About Fencing

Sabre

Sabre

In the history of fencing, the sabre was traditionally used as a cavalry weapon, wielded while on horseback. In modern sabre fencing, hits are scored primarily with the side or ‘cutting’ edge of the blade, but can also be made with the tip. The edges of the sabre blade are dull & the tip is rolled over so that there are no sharp surfaces that can cut the fencers.

The valid target area in sabre is defined as any part of the body from the waist up, including the arms & head. A special electric jacket, mask & glove are worn to define the target for competition. The electric mask, jacket & glove are made of a conductive, metallic material. When the sabre blade makes contact on the conductive material, a valid hit will be registered on the scoring apparatus. Only hits made to the valid target area can score points. Hits scored to other parts of the body are referred to as ‘off-target’ hits, and do not score points.

Scoring in sabre is also governed by the rule of ‘priority’. The fencer who first initiates an attack by extending the weapon arm forward towards the opponent is the one with priority. If a fencer whose opponent has priority, wants to score a hit, he/she must defend against the original attack prior to initiating his/her own attack. A referee is used to control the bout and determine which fencer has priority. Once priority has been determined, he/she then refers to the scoring apparatus to determine whether the hit scored by the fencer with priority was a valid on-target hit.