Weapons
Foil is a light and flexible weapon, originally developed in the mid 17th century
as a training weapon for the smallsword (a light one-handed sword designed almost
exclusively for thrusting).
The target area is restricted to the torso. Hits can be scored only by hitting the
valid target surface with the point of the weapon in such a manner as would have
caused a puncture wound, had the weapon been sharp. A touch on an off-target area
stops the bout but does not score a point. There are right of way or priority
rules, whose basic idea is that the first person to create a viable threat or the
last person to defend successfully receives a 'right' to hit. If two hits arrive
more or less simultaneously, only the fencer who had the 'right of way' receives a
point. If priority cannot be assigned unambiguously, no points are awarded. The
original idea behind the foil rules was to encourage the fencers to defend and
attack vital areas, and to fight in a methodical way with initiative passing back
and forth between the combatants and thus minimizing the risk of a double death. In modern competitive fencing 'electric' weapons are used. These have a
push-button on the point of the blade, which allows hits to be registered by the
electronic scoring apparatus. In order to register, the button must be depressed
with a force of at least 4.90 newtons (500 grams-force) for at least 15
milliseconds. Fencers wear conductive (lamé) jackets covering their target area,
which allow the scoring apparatus to differentiate between on- and off-target
hits. 
The modern épée typically has a blade which measures 90 centimetres, and
weighs up to 770 grams, although it sometimes weighs as little as 350 grams due to
various metals and construction techniques. Only hits, or "touches", made with the
push-button tip of the weapon are registered. Since the hand is a valid target,
the bellguard is much larger than that of the foil and is most often made of
aluminum or stainless steel. The tip is wired to a connector in the bellguard,
then to an electronic scoring device or "box". The bellguard, blade, and handle of
the épée are all grounded to the scoring box to prevent hits to the weapon from
registering as touches. In the channel formed by the V-shaped blade, there are two thin wires leading from
the far end of the blade to a connector in the bellguard. These wires are held in
place with a strong glue that protects them from the rigors of an encounter. The
amount of glue is kept to a minimum as in the unlikely (but possible) case that a
fencer manages a touch in that glue, the touch would be counted as good. A "body
wire" with a three-pronged plug at each end is placed underneath the fencer's
clothing and attached to the connector in the bellguard, then to a wire leading to
the scoring box. The scoring box signals with lights (one for each fencer) and a
tone each time the tip is depressed. The tip of an épée comprises several parts including: the mushroom-shaped movable
tip; its housing or "barrel" which is threaded to the blade; a contact spring; and
a return spring. The tips are generally held in place by two small screws, called
tip screws, which thread into the sides of the tip through elongated openings on
either side of the barrel. The screws hold the tip within the barrel but are
allowed to travel freely in the openings. While this is the most common system,
screwless variations do exist. The return spring must allow the tip to support a
weight of 750 grams without registering a touch. Finally, an épée tip must allow a
shim of 1.5 mm to be inserted between the tip and the barrel, and when a 0.5 mm
shim is inserted and the tip depressed, it should not register a touch. The
contact spring is threaded in or out of the tip to adjust for this distance. These
specifications are tested at the start of each bout, and whenever a weapon is
replaced during a bout. During competitions, fencers are required to have a
minimum of two weapons and two body wires in case of failure or breakage.
The épée is the heaviest of the three weapons (approaching the weight of an actual
court sword). However, ultra-lightweight blades can actually reduce the weight of
an épée to below that of a foil.[1] On low-end weapons, the épée has a relatively
stiff blade, though new technology has resulted in a flexible blade comparable to
the other weapons. The épée is characterized by a V-shaped or approximately
triangular cross-section, and a large round guard which offers much more
protection to the wrist than the foil guard. Épée fencing tends to be more conservative in style than the other weapons, and
bouts tend to be somewhat more deliberate. 
Sabre is the 'cutting' weapon: points may be scored with edges and surfaces of the
blade, as well as the point. Although the current design with a light and flexible
blade (marginally stiffer than a foil blade) appeared around the turn of the 19th
and 20th century, similar sporting weapons with more substantial blades had been
used throughout the Victorian era.
There is some debate as to whether the modern fencing sabre is descended from the
cavalry sabres of Turkic origin (which became popular in in Central and Western
Europe around the time of Napoleonic Wars) or one of Europe's indigenous edged
duelling weapons, such as the cutting rapier. In practice, it is likely to be a
hybrid of the two. Most of the conventions and vocabulary of modern sabre fencing
were developed by late 19th and early 20th century masters from Italy and Hungary,
perhaps most notable among them being Italo Santelli (1866–1945). The sabre target covers everything above the waist, except the hands and the back
of the head. Today, any contact between any part of the blade and any part of the
target counts as a valid touch. This was not always the case, and earlier
conventions stipulated that a valid touch must be made with either the point or
one of the cutting edges, and must arrive with sufficient force to have caused a
palpable wound, had the weapon been sharp. These requirements had to be abandoned,
because of technical difficulties, shortly after electronic scoring was introduced
into sabre fencing in late 1980s. Like foil, sabre is subject to right of way rules, but there are some differences
in the precise definition of what constitutes a correctly executed attack and
parry. These differences, together with a much greater scoring surface (the whole
of the blade, rather than the point alone), make sabre parries more difficult to
execute effectively. As a result, sabre tactics rely much more heavily on footwork
with blade contact being kept to a minimum. Scoring
Prior to the introduction of electronic scoring equipment, a director (formerly called the president of jury) was assisted by four judges. Two judges were positioned behind each fencer, one on each side of the strip. The judges watched the fencer opposite to see if he was hit. This system is sometimes called "dry" fencing (USA) or "steam" (United Kingdom, Australia) fencing.
Electronic scoring is used in all major national and international, and most local, competitions. At Olympic level, it was first introduced to épée in 1936, to foil in 1956, and to sabre in 1988. The central unit of the scoring system is commonly known as "the box". In the simplest version both fencers' weapons are connected to the box via long retractable cables. The box normally carries a set of lights to signal when a touch has been made. (Larger peripheral lights are also often used.) In foil and sabre, because of the need to distinguish on-target hits from off-target ones, special conductive clothing and wires must be worn. This includes a lamé, (a jacket of conducting cloth) for both weapons, a body cord to connect the weapon to the system, a reel of retractable cable that connects to the scoring box and in the case of sabre, a conducting mask and cuff (manchette) as the head and arms are valid target areas.
A green light: The fencer on the left (same side as the light) has hit his/her opponent on a valid target. A single light indicates that only one fencer has hit. That fencer is awarded a point.
A red light: The fencer on the right has hit his/her opponent on a valid target and is awarded a point.
Both lights: In epee, this means that both fencers will be awarded a point. In foil or sabre, however, the judge must decide who will be awarded the hit by determining who started the attack, and if the attack was successfully parried.
A white light This is used only in foil, and indicates that the fencer has hit off target. A point will not be awarded to this fencer.
Judging  A judge decides when a point or touch has been scored in all three weapons, although his or her role in judging foil and sabre is greater than in epee. In both foil and sabre, if a fencer starts an attack, that fencer has priority until his or her attack is parried (blocked with the blade). Once the attack has been parried, the opponent then has an opportunity to hit.
The Fencing Area
The fencing area is limited to a metallic strip called a piste which is 14 metres long by 1.5 to 2.0 metres wide. Lines are placed at 2m, 5m, and 7m from the center. If one fencer crosses the rear line at his/her end of the piste, a point is awarded against him/her.
If you step off the side of the piste with one foot, the bout is stopped. To continue, you must come back to the center (width) of the piste where you stepped out.
If you step off the side of the piste with both feet, the bout is stopped and resumes with your opponent advancing one meter on the piste. (You lose ground by 1m)
Competition formats
If you step off the rear boundary of the piste, your opponent gains one point.Fencing tournaments are varied in their format, and there are both individual and team competitions. A tournament may comprise all three weapons, both individual and team, or it may be very specific, such as an Epee Challenge, with individual épée only. And, as in many sports, men and women compete separately in high-level tournaments. Mixed-gender tournaments are commonplace at lower-level events, especially those held by individual fencing clubs. There are two types of event, individual and team. An individual event consists of two parts: the pools, and the direct eliminations.
In the pools, fencers are divided into groups, and every fencer in a pool will have the chance to fence every other fencer once. The size and number of the pools is determined by the number of athletes who have registered for the competition. After the pools are finished, the direct elimination round starts. Fencers are sorted in a table of some power of 2 (16, 32, 64, etc.) based on how many people are competing. Due to the fact that it is highly unlikely for the number of fencers to be exactly a power of two, the fencers with the best results in the pools are generally given byes. The winner carries on in the tournament, and loser is eliminated. Fencing is slightly unusual in that usually no one has to fence for third place. Instead, two bronze medals are given to the losers of the semi-final round.
Team competition involves teams of three fencers. A fourth fencer can be allowed on the team as an alternate, but as soon as the fourth has been subbed in, they cannot substitute again. The modern team competition is similar to the pool round of the individual competition. The fencers from opposing teams will each fence each other once, making for a total of nine matches. Matches between teams are three minutes long, or to 5 points, as in the pools. Unlike individual tournaments, team tournaments almost always fence for bronze.
Portions of this text were provided by usfencing.org and fencing.ca
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