Learn the straight thrust in fencing: extend the arm, point on target, then lunge. With a rules check for foil, épée and sabre and the most common mistakes.
How do I attack without wrecking myself? The honest answer: with the straight thrust – the simplest attack in fencing. You extend the weapon arm, the point threatens the opponent's target, and usually the lunge follows. The Hessian Fencing Association describes it as a forward movement of the blade by extending the arm – no detour, in the same line [1].
That sounds as if there were nothing to learn. There is: under the FIE rules an attack starts with the extension of the arm, with the point continuously threatening the valid target, before the lunge starts [2]. If the lunge comes first, it is not an attack but a preparation. The straight thrust applies to all three weapons, but the target differs (foil: trunk, épée: whole body, sabre: everything above the hip line [2]) – and in épée there is no right of way [1].
Realistically: you learn the form in one evening. Speed, timing and the decision when to use it take months – experience.
From the guard: point at the target, eyes on the upper body and weapon hand. Experienced foil fencers read mainly the upper body and weapon hand, not the blade [4].
The hand pushes forward, the elbow extends until the arm is straight and the point threatens the target. This is the actual attack. The shoulder stays down, the torso calm.
While the arm stays extended you trigger the lunge: front leg lifts, rear leg extends, heel landing [1]. Arm extension must begin before the lunge [1]; elite fencers extend the arm before the front foot moves [3]. With a step-lunge it must even begin before the end of the step [2].
In electric foil a pressure of at least 500 grams on the tip registers a hit, in épée 750 grams [1] – about the weight of a half-litre bottle, or a three-quarter-litre bottle, resting on the tip. You do not have to push through: a controlled thrust is enough. In sabre, contact alone registers the hit [1].
Straight back: arm pulls, leg pulls, eyes stay on the opponent.
Milestone: when you hit ten times in a row with the arm arriving extended before the leg lands, move on to parry and disengage.
In foil only the trunk counts as target – head and arms are excluded [2]. In épée the whole body can be hit [2], so every partner there needs a mask and full clothing. Never point the weapon tip at a partner who is not wearing a mask.
The injury risk is low: 0.28 time-loss injuries per 1000 starts at international FIE competitions – just under three per 10,000 starts –, mostly sprains and strains of the leg [5]. This guide explains and motivates – it does not replace supervised training. Never fence without a mask and without supervision.
Before the straight thrust, ask yourself what your opponent is doing. In foil and sabre you only get right of way if your action starts correctly and the opponent does not stop you with a blade in line [2]. In épée there is no right of way: whoever hits first scores; if you hit simultaneously, a double hit counts for both [1][2]. In other words: in épée the straight thrust is often your first test, in foil often your answer to an invitation.
A simple attack in the same line: the weapon arm extends, the point threatens the target, and usually the lunge follows [1]. It is the basic attack from which the disengage, the feint and the other attacks are derived.
No. Under the FIE rules in foil and sabre arm extension must begin before the lunge; actions with a bent arm count only as a preparation [2]. In épée there is no right of way, so this rule does not apply there.
In electric foil at least 500 grams, in épée 750 grams [1]. In sabre, contact alone registers the hit [1]. Aiming counts, not pushing.
Yes, but the sabre also hits with the edge, back and flat of the blade, and the target reaches up from the hip line [2]. The "arm first, then lunge" procedure applies here as in foil [2].
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