Foil (fencing)
fencing weapon and discipline
A foil is one of the three weapons used in the sport of fencing. It is a flexible weapon of total length 110 cm (43 in) or under, rectangular in cross section, weighing under 500 g (18 oz), with a blunt tip. As with the épée, points are only scored by making contact with the tip. The foil is the most commonly used weapon in fencing.
Non-electric and electric foils
Background
There are two types of foil used in modern fencing. Both types are made with the same basic parts: the pommel, grip, guard, and blade. The difference between them is one is electric, and the other is known as "steam" or "dry". The blades of both varieties are capped with a plastic or rubber piece, with a button at the tip in electric blades, that provides information when the blade tip touches the opponent. (There are also a range of plastic swords made by varying manufacturers for use by juniors.) Lacking the button and associated electrical mechanism, a judge is required to determine the scoring and the victor in a tournament with non-electric foils.
Non-electric ones are primarily used for practice.
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This entry incorporates text from “Foil (fencing)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.