History

From ancient works of art showing masked swordsmen, swords, and judges it would seem that swordplay goes back four thousand years. It was known to Egypt, China, India, and Greece. The Athenians regarded the people of Arcadia as the inventors of the art of fighting with weapons. Homer devotes two rhapsodies (chapters) of the Iliad to duels: one between Menelaus and Paris, and the other between Hector and Ajax.

According to extant references and written sources, sword fights appear in Egypt, and thousands of years later (in 2700-2200 BC) in China. The figures of swordsmen competing can be seen in representations dating back to.1200 BC. In Roman times, slaves and prisoners-of-war dueled for their lives and for their freedom in the arenas of Roman emperors.

Later on, in the Middle Ages, we find protective metal armor covering the entire body, which was essential because of the size and weight of the weapons and their sharp point. It was at this time that the first Fencing schools were founded, and the sport spread systematically throughout Europe.

The first rules of Fencing appeared in 1474, in Spain. The first handbook describing positions, lines and parries came out in 1530. In 1537, the Académie d’Armes was founded in Paris. The foil made its debut in the 17th century: being a lighter weapon, it made exercise more pleasant. The mask became part of the fencer’s equipment in 1780, to protect the face, something that had previously been considered feminine and insulting.

By 1815, Fencing had developed to such an extent that there was detailed literature about it. The Italians, the Hungarians and the French were the first nations to create their own great Fencing schools, which show great differences when compared with one another. For a long time, they cultivated a style of Fencing that reflected their own models, and today all three are among the great world Fencing nations. Over time, Soviet and German fencers who had learnt much from the three prototype styles, exploited their physical attributes, their special characteristics and mentality to create their own national schools of Fencing.

Fencing is one of the nine sports that was featured on the program of the first modern Olympic Games in 1896. From then on, they were constantly included in the competition program of the Games. The International Fencing Federation (FIE) was founded on 29 November 1913. From 1920 to 1936, there were the ‘Championnats du Monde’, a Fencing competition held from 1 to 15 August each year, with fencers from numerous countries taking part. This competition took place in the interim between Olympic events.

The first Fencing master in Greece was named Miller: he taught Fencing at the Evelpidon Military School, and published the first Greek Fencing manual. A pupil of his named Pyrgos published a book in 1872 entitled “The Art of Weaponry, Fencing and the Sabre” showing the influence of the French school. It was at about this time that a private Fencing school teaching the Italian style was founded, by Iliopoulos. The first Salle d’Armes in Greece was the Syllogos Philoplon Athenon [Athens Society of Lovers of Arms]. This merged with the Athenian Club and changed its name to ‘Athenian Club To Xiphos’. The first Greek sporting body for fencing was thus created in 1888. The Greek Fencing Federation (EOX) was not founded until 1972, and up until then the sport of fencing was under the Greek Sports Association SEGAS.

Rules

Individual bouts

Each bout shall consist of three rounds of three minutes each, with one minute between rounds. The winner is the fencer who first scores 15 valid hits on the opponent or who scores the greater number of hits by the end of the bout. If the players are level by the end of normal match time, one minute’s extra time will be fenced and the winner shall be the first to score a touch on the opponent.

Team bouts

A team consists of three fencers, and the winning team is the first one to score a total of 45 hits on the fencers of the opposing team, or the one to score the greater number of hits by the end of the bout.