée has a maximum size of 110cm, with a 90cm blade (the most rigid among the three weapons), and weighs 0.77kg.

The discipline made its debut on the Olympic programme at Paris 1900.

Sabre

Sabre allows you to accumulate points with both the tip and side of the blade, allowing fencers to touch the opponent on the head, torso and upper body parts, except for the hands. This makes the duel with the sabre very fast and offensive. Like foil, the discipline has featured on the Olympic programme since Athens 1896.

The sabre is the shortest of the three weapons, but also the most flexible. It is 105cm long with an 88cm blade that has a slight curvature. An aspect that easily identifies the sabre is its cup, which protects the fencer's hands when competing.

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