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Hungary's Áron Szilágyi (L) fences against Russia's Nikolay Kovalev (R) in the men's sabre semi-finals of the 2013 World Fencing Championships at Syma Hall in Budapest, 10 August 2013.
Hungary's Áron Szilágyi (L) fences against Russia's Nikolay Kovalev (R) in the men's sabre semi-finals of the 2013 World Fencing Championships at Syma Hall in Budapest, 10 August 2013.
Credit: Marie-Lan Nguyen

Fencing is a combat sport that features sword fighting. The three disciplines of modern fencing are the foil, the épée, and the sabre (also saber); each discipline uses a different kind of blade, which shares the same name, and employs its own rules. Most competitive fencers specialise in one discipline. The modern sport gained prominence near the end of the 19th century and is based on the traditional skill set of swordsmanship. The Italian school altered the historical European martial art of classical fencing, and the French school later refined that system. Scoring points in a fencing competition is done by making contact with an opponent. (Full article...)