YUP, there is more to Philippines sports than BASKETBALL. If you are a big fan of richard gomez, or if you are an avid follower of sports in general, then this might not come as a tremendous shock. Otherwise, don't worry, we understand how you have become a victim of our "consumer-driven" society...

However, do not be doomed for we will be your light...
We will trek through this sport that has been in the very first Olympics(and yet, THERE HAS BEEN PLANS to strike it from the Games because fencing is hardly a spectator sport; cruel but perfectly logical... less spectators, less profit). So, hey, sit back and relax, I will do my best to enlighten you in this game that only we, its disciples, could even partially comprehend (watch a National Opens and you'll understand that this is not an exaggeration). ack

history

If I were not in the mood and were asked to describe the sport of fencing, I would say, Watch Antonio Banderas in the Mask Of Zorro and you'll get an idea. Set in the times of the California Gold Rush, Banderas used the art of sword-fighting to end up with Catherine Zeta-Jones. Swordsmanship had played its role since the beginning of ancient civilization. From the glory days of Greece to the grandness of Rome, short, wide swords were first favored, and later, (remember Russell Crowe) heavy, two-handed broadswords. But when the Chinese invented an easier way of killing their enemies (via gunpowder and firearms), armors did not have much use anymore, and the European gentlemen shucked their broadswords for lighter swords, which strongly resemble the weapons used in the sport of Fencing today.
It is obvious where sword craftsmanship as a sport originated from. In the 18th century, sword fighting evolved into an art throughout Europe. But what country exactly? Noone could really say, because the French, Spaniards and Italians are all claiming that the roots of modern fencing could be found in their respective native lands. Publications discussing the current system of rules and scoring were eventually printed. Thus began the use of the foil (described as the most fundamental among the three fencing weapons), the metal mask with eye slit (a justification why fencers have strong necks), and the protective jacket(why white? --- check out FAQ's). The rules were created to provide a real-life combat show while protecting the safety of the players. Well, most of the time, anyway. Certain "conventions" were adopted to limit the target area of the body and to provide a "right of way" for attacks.
In 1896, in the first Olympic Summer Games, Fencing was included in the list of events. The sword, at that time, was not only a decoration(as it is now, in Royal and Military affairs)... people still died from slashes, thrusts, and cuts made by this military weapon. Just so you know, fencing is one of ONLY six sports to have appeared in every Olympic Games since 1896.

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overview

Going back to the Mask of Zorro, the sword that Antonio Banderas uses is called a Saber in the sport of fencing. Fencers are identified as to the type of weapon he or she uses: the foil (pronounced as is), the epee( ep-pey), or the Saber (say-ber). Most fencers restrict themselves to mastering only one weapon. If you choose foil, that would make you a foilist(and not a FOILER). Most start with the foil. Like Coach Orly would always say, Good foilists do not have a hard time playing good epee. Saber is another story. Some of us devils play dual, meaning we play both foil and epee, but if you are beginner, the foil is the best weapon to start with.
The Federacion Internationale d' Escrime (FIE) is the current governing body of fencing communities all over the world. It is sort of like the United Nations of fencing, or the International Olympic Committee entirely dedicated to the promotion of the sport. It organizes World Cups, imposes new rules, sanctions, and basically just keeps the fencing world in order. Fencing is an incredibly complicated sport once you get down to it, and the rules have the tendency to change from person to person (yeah, baby, are we not aware of that!). The FIE makes it its job to strictly lay down the standard rules which would eventually be followed in international competitions.

- mickey

Okay, so we've made it clear, there are three weapons in fencing.
The Foil. The Epee. The Saber.

foil
The Foil, as described in the foregoing, is the most fundamental. But after your first foil bout, you'll find out it's a big lie, there is nothing fundamental about foil. Its only claim to being basic is its emphasis on proper fighting form, proper defensive and offensive tactics, and the controversial "right of way" . Once you have these ideas drilled into your head, the transition from foil to epee or foil to saber would be no trouble for you at all.
The modern foil has a flexible rectangular blade, approximately 35 inches in length, weighing less than one pound. The foil is a "thrusting" weapon, ergo, DO NOT slash your opponent, you'll waste precious energy doing this. Instead, make a solid, jabbing motion, only enough to make a solid, uncontested touche to light up the scorer. Remember, your objective is not to kill your opponent… those days are way over.
Where should you hit the opponent? Well, foilists are required to wear these itchy-looking metallic vests called the lamé. It extends from the shoulder to the groin, front and back. You hit the lame and the scorer either registers a green or red light, depending on your position on the fencing strip, and you win the point. You hit any other part of the body (the mask, the arms, the legs, and yes, ANY other part), and the scorer registers a yellow or white light, indicating an OFF TARGET. The director of the bout stops all activities and it's back to the ON GUARD position for both of you. But you do not go back to the Guard Line (the middle of the strip), where you originally start from. You stay where you are and the duel for the next point begins from there.

epee
The EPEE is another "thrusting" weapon and is the heaviest among the three at 27 ounces. While the foil sports a 4-inch-diameter guard, the epee guard exceeds it at least by an inch. Why? Well, epee is the closest you can get to a real-life, ala-3 Musketeers-type of swordfighting. Just about everything in a fencer's body is a valid target… yup, even your hand, so when you start to think of complaining about the epee's weight straining your arm, think again. In short, there is no such thing as OFF-TARGET, and this is the reason why there is hardly any antagonism in the direction of an epee bout. A director only has to be aware of attempted touches to the foot, making sure that the epee did not hit the floor first, before it hit the foot. Unlike in foil, there is no "Right of Way". All you have to remember is to hit your opponent before he hits you.
Foilists who try epee for the first time often think, Hey I wonder why I waste my time on foil, this is chicken feed! Dude, don't get so cocky, there is more to epee than meets the eye. Aside from being heavy, the epee point is hard to control. Foilists who are used to riposting blindly (meaning pag nakarinig ng parry, tapon kaagad ng blade to the max, bahala na kung saan tumama basta parry-riposte nya yon) will realize one unmistakable mathematical postulate in application: THE SHORTEST DISTANCE BETWEEN TWO POINTS IS A STRAIGHT LINE.
Is height an advantage in epee? Let me introduce you to one of the top women epeeists in the country today. She's the Mugsy Bogues of Philippine fencing, meaning to say, "small but terrible". She has been known to beat the tallest epee fencers in the Women's team, and she does it with grace. So, nope, you don't have to be blessed in height to succeed in epee. All it takes is patience, timing, and practice. And sometimes, when nothing seems to work, you can always do the "matrix", and cha-cha yourself out of the way of your opponent's blade (from first-hand experience, this could work like magic). Of course, it would help if you took a crash course in gymnastics first for that much-needed flexibility.

saber
The Saber is the most… er, dynamic game in fencing. The saber blade weighs and has the length of the foil. Only, the saber has a large, parabolic guard, as compared to the foil's concave, circular one. The saber is both a "thrusting" and a "slashing" weapon. Unlike in foil where you have to use the tip to get a touche, here, you can use the blade's edges. The entire UPPER body is a valid target, including the head, so in addition to a long-sleeved lame, a saberist's mask has a metallic covering. The rules applied to foil apply to saber. There is a "right of way", ergo, directing becomes a pain-in-the-you-know-what.
Saberists slightly modify their footworks, making their advances and retreats as small-stepped as possible. Their lunges are delayed by a fraction of a second so that they could observe how their opponents react. When doing the "fleche", their feet do not "cross over", which would give you the impression that they are running more than fleche-ing.
Upon entering the fencing hall for the first time, you do not have to be familiar with the three weapons to know where the saberists are. Just close your eyes, take a deep breath, and listen.
Thug thug thug thug thug thug thug. WOPAAAA!
Now you know.

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FOR YOUR INFORMATION....

· ...the wire attached to a fencer's torso during a competition is not intended for pulling him back in case he gets too near his opponent (an interesting idea, but hardly necessary) ... a fencer's body wire( as it is called) is attached to a spool, which in turn, is attached to the scorer. The scorer lights up when a fencer gets a touche. We fencers are so wired we could die of electric shock more than of actual sword hits.

-mickey

learning fencing

Fencing is the ideal sport fot those who wish to take intensive exercise without requiring large premises and without the necessity to have a large number of persons in order to enjoy the game. There is no premium on mere strength or height. It developes and relaxes the mind equally with all parts of the body. Competitive fencing also developes the fencer's reflexes and sense of strategy.

the arena
Fencing is played on a rectangular strip (piste) which is six feet wide and forty feet long. The fencers start behind their respective guard line which are one meter equidistant to the center of the piste.The fencers are required to stay on the piste while playing, and are not allowed to cross each other during the bout.
electrical apparatus
The apparatus is composed of a box (recorder) which is fitted with the devices registering the hits, and measuring the time between the arrival of the hits. The box is also fitted with two lights and two buzzers (one for each fencers) which signals the arrival of hits.

This apparatus is connected to two drums (spools) placed at each end of the piste, behind each fencer.Both spools contain a long wire, one end of which is attached to the fencer.This wire winds and unwinds on the spool as the fencers move forward and backwards.

Each fencer is fitted with a body wire which is worn under his jacket. One end comes out at hte back of his jacket and is plugged into the wire on the spool. The other end runs inside the sleeve of his arm and is fitted into a plug placed inside the guard of his weapon. Finally, the thin wire runs along the groove of the weapon to it's joint.

The point is separated from the blade by a spring (epee and foil).If a hit is made, this point depresses and contacts with the blade therebey completing the electrical circuit and the corresponding light and buzzer operate.

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basic position
The basic position, known as the "on guard" position, has been chosen because it enables the fencer to defend himself or attack at will. It also ensures perfect balance and, therefore, mobility.

the lunge
The lunge is the basic offensive position executed to complete an attack. When lunging, the body is propelled forward by rapid extension of the rearleg which is coordinated with the raising of the leading foot. Simultaenously, the rear arm is dropped to a position parallel and just above the extended rear leg, while sword arm is extended, the point of the sword is thrust forward in line with the target.

basic rule of play
Unlike in epee where points are scored by any fencer landing a valid first hit, foil and saber fencing are governed by the rule of the "right of way".

Essentially, the rule of right of way gives the attacker the priority to score a hit against his adversary. To get the right of way, the defender must first parry the attack before his counter attack (riposte), thereby transferring the priority to his favor.

officiating
The bout is officiated by a referee, commonly called the "president de jury". He is the person who calls the bout to commence or to stop. He is alo responsible in following the sequence of the movements and should determine which fencer had the right of way.

The referee is aided by the apparatus controls which signals the fencer(s) who registered the hit(s) whether valid or invalid. Therefore having determined the fencer with the right of way and assisted by the apparatus as to which fencer registered a hit, the erferee shall then decide and award the point/score.

As in other sport, scores in fencing are awarded tothe fencer who makes the hit, thus the fencer with more hits is declared winner.

notes to spectators
Spectator etiquette at fencing tournaments differ somewhat from that of most other sporting events, but most similar to tennis. During the actual fencing of a bout, silence should be maintained; players and officials both need to hold their concentration-the applause or cheers should be held until after a touch has been awarded or the conclusion of the bout.

As you become accustomed to the speed of the game and you come to appreciate these finer points of fencing, you will find that you are actually following the intention of the fencerand even anticipating the objective of the strategy being developed before you. You will then understand why this fascinating sport has held its place in theimagination of men for centuries andis today as modern as it is ancient.

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fencing as a Filipino sport

Fencing in our country today is administered by the PHILIPPINE AMATEUR FENCERS ASSOCIATION, INC. The PAFA was founded and organized in 1957 by the late Don Francisco L. Dayrit Sr. who was the first filipino fencing master: while its president was the late sportsman Chito Feliciano.

The PAFA is duly accredited by the FEDERATION INTERNATIONALE D' ESCRIME (FIE) which is the governing body for fencing around the world. It is likewise a member of the ASIAN FENCING FEDERATION, the OCEANIC FENCING CONFEDERATION , and the SOUTHEAST ASIA FENCING FEDERATION. Locally, the PAFA is also an active member of the Philippine olympic Committee and recognized by the Philippine Sport Commission.

The main objectives of the PAFA are to propagate and develop the sport of fencing in the country as well as to produce Filipino fencers who will excell in international competitions.

While fencing in the Philippines is still relatively young, the calibre of our national fencers and the standards of play are generally competitive with other Asian fencers.

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