Sabre (fencing)

Like other weapons used in fencing, the modern sabre uses an electrical connection to register touches. The sabreur wears a lamé, a conductive jacket, to complete the circuit and register a touch to a valid target.

Sabre was the last weapon in fencing to make the transition over to using electrical equipment. This occurred in 1988, 32 years after the foil and 52 years after the épée. In 2004, immediately following the Athens Summer Olympics, the timing for recording a touch was shortened from its previous setting, dramatically altering the sport and method in which a touch is scored.

Unlike the other two weapons, there is very little difference between an electric sabre and a steam or dry (non-electric) one. The blade itself is the same in steam and electric sabres, as there is no need for a blade wire or pressure-sensitive tip in an electric sabre. An electric sabre has a socket, which is generally a 2-prong or bayonet foil socket with the two contacts shorted together. The electric sabre also has insulation on the pommel and on the inside of the guard to prevent an electrical connection between the sabre and the lamé. This is undesirable because it effectively extends the lamé onto the sabre, causing any blade contact to be registered as a valid touch.

Early electric sabres were equipped with a capteur socket. The capteur was a small mechanical accelerometer that was intended to distinguish between a good cut and a mere touch of the blade against the target. In November 2019 the FIE announced their intention to re-introduce the capteur to sabre using modern accelerometer technology.[7]

Also known as the scoring apparatus or box, as for all electrical apparatus used in modern fencing, the referee's final judgement is aided by the apparatus taking account of possible failure.[8] Most sabre hits are registered by light signals (red and green distinguishable for each fencer) placed on top of the sabre apparatus and accompanied by audible signal(s) [9] consisting of either of a short ring, or of a continuous note limited to two seconds.

In some circumstances a white signal is indicated when a fencer has hit off-target.

The lockout period is the minimum amount of time between registered touches respective of the target area.[10] This period is set into the electrical apparatus to aid judgement.

Recent regulation adjustments to the "functioning times of the scoring apparatuses" following from the 2016 Olympic Games modified the registering times from 120 ms (± 10 ms) to 170 ms (± 10 ms). Scoring apparatuses with the new modification are marked with a 2 × 4 cm magenta identification label bearing in black text "FIE 2016".[11]

• If both hits occur simultaneously and the time difference is higher than the lockout period, one signal is displayed by the judging apparatus. The referee is likely to award the point to the first hit.
• If both hits occur simultaneously within the lockout period, both signals are displayed; in such a situation final judgement of the score is determined by the 'right of way'.

Changing the lockout timing effectively changed the way with which the sabre was fenced, making it faster with greater emphasis on footwork. Although the essential nature of the game would remain the same, the strategies for attack and defense would need to be rethought.

The timing change was initially greeted with a degree of controversy, as many fencers were accustomed to having the longer timings. This made the techniques then employed vulnerable to fast stop-cuts (a hit made by the defender that lands whilst the attacker is still beginning an attack, also known as a skyhook) or remises (a second attack made by the original attacker after the first has technically finished). It was commonly regarded that the shorter timings would only encourage poor technique and an "attack only" mentality, negating much of the art of the sport.

Remises and stop-cuts would not normally score a point as a hit by the attacker would take priority. However the hit made with priority may arrive too late under the shorter timings to register, and so the stop-cuts and remises would indeed score.

As a result of the narrower timings, the efficacy of attacks into preparation was increased, meaning that it was now more critical that the preparing fencer must already have begun an attack by the time the two fencers were in hitting distance of each other.

The techniques of how to parry and riposte have been extended. The solid parries, used extensively before the change of timings, would be supplemented by an additional step back by the defender to avoid the attacker remising (continuing to push their blade after their attack has technically done) or else the defence to be performed as a beat-attack, an extending arm that deflects the oncoming attack halfway through the extension before hitting the original attacker's target area.

With hindsight, the shorter timings seem to have encouraged a tightening and refinement of the original techniques with smaller, neater moves so that, on the whole, sabre fencing became faster and more precise than it had ever been before.

Veniamin Reshetnikov (L) and Nikolay Kovalev (R) both claim the hit; the referee must decide who scores the point. Final of the 2013 World Fencing Championships.

When both signals indicate, it rests upon the referee to decide which fencer scores the point.[12] The decision is based on the concept of right of way which gives the point to the fencer who had priority, i.e. the attacking fencer. As with foil, the other right of way weapon, priority is gained in many ways, which can be broken down into active, passive, and defensive categories:

• Active:
  • Attacking the opponent. (In fencing the word "attack" is defined as: the initial offensive action made by extending the arm and continuously threatening the opponent's target, preceding the launching of the lunge or step. The flèche is illegal in sabre as a "crossover". In sabre the threat may be established with the point or the cutting edge, and the end of the attack coincides with the moment the front foot touches the strip.) Hitting with the blade after the front foot has landed constitutes a remise of the attack, and so an opponent's attack delivered at the same time would take the right of way in this case.
  • Executing an attack which is preceded by a beat on the opponent's weapon.
• Passive:
  • Establishing a point in line prior to the opponent initiating an attack. The hit must be completed with the point. Derobement of the opponent's attempts to beat are allowed, but the point must continue to threaten the target, and a derobement when there is no attempt to beat also loses the right of way.
  • If an attack is executed against an opponent who has point in line, the attacker must remove the point in line (i.e., with a beat, etc.). Simply making contact with the blade is insufficient and the blade must actually be moved aside.
  • If an attempt to beat the blade is made, and missed (because of a derobe), the opponent maintains the right of way.
  • Point in line can lose priorities regardless of whether the fencer is advancing, stationary, or retreating,[12] but is lost if the arm is bent or the point is moved away from targeting the opponent.
• Defensive:
  • Executing an immediate return offence following the opponent's failed attack; the failed attack can be the result of a parry (i.e., parry-riposte), or because it has fallen short of the target (commonly termed a "get-away-go"), or in any other way missed.

If neither fencer has 'right of way' in a double touch situation (typically, if both initiate the attack simultaneously in so far as the director can determine), the action is called a "simultaneous attack" and no point is awarded unless an attack is initiated first and is not parried or missed.

Right of way rules were initially established to encourage fencers to use parries and other techniques in order to hit without being hit, as they would logically desire to do if they were using sharp swords. Subsequently, the rules of right of way have been altered simply to keep the strategy and technique of sabre interesting and (relatively) easy to understand.

A referee shows a yellow card for a forbidden flèche in the 2014 Orléans Grand Prix

The referee may halt the action for reasons such as a safety hazard, fencer injury, or violation of the rules. When the referee says "halt", no further action may score a point. For cases of rules violations, the referee may choose to either warn the offender or show him or her a penalty card. A warning has no scoring implication. Cards, on the other hand, have further penalties:

• Yellow card: Offender's touch may be annulled, similar to a warning. This may be given if a fencer moves forward before "fence" is heard, or unnecessary action after "halt" is heard.
• Red card: Offender's touch usually annulled, point awarded to opponent. Two yellow cards result in a red card.
• Black card: Offender is removed from the tournament and the building. This can be caused by refusing to salute, or falsifying documents and covering up breaches in rules.