History

THE HISTORY OF FENCING
Fencing has always been regarded as more than a sport; it is an art form, an ancient symbol of power and glory, and a deeply personal, individual form of expression.
Fencing originated as the practice of swordsmanship to prepare men for duels and warfare. The earliest evidence of fencing as a sport comes from a carving in Egypt, dating back to about 1200 B.C.,
The 15th century brought the beginnings of modern fencing. Spain had the first true fencers, and the first two fencing manuals were published there in 1471.

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Italian Fencing Masters, such as Agrippa, who invented the four fencing positions (prime, seconde, tierce, and quarte), and masters Grassi and Vigiani, who defined the lunge which was first illustrated by Capo Ferro, became very prolific in this time.

3 Fencing Weapons
FOIL: The fleuret or foil, was developed in France as a lighter training weapon for dueling. Right-of-way, a set of rules was introduced, which made fencing safer and reduced the number of casualties to dueling.
Epee: another type of sword, the colichemarde, had been created for dueling. The colichemarde evolved into the small sword and that into the modern epee.
Saber: The third of the fencing weapons, the saber, was introduced into Europe in the late 18th
In 1780 the French Fencing Master La Boessiere invented the fencing mask, allowing a much safer bout.

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