Woody Cavenaugh

In Part One we discussed the generals of a fencing tournament. In part two we are going to talk about one style of fencing and the trials and tribulations of trying to watch it.

Swords for dummies. Or as we like to say in fencing "Epee". Yep, that word that keeps turning up in the crossword puzzles is the easiest of the three weapons to watch. We like to say that all you need to referee epee is thumbs (to use the timer). Then we spend the better part of a half hour likening which ever epee referee is closest to a certain simian president.

The epee while visually the largest and most imposing of the weapons, in reality it is analogous to the least deadly form of dueling. It is modeled after rapier dueling to first blood. The epee is about a meter long and weights about a pound. It takes 750 grams of pressure to push the button on the tip and score. While it does require the hardest hit of the three weapons, it still isn't all that much, yet bruising may occur, and will be about the size of a quarter. The width of the blade and the largeness of the bell guard makes it appear much larger and heavier than it actually is. The extra large bell guard is there to protect the weapons hand which is valid target in epee.

In epee, everything is valid target. From the top of the head, to the bottom of the foot, hit it first and you get a point. Hit it at the same time your opponent hits you, and you get a point. The only way not to get a point in epee is to hit last, or miss entirely. For this reason, a good epee fencer will attempt to hit what is closest to them and if they miss, they try to hit the next thing down the line, hand, wrist, elbow, bicep, shoulder, knee, chest, head, foot, back shoulder, back arm, back wrist, back hand and so on. All you have to do is hit them before they hit you.

In watching the bouts among epee fencers. You will notice that the fencers are generally patient and will more likely counter attack than attack. They want their opponent's closest target as close to them as possible without giving anything up. When a fencer attacks they are bringing their weapon arm closer to their opponent, and thus, bring their target closer. The referee is watching for rule breaking and stepping off of the strip. The modern scoring box stops the clock and advances the score with each hit, meaning the referee only needs to press "start" on the remote when they say "fence". With older scoring boxes, they would still prefer to use a timer and scoring person to keep up with the stop watch and clip board. The only lights seen are red and green, each signifies a point to one fencer or the other.

Epee bouts tend to last a while, and it is not unheard of in epee for time to run out before either fencer reaches the number of touches necessary to win the bout. In the case of a tie, the referee flips a coin. The winner of the coin toss has what is called "priority". They then fence for a minute, if no one scores in that minute, the one with priority wins the bout. During regulation time it is possible to get a double touch, where each fencer hits at the same time, and both get a point. The only exceptions to this are in the case of a tie, or during the priority minute. In those cases a single touch by one fencer is necessary to win.

The best hits in epee are those that you don't see. These hits are quick and precise hits to the bottom of the hand and wrist that don't appear at fencing speed to have hit anything, yet the light does not lie.

The truth is the light does lie. The bell guard of each weapon is wired into the system such that hits to the bell guard won't cause a touch to be scored unless, there is rust, tape, finger nail polish, etc to keep the tip from making electrical contact with the bell. Meanwhile, the floor can be a problem. The wiring of the epee allows for a touch to be scored anytime the tip is depressed unless it is pushed against something that is wired into the circuit. At high level tournaments the epee fencers fence on metallic surfaces that are wired to the score box. A hit to the floor in these circumstances would not cause the light to signal a touch. At most tournaments, the hosts cannot afford to buy the metallic fencing surfaces so the referees are counted on to throw out any touches that are accidentally scored against the floor. A smart fencer won't try to make toe touches in these circumstances. An unethical fencer will because it is possible they could bluff their way into a free touch. Often at lower level tournaments the you may hear the fencers call "floor" after a touch, either to say that they hit the floor or to say their opponent did. Fencers may request, and referees may assign "floor judges". These are usually two people who have agreed to stand at each end of the strip and watch for errant hits against the floor, tables, chairs, bystanders, etc.

To find the epee in a room, look for the fencers who are wearing their fencing whites with no extra equipment like shiny vest, jackets, or masks. They will be the ones who look the most comfortable and relaxed.