Classic one touch sword

One of the most interesting challenges in fencing is one-touch sword combat. Today there are two formats: classic one touch sword and modern pentathlon sword. And these formats are very different. This article will focus on the classic one touch sword.

The sword is the modern version of the dueling sword, last used in a duel in France in 1967, and retains the essential physical characteristics of the dueling weapon. Its use as a fencing weapon emerged in France in the 1880s and 1890s as a result of dissatisfaction with the use of foil to prepare for serious encounters. Because its use simulates the duel, the whole body is the target and the priority is the blow that lands first with the point.

In the early days of classical sword fighting they fenced off for a single touch, based on a first blood duel to satisfy honor. The fencing strip was preferably outdoors, often like a gravel driveway, and could extend up to 34 meters. And the modern trend for time limits hadn’t made itself felt; Sword fights could be marathon experiences lasting 30 minutes or more, something unprecedented. The result was a contest very different from the foil or saber of the time, and even more different from the modern epee.

If you want to wield classic epee today, the original format can be replicated by using a number of simple rules:

(1) The bouts are dry fenced (without electrical scoring) using a director and four judges. Judges must be able to distinguish arresting strokes from those that simply slide.

(2) If possible, the fight should be fenced in the open air on a road or path. However, if this is not practical, the length of the strip can be adjusted allowing a fencer to come off the end and restart on the guard line the appropriate number of times to provide the desired distance.

(3) No time limit. This is generally not a problem, as modern fencers tend to attack as if the fight is a standard five-touch, three-minute fight.

(4) The bout is decided in favor of the shooter who scores the first hit. If the director cannot determine which impact lands first, he can ask the judges for their opinion. And if an opinion cannot be reached, success is judged simultaneous.

(5) If both shooters are hit simultaneously, both shooters lose.

As you can imagine, this puts a premium on judgment and the ability to maintain a steady hand and calm disposition under pressure to wait for the ideal moment to attack or counter. Because hits are judged visually, actions that produce easily visible hits are an advantage to the fencer. And the double hit rule, both lose, increases the value of the parry and the response of the opposition as an alternative to using the counter.

One-touch sword dry combat has a significant element of luck associated with it. Therefore, the number of touches was increased to two, then three, and finally five. Proponents of the dueling experience sometimes suggest that this moves the spade game away from its dueling roots. But duels were always opportunities for poor results, and multi-hit duels were not uncommon until World War II. The purity of a touch and the challenge it offers make this an interesting way to fence.