The development of fencing to our time

Fencing originated in ancient Egypt, when the Egyptian pharaoh decided to arrange competitions in honor of another victory. This moment was captured on wall paintings, where you can see how the participants in the tournament with a long object resembling a modern sword and wearing protective masks are trying to prick each other. After that, such tournaments were held in other ancient civilizations, and Greece is no exception.

At the time of the princes, only the wealthy sections of society could engage in this sport with worthy swords, and the peasants, in turn, played only with sticks.
Fencing with a rapier began its existence in Spain in the 17th century and at the same time an association of fencers was created only in England.

Competitions in this sport have begun, including the Olympics one. The first international federations for this sport were founded, approved rules were created. So the first European Championship was held in 1981.

The role of fencing in the Olympics

Fencing has been on the program of the Summer Olympics Games since 1896, which were held in Greece, Athens.After this sport has not left the lists of the Olympics to this day, because it has received worldwide recognition and high ratings among other countries of the world. Competitions in this sport were exclusively male, women were able to participate in the Summer Olympics only from 1924.

Rules and equipment in fencing

Before the start of the tournament, as well as the Olympics, technical workers checked the weapons and equipment for durability, everything was in accordance with the standards. The essence of the sport is to inflict as many jabs as possible with a sword or rapier on an opponent in a certain time. Injections are counted according to a special system on an electronic basis, after an injection a signal sounds. This discipline, like all other sports, has many subtleties and nuances and only an experienced judge can judge.

Protective equipment includes trousers with suspenders, a jacket, white leggings and special fencing shoes. An obligatory attribute is an athlete’s protective mask with a metal mesh that protects the neck, and also foil fencers wear special vests that conduct current over the suit.
Swordsmen have several types of weapons:

1. A sword is a melee weapon that resembles a rapier. The difference between them is that the sword has a much stiffer and heavier blade;
2. saber – is a chopping weapon, which has a section in the form of a trapezoid and weighs about 500 grams, and the length of the product is 105 centimeters;
3. rapier – is a piercing weapon, very flexible, unlike its other counterparts, to protect the hands there is a fence with a diameter of 12 centimeters.

Fencing is not an easy sport in itself. Nevertheless, there are not a small number of fans of this sport, like the Olympics athletes. An athlete must have a lightning-fast reaction not only for a sharp attack, but also to react in time to go on the defensive.