Fencing is a sport where people fight each other using swords.
They use different kinds of swords.
Fencers wear special protective clothing: a wire mask, a thick jacket and a glove on the hand holding the sword.
Fencing competition
Fencing bout with the foil. Wires in the foil record when a sword touches the opponent.©iStock
In competition, two fencers compete at a time.
There are three different kinds of swords: the foil, the epee, and the sabre.
The space where fencers compete is called a strip. The strip is two metres wide by fourteen metres long.
Mask, glove and sword. ©Getty
Fencers wear protective clothing: a wire mask, a thick jacket and a glove on the hand holding the sword.
Each fencer tries to touch the other fencer five times with their sword. Wires in the blade of the sword makes a light go on when the sword touches an opponent.
There are officials who keep score by counting how many times the light goes on. They also make sure that the rules are not broken.
Did you know?
Fencing has been an event at every summer Olympic Games since 1896.
It has been an Olympic event for women since 1924.
Wheelchair fencing was one of the first ever Paralympic sports.
A wheelchair fencing bout at the Paralympic Games. ©Dreamstime
History of fencing
The sport of fencing dates back about 5 000 years to ancient Egypt. An ancient Egyptian relief painting dating back to 1190 BC shows people wearing items of protective clothing and practising sword fighting with blunted swords.
Fencing schools became popular in the 15th century in Italy and Italian fencing masters taught swordsmanship in England, France and Spain. The popularity of the sport spread from that time, and by the late 19th century fencing was considered to be an important part of a gentleman's education.
Fencing is a sport for men and women, and there are classes for children also. ©Dreamstime
It’s a good idea to get information from more than one source!
Read about the history of fencing:
http://www.fencing.net/intro2.html
Read some fencing facts
https://kids.kiddle.co/Fencing
Learn from Olympians! Watch a video teaching three basic moves
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8IdfA5fXJs
Read about fencing competition at the Olympics
Read about fencing competition at the Paralympic Games
https://www.sunrisemedical.eu/blog/wheelchair-fencing-rules
