The cord of a foil has one end connecting to the back of the fencing strip, and the other end attaches to the foil. The cord of any type of electric fencing weapon goes through the fencing gear, coming out behind the fencer. A switch at the tip of the foil registers the touch, and a metallic foil vest, or lamé, verifies that the touch is on valid target. Exploded view of a modern fencing foil, with a Visconti grip and a bayonet-style body cord plug īeginning with the 1956 Olympics, scoring in foil has been accomplished by means of registering the touch with an electric circuit. Two grips are used in foil: straight traditional grips with external pommels (Italian, French, Spanish, and orthopedic varieties) and the newer design of pistol grips, which fix the hand in a specific, ergonomic position, and which have pommels that fit into a countersink in the grip. The type of pommel used depends on the type of grip. Then the pommel, a type of fastener, is attached to the grip and holds the rest together. The guard is fastened to the blade, plug, and grip. As of March 2019, the Italian grip remains legal for use in modern competition. The French grip is easier to learn, but the pistol grip gives a wider range of handling. 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 Italian grip is still in use as the initial teaching weapon in Italy and many other countries that follow the Italian pedagogical tradition. When an Italian grip is used, see below, a ricasso extends from under the guard, inside of the grip's quillons, into the tang.Ī foil fitted with an Italian grip. It extends past the grip enough to be fastened to the pommel and to hold the rest of the foil together. There is a part of the blade contained within the grip called a tang. The blade of a foil has two sections: the forte (strong) which is the one third of the blade near the guard, and the foible (weak) which is the two thirds of the blade near the tip. The length of the assembled weapon at maximum is 110 cm, and the maximum weight must be less than 500g however, most competition foils are lighter, closer to 350g. The maximum length of the blade must be 90 cm. To prevent the blade from breaking or causing harm to an opponent, the blade is made to bend upon impact with its target. Blade įoils have standardized, tapered, rectangular blades in length and cross-section that are made of tempered and annealed low-carbon steel -or maraging steel as required for international competitions. The Fédération Internationale d'Escrime and most national organizations require electric scoring apparatus since the 1956 Olympics, although some organizations still fence competitively with non-electric swords.

Non-electric ones are primarily used for practice.

) Lacking the button and associated electrical mechanism, a judge is required to determine the scoring and the victor in a tournament with non-electric foils. (There are also a range of plastic swords made by varying manufacturers for use by juniors. The blades of both varieties are capped with a plastic or rubber piece, with a button at the tip in electric blades, that provides information when the blade tip touches the opponent. The difference between them is one is electric, and the other is known as 'steam' or 'dry'. Both types are made with the same basic parts: the pommel, grip, guard, and blade. There are two types of foils that are used in modern fencing. Italo Santelli (left) and Jean-Baptiste Mimiague exhibiting techniques of foil fencing at the 1900 Olympics Background

Fencing touche vs foil