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Commentaries And Procedures For the Judging
and Directing of Classical Foil Formal Assaults

INTRODUCTION

The purpose of these rules and regulations is to put in place safe and sane criteria for the practice of classical and historical fencing. It is not the intent of these rules to recreate "actual combat," but rather to outline basic parameters for conducting assaults within a tournament structure. In the opinion of the Association, it is impossible to replicate personal combat to the most minute detail and authentic conditions without resorting to actual bloodshed. It is the intent of this regulatory system to insure that those who wish to practice the classical and historical forms of fencing can do so in an honorable fashion that stresses safety.

General Provisions

• Rules will be demonstrated prior to all official AHF tournaments.
• Fencers fence at their own risk and peril.
• It is the responsibility of the participants to have knowledge of and adhere to the rules.
• Spectators must not interfere in any way. Coaching by voice or gesture, commenting in a loud voice, swearing, using foul language, or abusing officials is prohibited. Spectators behaving in an unruly manner, creating a nuisance, and/or preventing orderly proceeding of the contest will be warned, and if they persist in their actions, ejected.

All rules listed herein are to be enforced without modification in official AHF events, unless permission is granted by the AHF Executive Committee to modify the rules for a given competition.

These rules are the sole property of the Association for Historical Fencing, Inc. and may not be reproduced in whole or in part in any form without the express written permission of the Executive Committee.

1.0 General Conditions of the Assault

I. There shall be two categories of participation: 1st category is for young participants 12 to 17 years of age. 2nd category is for participants 18 years and up. The rules shall be the same for either category. There may be open tournaments that include all age brackets, at the discretion of the Tournament Director.

II. All bouts shall be fenced on a piste 20 feet long by 3 feet wide. Stepping out of bounds will be penalized as detailed in Section 6.0

III. Each fencer must adhere to Classical foil technique in style and form.

2.0 Weapons, Equipment Specifications and Requirements

I. Only French or Italian hilts are permitted. All foils must have their points covered with a rubber, plastic, or waxed thread button affixed with white surgical adhesive tape. Blades must be clean and free of rust. No part of the blade can be covered by tape with the exception of the point.

• On the French foil, guards (coquilles) may be round, figure-eight, oval, or rectangular.
• On the Italian foil the guard (coccia) must be round, and the cross bar may project no more than two centimeters beyond the circumference of the guard.

Only standard non-electric foils will be permitted. Orthopedic grips of any type are forbidden. Blades mounted with dummy electric tips are forbidden.

The use of a martingale or a wrist strap is optional.

II. Fencers must have two weapons in good condition when arriving on the piste.

Clothing and Protective Equipment

I. Three weapon fencing masks (12 Kg punch test) with thick, sewn-in bibs are required for competition. No customized masks or attachments to the masks will be permitted. NO HOODS of any type under the mask or attached to the mask will be permitted. All masks must fit properly to ensure maximum protection.

II. Three-weapon jackets are required for competition. These must be made of strong material, preferably of heavily padded cotton duck or canvas. In order to facilitate judging of touches jackets must be white or of a natural canvas color. Long pants or fencing knickers must be worn and must be made of at least 12-ounce duck or the equivalent, and can be of any light (muted) or dark solid color. Socks must match the color of the knickers, and may not display corporate branding or logos. Shoes must be predominantly white, black or gray.

III. An underarm plastron is required under the jacket. Breast protectors are required for women, and rigid groin cups are required for men.

IV. A glove for the armed hand is required. The cuff of the glove must go over and cover the sleeve by at least three (3) inches, and construction must be of sturdy leather or equivalent.

Excessively baggy clothing is forbidden. Spandex or nylon clothing, warm-up pants and sweat pants are NOT permitted.

No bare flesh may be exposed.

All weapons and equipment must be inspected by officials prior to the beginning of the tournament.

3.0 Technique and Safety

Target Area

The valid target area shall be within the limits bounded by the top of the collar of the fencing jacket (the bib, or bavette, is also valid target), and a line connecting the tops of the hip bones. The groin area is not valid target. The back, which is considered to end at the top of the hips, is also a valid target. The arms and legs do not count as valid target.

Thrusts

Thrusts must land clearly and distinctly on target, and the blade must bend sufficiently on impact to demonstrate penetrating power. Jabbing or punching actions are forbidden, and do not qualify as thrusts.

Use of the Unarmed Hand

The use of the unarmed hand is NOT permitted, with the exception of the passata sotto, in which the unarmed hand makes contact with the ground.

4.0 Infighting

Infighting is permitted. However, discretion and self-control must be exercised. If the director feels that the action has become irregular or unsafe, he will immediately stop the action. Similarly, if the action becomes obscured so that the director and judges cannot interpret the phrase, the action must be stopped. The action will also be halted upon any clashing of the guards. The contestant who systematically and deliberately causes infighting by force of the action will be dealt with as described in Section 6.0.

Passing the adversary (changing positions on the piste) in the course of a bout is permitted if it is done as a consequence of a phrase d'armes and does not stop the action.

The fleche, or any type of running attack, is prohibited.

Corps-a-corps encounters must be stopped by the Director. Corps-a-corps is defined as bodily contact, and is not permitted in foil. The contestant who systematically and deliberately causes a corps-a-corps by force of the action will be dealt with as described in Section 6.0.

A hit outside the prescribed target area may be counted, provided if in the opinion of the Director it would have been good if the adversary had not taken an irregular position or made an illegal movement. Should the director feel that an action is uncontrolled or constitutes a fall, he shall halt the bout.

5.0 General Conduct

I. Every hit should be immediately acknowledged, whether good or bad, by the fencer receiving the hit by making a foot call (an appel).

II. Speaking while under arms (except for acknowledging a touch against oneself) is not permitted except with the permission of the director, gained by making a foot call (an appel) and being recognized by the director.

III. When the Director halts the action, both fencers must immediately assume first position (aplomb).

IV. The covering of valid target with any part of the body considered as non-valid (e.g. hand, arm, or leg) is forbidden.

V. It is forbidden to hold the weapon with both hands or to change from one hand to the other during a bout.

VI. A fencer should not gesture in any form to the audience or judges that he has made a valid thrust or that he disapproves of a decision.

VII. Neither adversary is allowed to retain the point of his weapon fixed on his adversary once the halt is called.

VIII. The fencer is not allowed to turn his back toward the adversary after delivering a thrust.

IX. Emotional outbursts or displays of temper before, during, or after a bout are forbidden. Participants must exhibit self-control and good manners.

Dishonorable conduct, such as attempting to circumvent the rules, will result in a warning for the first offense and ejection for any subsequent offense.

Vindictive acts of any kind will result in disqualification and ejection from the event. The AHF Board of Governors may also ban the offender from all events for a period of any length, up to and including a lifetime ban from Association events.

6.0 Officiating

Every formal bout will be presided over by a Director of Combat. The director's function is to ensure that the combat proceeds smoothly and fairly. He must see that the fencing is conducted in accordance to the rules and must halt any swordplay that, in his opinion, is unruly, patently unfair, and/or unsafe. Additionally, the director shall have the power to:

• On his authority commence, halt, end a bout, and declare a winner.
• Penalize violations of the rules and conventions of fencing, including those written and unwritten rules relating to good conduct.
• Award touches with the concurrence of the judges and in accordance with the applicable voting procedure.
• Exercise complete control over the fencers, spectators, judges, minor officials, and such other personnel as may be in the area of the piste. This control extends to whatever means may be necessary to maintain order, including ejecting a fencer or spectator, dismissing a judge, etc.

The Director of Combat is the sole interpreter of the rules.

The Director will be assisted in his duties by four judges, the responsibility of whom it shall be to watch for touches occurring during the bout, which they shall signal against the fencer who was touched by raising a hand and declaring in a loud voice "touch."

To begin the bout, the Director shall bring both contestants to the center of the piste. Once the Director has assured that everything is in order (such as the fencer is using inspected weapons, wearing the approved clothing, etc.), he shall have them salute and bring them on guard, with the command "on guard." He shall then step back and give the command, "fence." The fencers shall cease fencing upon the command "Halt."

All bouts shall be for three points, or for a limit of five (5) minutes, whichever comes first. Points are scored against the fencer receiving the touch. If the score is tied at the end of this time period, one additional touch will be fenced without time limit to determine a winner. The fencer with fewest touches called against them shall be declared the winner.

Judges shall have one vote each and the director shall have one and one-half votes. A minimum of one and one-half votes is required to award or deny a touch.

Upon seeing a touch or the signal for a touch from a judge, the director shall stop the bout and poll the judges as to the validity of the hit. The judges must respond with one of the following: “good,” “insufficient penetration,” “off target,” “passe” (passed), “plaque” (flat), or “abstain.”

For a parry to be considered sufficient, the attacking blade must be clearly removed from its threatening position with the result that the defender is not touched. Mere contact against the attacking blade is not considered a sufficient parry. If an attack arrives due to an insufficient parry (mal paree), the attack is counted as valid. If the attack lands due to the attacking blade whipping around a properly executed parry (over steel), the touch is not valid.

A hit off-target suffices to stop the phrase of arms and annuls any succeeding riposte or counter-riposte.

If a competitor disarms his opponent by beating or binding the weapon, a hit is good only if made instantaneously.

Priority is determined by the attack. The attack in foil is the initial offensive action executed by FULLY EXTENDING THE SWORD ARM, which must precede any forward movement of the body and continuously threaten the adversary's valid target.

Fundamental Principles For The Determination Of Priority In The Double Touch

In order to eliminate controversy in the double touch, we are enumerating herewith the basic principles governing it. These rules are not for the sake of theory only, but to be applied by the Director in actual tournaments.

1. A Double Hit by simultaneous attacks of equal merit is annulled.
2. A Double Hit by Stop-Thrust upon an attack badly executed, wherein, the feint was too large or the arm drawn back, counts for the one who made the Stop-Thrust; Since he may have mistaken the faulty movement of the assailant for a preparation of attack, and erred only in judgment, while the other is doubly culpable in having sacrificed primary principles to ambition or excitement.
3. A Double Hit by a Time-Thrust badly judged counts for the assailant. For the attack was well executed and the adversary had a choice of a parry, a retreat, or a Time-Thrust. He chose the most hazardous option and executed it faultily.
4. A Double Hit by a Tension upon an attack well made counts for the assailant. The party attacked sought to make a Double Hit because he felt himself incapable of parrying. (Tension is an extension performed by the defender in desperation against an incoming attack, without regard to the consequences.)

Violations of these rules will be dealt with in the following manner, unless otherwise noted elsewhere in the rules:

• 1st Offense: Warning
• 2nd Offense: Point against
• 3rd Offense: Loss of the assault
• 4th Offense: Disqualification

If a fencer steps off any boundary of the piste with one foot he will receive a warning. (Meaning any part of the foot outside of the designated boundary lines.) A second occurrence will result in a point being called against that fencer. Once any point has been awarded, all previous out-of-bounds warnings are annulled for both fencers.

Scoring for Excellence of Technique and Form:

Scoring for technique and form shall be determined by a separate panel of three judges. Each judge in the panel will award to each contestant in each bout a point value from 0 through 5 (0 being worst, 5 being best). The total of all points awarded to a contestant will be scored separately for a special award under the category of excellence of form and technique. When a separate panel cannot be assembled, then the award shall be determined by a concensus of the officiating Director(s) and/or judges.

“This method of judging is based upon the idea that the contest is intended as an exhibition of skill as well as the securing of touches.”
—Amateur Fencer’s League of America Fencing Rules, 1891.

The AHF Rules Committee

Jeannette Acosta-Martinez, Chair
Ramon Martinez, ex-officio
Kim Moser
Christopher Umbs

Rules adapted from Foil And Sabre A Grammer Of Fencing by Louis Rondelle.

Editor: Kim Moser

Association for Historical Fencing, Inc. January 2, 2003

Edited by rules committee 4/18/2006