How to Understand Basic Fencing Terminology

Fencing expert Mary Spohn goes over the basic terminology in fencing

Co-authored by Mary Spohn

Last Updated: February 12, 2026 References

If you're new to fencing or you're "checking it out" to determine if it is the sport for you (and it is, if challenging yourself physically, mentally and emotionally is an effort you enjoy, along with winning bouts), then you have (or soon will) come across words like "sixte", or "riposte", or "septime". These are words steeped in the history of the sport and are an important part of its magic. But, the good news is they are easy to understand and remember and will add to your ability to either enjoy the sport or pick up a weapon and wail. This wikiHow defines the words; it does not try to explain the techniques that these words describe generically. The actual technique of a "parry" depends on the kind of attack that is being made and would require too much verbiage and is worthy of its own article.

Common Terms in Fencing

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Fencing expert Mary Spohn says some of the most common fencing terms are lunge and en guard. Lunge is the attack and en guard is the basic stance you make to prepare to fence. Other common terms include pret (ready), allez (fence), arrêt (stop), and riposte (an attack after a successful parry).^{[1]
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"Lunge" and "Parry": These are the two basic words which you will probably understand immediately. They describe actions that occur countless times in a match at every level:^{[2]
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- "Lunge" is the attack and "parry" is the defense to the attack. You can tell the lunge because the fencer who is lunging has the point of the weapon as far toward the opponent as possible, a back leg that is straight and leaning into the attack by at least 45 degrees and a front leg that is bent to the point where the knee is over the ankle.^{[3]
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- "Parry" is the defender moving her weapon to "push" aside a blade that is attacking. There are a number of different ways to parry and lunge but the basic purpose of each remains the same.^{[4]
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In training it describes the basic stance of a fencer. In a match it is a warning from the referee to both fencers to prepare to fence.^{[5]
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This is used by a referee at a fencing match. After the referee warns the fencers with "en garde", the referee will then say "pret" to alert the fencers that the match is about to begin. American referees typically use the word "ready" in place of "pret".
This is used by the referee at a fencing match to tell the two fencers to have at one another. American referees typically use the word "fence" in place of "allez".^{[6]
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Stop. This is used by the referee at a fencing match to tell the two fencers to halt. The referee will say halt in every country other than France.
(A much welcome replacement to stabbing, that was developed as fencing became a sport.) A touch is when the tip of one fencers weapon touches the target area on an opponent. Whether the touch results in a point is the determination of the referee for the bout, one of whose duties it is to insure the touch was proper under competition rules. The foregoing is true in all styles of fencing. However, in saber fencing, a touch can be scored with the entire blade.^{[7]
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) In fencing it describes an attack that a fencer makes immediately after she executes a parry. Thus the ubiquitous fencing term "parry-riposte". The parry-riposte is one of the most common techniques in scoring touches you will see in a fencing match, again at any level. The parry-riposte is often done in a sequence of two or three, viz. the fencers quickly switch between attacking, defending, attacking, defending - back and forth until a touch is scored or one of the fencers backs down. At the top level of competition, the speed is dazzling to the point of being faster than the eye.^{[8]
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A disengage is moving the tip of a blade over or under an opponent's blade to the other side or where the disengage started. This is done very quickly and with the absolute minimum of movement - the "great" fencers simply use their fingers to make the tip of the blade duck around their opponent's weapon. It is used chiefly to escape a parry or as part of a disguised attack, i.e. the attack starts toward the opponent's left side (the opponent is thinking left and prepared to defend the left) and moves to the opponent's right side (so quickly the opponent hasn't time to register the change and react to it with a parry).
An attack is any movement intended to score a touch.^{[9]
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This is an important concept in foil fencing and in saber fencing, although it does not apply in épée fencing. (It is a very complicated concept but since this wikiHow is just an intro, this is a very basic explanation.) Because of the speed at which foil and sabre fencers move, there had to be some way for a judge to award a point when both fencers have scored a touch almost, if not totally, simultaneously. "Right of way" generally means that the attacker gets the point (aggression pays). In a "parry-riposte", a successful parry ends the opponent's attack and the riposte (being an attack) if successful awards the point to that fencer, even if the fencer who initiated the attack touches the parry-riposter in a legitimate target, too bad - the person executing the successful parry-riposte gets the touch. Basically, a parry transfers the right of way to the person who does it, then following up with a riposte (attack, or touch) scores the point.^{[10]
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Depends on the weapon used in the match. In foil ("fleuret" in French) fencing, the target area is defined by a jacket (a lame [lom-MAY]) worn over the torso that appears to be of metallic material; touching anywhere else is "off-target" (a waste, practice point control). In épée fencing, the target area is the entire body of the opponent, including the head and feet. In saber fencing the target area is the entire upper body including the arms, torso, and head, except the hands (which are not covered by the metallic material of the lame). So, in foil a touch is off-target if it doesn't touch the lame and the fencing stops with no point scored. In épée there is no "off-target". In saber, even though there is a target area, no off-target occurs (stopping the action) if a fencer touches an area off-target the fencers keep fencing until a touch is scored.
The judge for any fencing bout. (There may be zero, two, or four "side refs" as well.) When the scoring lights do not make it clear which fencer scored a legitimate touch, the Referee analyzes the sequence of actions between the fencers and decides which fencer gets the point, if either.

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How does fencing terminology differ based on the weapon you're using?

Mary Spohn
European Swordsmanship and Fencing Expert
Mary Spohn is a European Swordsmanship and Fencing expert based in Los Angeles, CA. With over 20 years of fencing experience and a decade of swordsmanship and stunt training, Mary is the owner of Swordplay LA, a premier training center for fencing, stunts, and historical European martial arts. She has worked in film and television for more than 10 years, training under several of Hollywood’s top swordmasters and bringing historical precision to modern action storytelling. A four-time national medalist and former NCAA Division 1 fencer, Mary is currently ranked among the top 15% of women’s longsword fighters in the world. She has trained and choreographed with a range of talent, including Charlize Theron, Ricky Whittle, Lulu Wilson, and The Try Guys, as well as Academy Award-winning actors, Olympic athletes, and child film and television stars. Since taking over Swordplay LA, Mary has grown it from a small 900-square-foot studio with 40 fencers into a thriving community of over 150 regular members in a 2,600-square-foot facility dedicated to fencing, stunt training, and historical combat.

Mary Spohn

European Swordsmanship and Fencing Expert

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Most of the terminology in fencing is French, which specifically means blocking or intercepting an attack and then initiating a new attack. That is going to be in foil and saber, which are two weapons that have what we call "right of way". Right of way is how the referees basically interpret the action and what is considered a scoring action. Epee is the only weapon out of the three that does not have "right of way".

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What is the second thrust called?

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A "redouble" if they did not parry or counterattack. If they parried but did not riposte, it's a "remise" instead.

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What does yellow, blue, green, and red mean in Olympic fencing?

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The different colors of the fencing strips in the Olympics is mainly for aesthetics. Beyond helping the fencers who are competing find their correct strip and helping the announcers identify which fencers are on which strips, the colors mean very little.

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The F.I.E. (Federation Internationale d'Escrime), the governing body of international fencing has a site that will allow you to watch some great matches on your computer.

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Don't buy equipment until you know you want to fence regularly, most clubs have equipment suitable for beginners.

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To learn about fencing, the best way is to try it. Make sure you read the credentials of a club (most clubs have WWW sites), several if your area has them, before taking lessons. You don't need too much of a background if you compare (i.e. look at as many clubs as you can, even if they are not near you).

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Warnings

Do not try to fence without the proper equipment. The F.I.E. and the U.S. Fencing Association, and any legitimate fencing club require proper equipment for all fencing bouts. Don't be blasé about this: accidents do happen and that's why they call them accidents.

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