The Rules of Sabre

Sabre fencing is the fastest out of its cotemporaries. The sport is played on a "piste", a metal strip designed to be the play field for fencing. In any bout there are three people, the two players who will begin every heat a behind the guardline. Then there is the presider, who is in charge of keeping score and calling actions.

Similar to foil it follows the rule of "Right-of-Way". This means in every bout there is going to be an attacker and a defender, these roles are dependent who intiates the action first and gains the right-of-way.

Once right of way is established the attacker will try to hit his opponent in the target area, which for sabre is any part of the body above the waist. If he hits successfully he will be awarded a point. The defender on the otherhand, needs to steal the right-of-way before being able to score a point. Right-of-Way transfers from attacker to defender under three circumstances. If the attacker pauses and completely stops or if the opponents attack falls short or if the defender manages to parry or beat the attackers blade, then right-of-way switches to the defender. In a single engagement the right-of way can shift between players multiple times.

Unlike its contemporaries, sabre is the only form of fencing that is primarily done by slashing at opponent, in contrast to Foil and Epee that use thrusting attacks. The specific rules of sabre differ in many minor ways from that of the other two weapons such as the prohibiting of running or cross-stepping in play and the areas in which one can target.

The Anatomy of a Sabre

The sabre is composed of the following parts

Watching a match

its often suggested that before you start bouting that you watch a couple of bouts to understand what is happening. The First thing you want to do is watch the players first step. The first step either player makes will distinguish who gets the right-of-way. After that shift focus to the player's hands because this will reveal the types of actions a player is intending to do. Pay attention to the specific actions and reactions of the players such as any acts of misdirection.

At the end of each heat, observe the calls the presider makes. The presider will try to state actions of each play and what actions secured the point. This can act as a summary of events and lets you get a sense of the types of strategies the players are making. For more advance views it is reccomended that you try to make the calls yourself. If the action is to difficult to follow even with a presider, try focusing on a singular player and observe only his or her actions.

It may take some time but repeatly watching sabre matches will get you used to the overall speed of fencing.