🏛️Official — FIE
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Combat Sports
1 players
indoor
foil, mask, glove
10 essential rules
Fencing is one of only five sports contested at every modern Olympic Games since their inception in Athens 1896. The Fédération Internationale d'Escrime (FIE), founded in Paris on November 29, 1913, serves as the global governing body. The FIE administers the sport under its comprehensive Rules f...
Key Fact: Fencing weapons have precise specifications for weight, length, and blade profile as per FIE regulations.
Each weapon has precise FIE specifications governing weight, length, blade profile, and electrical components: Foil: Maximum total weight 500 g (17.6 oz). Maximum overall length 110 cm (43.3 in). Flexible rectangular-section blade. The blade terminates in a spring-loaded button (pointe d'arr&ecir...
The mask is the most critical piece of safety equipment. FIE-homologated masks must withstand a 12 kg (1600 N) punch test applied to the mesh.
Jacket: Must cover the torso and arms to the wrists. FIE-level jackets must resist 800 N of penetration force (CE Level 2). The jacket includes a strap (croissard) that passes between the legs to prevent the jacket from riding up.; Plastron (Underarm Protector): A mandatory half-jacket worn benea...
Foil and sabre require a conductive lamé worn over the jacket to define the valid target area electronically: Foil lamé: Covers the torso (front, sides, and back) and the groin flap. When the foil tip depresses against the lamé, it completes a circuit that illuminates the colored (on-target) ligh...
Foil and sabre require a conductive lamé worn over the jacket to define the valid target area electronically:
Body Cord: A wire running from the weapon, through the fencer's sleeve and jacket, connecting to a spring-loaded reel at the end of the piste. Two-pin connector for épée (detecting weapon circuit and ground); three-pin connector for foil and sabre (adding lamé circuit).; Scoring Reel: A spring-lo...
All bouts take place on a regulation fencing strip known as the piste: Length: 14 m (45 ft 11 in); Width: 1.5–2 m (4 ft 11 in – 6 ft 7 in); Run-back zone: 1.5–2 m beyond each end of the piste, allowing fencers who retreat past the end line to come to a controlled stop
Bouts take place on a regulation fencing strip (piste).
The piste features several clearly marked lines: Center line: Divides the piste into two equal halves (7 m each); En-garde lines: Located 2 m from the center line on each side. Fencers begin each engagement standing behind their respective en-garde line.; Warning lines (two-meter lines): Located ...
Perform the post-bout salute and handshake with genuine respect
After every bout, fencers remove their mask, strip the glove from the sword hand, and shake hands with the opponent and referee. This ritual is technically required, but the cultural expectation goes further: it must be performed with visible sincerity. Doing it grudgingly, perfunctorily, or refusing it entirely is considered one of the gravest breaches of fencing etiquette.
Do not scream or celebrate aggressively toward an opponent
Ripping off one's mask and screaming, yelling, or pumping fists directed at the opponent after scoring a touch—especially the winning touch—is considered deeply unsportsmanlike. This became a documented controversy at FIE World Cups and the Olympics, drawing formal commentary and informal condemnation from coaches, officials, and longtime fencers.
Most prevalent in modern sabre and foil, where quick decisive touches invite emotional reactions; the issue was prominent enough that FIE revisited conduct guidelines
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