Name: Fencing, explained
Uploaded: 2018-05-28T09:40:54.000Z
Duration: 5 min 33 s
Description: Thousands of YouTube videos with English-Chinese subtitles! Now you can learn to understand native speakers, expand your vocabulary, and improve your pronunciation...

Most sports in the olympics are really pretty
easy to watch.

You cross a finish line, hit a target, jump
the farthest, score a point.

It's so incredibly fast and precise, that
even after watching several matches, for the

average viewer, it's hard to understand
exactly how a point was scored.

This is footage from 3 different bouts at
the 2015 world championships.

On the surface, they look pretty similar.

But what you're looking at is in fact 3
very different events.

They each have their own weapon and set of
rules and their roots can be traced back centuries.

My only cultural reference for fencing comes
from the 1998 remake of the Parent Trap, so

I decided to travel 2 blocks from our NYC
office to a veritable fencing oasis in the

middle of Time Square, the Manhattan Fencing
center.

It's produced 3 Olympians just this year.

That's my very patient coach for the day,
Brando Messinese.

But it all happens in a half a second
Yeah it happens pretty fast.

An early form of fencing for sport can be
traced back to ancient Egypt but fencing,

as we know it today, derives from the European
duel.

The design of swords evolved from a defense
and hunting strategy of cutting and slashing

to thrusting because it was far more deadly
and effective.

The foil is the lightest of the 3 fencing
weapons and it appeared around the 17th century

Europe as a practice weapon for the smallsword,
a fashionable weapon often used in a duel

Fencing schools were established in Italy,
Spain, and France elevating the practice to

Foil fencing rules are the most limiting.

You can only hit the torso and back and only
with the tip of the foil blade.

This is where the term touche or (touch) comes
from.

In the 19th century a sturdier weapon called
the epee was introduced.

I would say for a first time viewer of fencing,
the easiest one to watch is epee.

That's because it's the slowest of the
three events because fencers are more hesitant

to initiate an attack exposing their whole
bodies to their opponent.

Fencers are more hesitant to initiate an attack,
exposing their whole body to their opponent.

It is also the only of the three weapons where
the “right of way” rule is not enforced.

Well, in a classic duel the only way to win
if you're attacked first is to parry or

deflect your opponent's weapon AND THEN riposte
or attack your opponent.

With the epee, simultaneous hits can occur
and both fencers will receive a point.

Sabre is the second fastest sport in the Olympic
games after rifle shooting.

That means the blade is moving almost as fast
as a bullet

Instead of just thrusting, the sabre fencers
can score on any part of the upper body with

slashes and thrusts and because the right
of way is enforced, sabre fencers are more

You'll immediately recognize the difference
between an epee and sabre bout because of

the shape of the hand guard and speed of play.

Fencing holds a special place in Olympic history
because it's one of only 5 sports to be

featured since the first modern games in 1896.

It was a hugely popular sport, drawing crowds
in theaters like big boxing fights would today.

This of course is where the salute comes from.

Until the 30s, fencing bouts like boxing would
take place in theaters.

In the mid 20th century electricity replaced
red chalk to make judging easier.

And between 1900s and the early 2000s many
fencing maneuvers further distanced the sport

Nothing did that more than the “flick.”

People were used to flick their blades on
the backs of their opponents.

But they changed the timings of the machines
and that wouldn't work anymore.

Because a flick was so quick, it's less
likely to register as a hit.

Despite that, foil fencers still attempt this
maneuver.

The international fencing federation and the
IOC have done a lot to try and draw outsiders

At London 2012 the lighting systems alone
looked like a techno dance floor and the masks

But the essence of the sport, a fight between
two people remains.

If you can just train your eyes to watch split
second bouts, it's really exhilarating

Subtitles ListPlay Video

Fencing, explained

struggle

strategy

practice

ancient