Fencing is a combat sport that features sword fighting. The three disciplines of modern fencing are the foil, the épée, and the sabre ; each discipline uses a different kind of blade, which shares the same name, and employs its own rules. Most competitive fencers specialise in one discipline. The modern sport gained prominence near the end of the 19th century and is based on the traditional skill set of swordsmanship. The Italian school altered the historical European martial art of classical fencing, and the French school later refined that system. Scoring points in a fencing competition is done by making contact with an opponent.
Final of the Challenge Réseau Ferré de France–Trophée Monal 2012, épée world cup tournament in Paris.
Fencing School at Leiden University, Netherlands, 1610
1763 fencing print from Domenico Angelo's instruction book. Angelo was instrumental in turning fencing into an athletic sport.
Jacket
A foil is one of the three weapons used in the sport of fencing. It is a flexible sword of total length 110 cm (43 in) or under, rectangular in cross section, weighing under 500 g (18 oz), with a blunt tip. As with the épée, points are only scored by making contact with the tip. The foil is the most commonly used weapon in fencing.
Arianna Errigo (L) competes against Carolin Golubytskyi (R) in the final of the women's foil event, 2013 World Fencing Championships
Italo Santelli (left) and Jean-Baptiste Mimiague exhibiting techniques of foil fencing at the 1900 Olympics
A foil fitted with an Italian grip. The Italian grip is still in use as the initial teaching weapon in Italy and many other countries that follow the Italian pedagogical tradition. While still in use with many classical fencers, most competitive sport fencers have abandoned the Italian grip in favor of variations of the pistol grip, with the French grip used rarely. The French grip is easier to learn, but the pistol grip gives a wider range of handling. As of March 2019, the Italian grip remains legal for use in modern competition.
Parts of a foil. Exploded view of a modern fencing foil, with a Visconti grip and a bayonet-style body cord plug[citation needed]