RANK 1 (FOIL) (1 October 2004) - the written examination for Rank 1 covers very basic fencing knowledge the beginning fencer should know in order to (1) understand the Exercises, (2) be aware of safety issues, and (3) be able to conduct himself or herself appropriately in the Salle.   Individuals taking the written test for Rank 1 should know:

a.  Parts of the weapon.

(1)  the weapon consists of 3 major components: the blade, the guard, and the grip. 

(2)  the blade is subdivided into the (a) point, a flattened portion at the end of the blade covered for safety with a button or tip of plastic, (b) the foible, the roughly half of the blade starting at the point and extending to the middle of the blade, (c) the forte, the much thicker half of the blade nearer the guard, and (d) the tang, the portion of the blade inside the handle.

(3)  the guard, or bell, protects the hand, and has a thumb pad, or cushion, on its interior to cushion the fingers.

(4)  the grip covers the tang, and provides the surface by which the weapon is held.  The grip is secured, and the entire weapon held together, by the pommel that screws onto the threaded tang.

(5)  Italian weapons are distinguished by having a flat portion of the blade, known as the ricasso, exposed within the guard, and two bowed metal rings, known as arches, and a straight crossbar forming the point of attachment for the grip.  The ricasso on Italian foils made with the regular French blade is a metal piece inserted to create a false ricasso.

b.  Safety.

(1)  fencing safety depends upon (a) proper technique, (b) adherence to the rules of fencing, (c) proper maintenance of equipment, (d) correct wear of the uniform and use of protective equipment, and (e) safe conduct on and off the piste.

(2)  the weapon must always be carried point down when not on the strip or taking a lesson.

(3)  fencers must always wear a mask when facing each other with weapons, even in the lesson.  The mask must have its bib properly attached.

(4)  fencers when fencing each other should wear proper uniform, with jacket, underarm plastron, glove, knickers, and stockings.  Jackets must be fastened.  All clothing should be in good repair with no tears or holes, and fit properly so that no skin is exposed when fencing.  Clothing should be regularly laundered so that accumulated sweat does not damage the fibers.  Masks should be in good condition with no rust or separated wires.  Women should always wear breast protectors.

(5)  weapons should be kept in good condition, with blades always bent in the same direction, and blades sanded to remove nicks that could cause stress and to prevent corrosion forming.

(6)  if a blade breaks while fencing, the fencer must immediately stop his or her action and relax the hand to prevent driving the broken blade into the other fencer's uniform.

(7)  fencers must avoid horseplay, running in the salle or competition hall, or other actions that pose a hazard to themselves or others. 

(8)  fencing weapons can cause significant blunt tissue injuries with bruising when fencers hit heavily.  Good technique causes the touch to obviously arrest, but does not cause injury through punching actions or other heavy hits.

c.  The piste (fencing strip).  Classical bouts are fought on a strip 20 feet in length by 3 feet in width.  A center line is marked on the piste 10 feet from either end.

d.  The target area:  At foil the target is the torso, bounded by a line from the groin to the top of the hips and around the back, and the top of the collar of the fencing jacket, excluding the legs and arms, the mask and the area covered by the bib of the mask.  To score a touch the point must arrive on the target in a way that it would arrest and puncture the skin if it had been sharp. 

e.  Basic customs and courtesy.

(1)  fencing lessons and bouts start with the salute and end with the salute, a handshake, and thanks for the opportunity to cross swords.

(2)  fencers are expected to acknowledge when they are touched by their opponents and to point out the location of the hit.

(3)  fencers are expected to fence in an honest and courteous manner.

(4)  fencers are expected to welcome visitors to the salle or club and made every effort to make these visitors feel welcome.

f.  The concept of right of way.  Foil simulates exchanges using sharp weapons.  Central to foil play is the concept of right of way, which establishes a basis for an orderly exchange of actions. 

(1)  a fencer establishes the right to attack by fully extending the blade, continuously threatening the opponent's target.

(2)  an attack must be either avoided by a body movement so that it misses or be blocked by a parry.  Otherwise, if the attack lands by a continuous threatening movement, it scores a touch.

(3)  if an attack misses or is parried, the fencer receiving the attack has the right to make his or her own offensive movement, a riposte.

(4)  in the absence of an attack, a fencer may establish his or her point in line threatening the opponent's target.  Such a point in line must be removed from its threatening position or avoided for an attack into the point in line to succeed.

g.  Fencing history.  Fencing descends from a continuous evolution of the use of the sword as an essential European martial art.

(1)  fencing schools were established as early as the middle 1200s.  However, the scientific use of the sword did not make real headway until the use of gunpowder weapons made the heavy armor of the Middle Ages obsolete.  With the demise of armor, the sword became an effective military weapon. 

(2)  at the same time, fashion gradually made the sword an essential item of dress for any gentleman.  In the early 1500s and into the 1600s the class of gentlemen was essentially a military class of minor nobles who were expected to be proficient in the use of arms for national defense.  Swords became the badge of membership in that class, much as they did for the samurai in Japan.  And the general presence of swords created many excuses for their use.  As a result, for a gentleman to survive encounters in the street, training was essential.  To meet this need the first corporations or guilds of fencing masters were organized in France, Italy, Germany, and England, and the first fencing textbooks were published and widely read.  The fencing master guilds professionalized the teaching of fencing through an apprenticeship and examination system.

(3)  the formalization of the encounter and the development of codes of conduct for deadly exchanges led to the evolution of the duel as a routine activity for young gentlemen.  Individuals dueled over wine, women, song, politics, religion, the color of one's cape, and the size of one's nose.  Individuals brought seconds who happily joined in the bloodletting.  If you were short a second, it was customary to approach a complete stranger and invite him to participate in your duel, and the odds were good he would feel honored to come along to kill or be killed.  Across Europe thousands died.

(4)  by the 1800s, the general fascination with dueling ebbed, and the duel gradually changed from an encounter intended to end in death, to an affair that showed the willingness of the participants to risk their lives for their honor.  This led to duels to first blood - death was still possible, but the preference was a demonstration of bravery accompanied by a minor wound that satisfied honor.  Such duels happened in Europe as late as 1958.  And one form still survives, the mensur, a student duel fought in Germany with sharp schlaegers with the intent of inflicting scars as a demonstration of personal courage.       

(5)  as the need for fencing instruction as a preparation for the duel slowly waned, fencing underwent a major change.  At least since the 1500s, fencers had competed with each other with blunted weapons as a training exercise.  By the 1880s fencing had become a sport, and in 1896 the transition was formalized by the inclusion of fencing as one of the sports of the first modern Olympic games.  The driving force behind the Olympic movement, Pierre Baron de Coubertin, was himself a fencer.

RANK 2 (FOIL) (1 July 2005) - the written examination for Rank 2 covers basic fencing knowledge the beginning fencer should know in order to (1) make the transition to Drills, (2) start to understand fencing actions, and (3) continue to develop his or her general knowledge of the sport. Individuals taking the written test for Rank 2 should know:

a. Dimensions of the weapon: The maximum length of a foil is 110 centimeters, and of the foil blade 90 centimeters (a 5 length blade). Note that blades in the 2 and 0 lengths are available and are specified for competitions by very young fencers. The guard must be from 9.5 to 12 centimeters in diameter. The weapon must weigh no more than 500 grams.

b. Divisions of the target:

(1) In order to describe various fencing actions we can subdivide the area in front of the fencer's torso into four lines. These are based on two sets of distinctions - high line versus low line and inside line versus outside line. Although many books describe these in terms of lines drawn on the target, in reality they are only relevant when considered in reference to the guard of the fencer's weapon.

(2) High line is anything above the guard of the weapon - to defend or attack in the high line your actions will be above the guard.

(3) Low line is anything below the guard of the weapon.

(4) Inside line is toward the chest or abdomen of the fencer.

(5) Outside line is toward the fencer's back.

(6) This results in four quadrants - high inside, high outside, low outside, and low inside.

(7) Note that these lines make sense based on the individual fencer - your inside high line is opposite your opponent's outside high line if the opponent is right handed, and opposite the opponent's inside high line if the opponent is left handed.

c. Distance: In classical fencing we typically think of three distances in foil:

(1) Short distance - when you can extend your blade and hit the opponent's target area without any footwork action.

(2) Medium distance - when to hit the opponent's target area you must execute a lunge after completing an extension of your blade.

(3) Long distance - when the extension and lunge must be preceded by an advance in order to move into medium distance to hit the opponent's target.

d. Engagement and change of engagement:

(1) Engagement occurs when you are at middle distance with your blade in contact with your opponent's blade and with neither fencer having an advantage of position by dominating the opponent's blade or closing a line.

(2) A change of engagement is a lateral or a circular movement to move the opponent's blade to close a line on your target area, and open a line on your opponent's target area.

e. Simple attacks:

(1) Simple attacks are defined as attacks that are completed with a single action in one period of fencing time. Fencing time is a flexible concept and is not based on actual time measured by a clock. Instead it is the time needed for a fencer to complete a single action, and will vary from fencer to fencer and situation to situation.

(2) Simple attacks can be subdivided into direct and indirect attacks. Direct attacks start in one line and end in the same line (for example, starts in high inside and ends in high inside). Indirect attacks start in one line and move to another line (for example, starts in high outside and ends in high inside).

(3) The simple direct attack is a straight thrust formed by lowering the point with the fingers and extending the arm smoothly.

(4) The simple indirect attacks include:

... the disengage - in which the point moves around the guard of the opposing fencer's weapon ending with the blade extending in the new line.

... the counterdisengage - in which the point moves around the guard of the opposing fencer's weapon while deceiving an attempt by the opponent to take the blade or execute a change of engagement ending with the blade extending in the new line.

... the coupe - in which the point moves up and over the opponent's point ending with the blade extending in the new line.

f. Parries:

(1) Parries are actions to block an opponent's attack with the blade, deflecting the attack, even if only momentarily, from the target. Parries may be either opposition parries which form a barrier of steel using the blade and guard that shoves the opponent's blade to the side or tac parries which deflect the opponent's blade by a quick beat.

(2) The parry not only deflects the attack. It also sets up two important conditions for the defender.

... first, it gives right of way to the defender.

... second, it positions the defender's blade for an attack at the opponent - the riposte.

(3) In the earlier stages of learning to fence, parries should be formed in conjunction with a step back. This retreat provides an extra margin of safety against the strong attack and may give the fencer needed room to maneuver his or her blade in the riposte.

(4) The French and Italian Schools differ in the number and type of parries.

French School:

First - inside high and low line (pronation)
Second - outside low line (pronation)
Third - outside high line (pronation)
Fourth - inside high line (middle position)
Fifth - inside low and high line (pronation)
Sixth - outside high line (middle or supination)
Seventh - inside low line (middle or supination)
Eighth - outside low line (middle or supination)

As indicated parries are formed with the fingers in pronation (the hand held with knuckles upward), middle position (the hand held with the thumb up), or supination (the hand held with the fingers upward).  Although modern interpretations of French style is that the hand is either in supination or pronation, texts written in the late 1800s use the middle position either interchangeably with supination or exclusively.  We believe that the middle position is superior.

In effect this creates two defensive boxes - the 6th, 8th, 7th, and 4th box with the middle position, and the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 5th with the fingers in pronation.

Italian School:

First - inside high and low line
Second - outside low line
Third - outside high line
Fourth - inside high line

Italian hand positions vary through 7 different positions based on the intent of the action.

g. Ripostes:

(1) The riposte is the attack made by a defender who has parried the opponent's attack (or riposte in an exchange of ripostes). The riposte may be delivered by simply extending the arm, or it may require a step forward or a lunge against the opponent who rapidly recovers.

(2) Most ripostes are made by straight thrust by lowering the point and extending the arm from the position of the parry. However, any of the indirect attacks can be used as a riposte (with the counterdisengage being used to defeat circular parries).

(3) As a general rule, a parry should be followed immediately by the riposte.

h. How right of way is lost: Right of way is based on a full extension of the arm with the point threatening the opponent's target as the first part of the attack.  Full extension is open to some interpretation - for example, many women can hyperextend and lock the elbow, but this is not desirable as full extension.  However, the key element is that the point should be moving forward, directed at the target with the lunge or advance flowing from the extension of the arm.  As a practical matter, full extension before moving the body assures the earliest hit, and the lightest hit.  Right of way thus gained can be lost by:

(1) Failing to hit the target as part of the action you are executing.  If the attack does not hit, right of way goes to the opponent.

(2) Being parried by the opponent.

(3) Hesitating or withdrawing during the attack. If the opponent seizes the moment to launch an attack at the moment your forward movement stops or when you start to pull back your arm his or her action seize the right of way - after all, you are no longer attacking.  Smooth forward movement and good technique ensures right of way. 

(4) Being hit before the final motion of a multipart attack.  If the opponent counterattacks and lands before you start the final movement of an attack preceded by several feints, the right of way is stolen from you.

i. Inspecting the fencer's equipment: Each fencer is responsible for ensuring that his or her equipment is in safe and serviceable condition. Before fencing you should always check:

(1) Mask - the bib is secure with no holes, the restraining strap fastens securely across the back, the tongue is tight enough to prevent the mask coming off the fencer's head, the mesh is in good condition with no corrosion or dents.

(2) Jacket - the jacket fits and covers 10 centimeters below the waist of the knickers when the fencer is on guard, the jacket zips in the back or closes away from the opponent's sword, the jacket is on good condition with no tears or holes and with all stitching secure, and the jacket is clean.

(3) Plastron - the plastron (or underarm protector) is in good condition with no tears or holes, its securing straps are secure, and the plastron is the appropriate size for the fencer.

(4) Glove - the glove is in good condition with no tears or holes, the glove covers over the jacket sleeve approximately half way up the fencer's forearm.

(5) Breast plates - breast plates are appropriately sized for the fencer and correctly positioned.

(6) Knickers - knickers are in good repair with no holes or tears, knickers are clean, if the knickers open to the front, the opening is covered by the cuissard of the jacket, if the knickers open to the side the opening is away from the opponent's weapon.

(7) Stockings - stockings cover the entire leg below the knickers, stockings are in good condition with no rips or holes, stockings are clean.

(8) Shoes - shoes are either fencing shoes or similar flat soled athletic shoes, tied, with adequate protection for the weapon leg heel, and with the sole in good condition.

(9) Weapon - the weapon is in good condition with an even bend in the blade, the guard is in its original shape with no deformation, the covering of the grip is intact, there is a button on the point of the weapon.

j. Penalties for crossing the piste boundaries: Because there is no universal set of classical fencing rules, we will reference the requirements for the 20 foot piste in the rule book published for use in the Salle.  These rules penalize the fencer who steps over the side or back boundaries of the piste with one or both feet by halting the action and awarding a touch against him or her. This rule dates to the first rules for amateur fencing in the United States in the 1890s.