Fencing

            Fencing is a modern day event in the pentathlon. The first athlete to score a hit within a one minute time interval wins. If a hit is not scored, both athletes accept a loss. The target area is the whole body of the opponent. Athletes must fence every other competitor. If a competitor beats seventy percent of his opponents, he is awarded 1,000 pentathlon points.

        Competitors fence with epees.  The epee in present competitions is a direct descendent of the dueling sword. The difference is that the point, rather than being sharp, is blunted and covered with a safety device. In 1936, electric signaling was officially adopted by the International Fencing Federation.  This procedure was designed to overcome the difficulties of seeing and timing such fast touches with the human eye. Touches were registered by lighting a signal and sounding a buzzer.

        The uniform must offer total safety for the fencer. The material used must be strong enough to resist penetration. The epee jacket must have a groin strap.  The epee is the heaviest of all the weapons in fencing. The blade is triangular in cross section, with a groove in the middle. In the electrical epee blade, the wire runs down the groove from the point to the connector inside the guard. The rigidity of the blade is an important factor, so much so that it is subject to strict regulations by the International Fencing Federation. Modern fencers tend to use the pistol grip in epee. It gives more power to offensive or defensive actions and enables the fencer to resist the opponent's attack on the blade.