When you hear the word "fencing" what images come into your mind? Do visions of flashing swords, gladiators, dueling at dawn, Errol Flyn, Robin Hood, and the Three Musketeers pop into your head? Though fencing has its roots in battle and dueling, today it is practiced for fitness and sport.

Rather than going for blood, in modern fencing the athletes goal is merely to touch the other person. Protective clothing is worn to protect fencers from injury. Modern fencing is done on a strip or piste which is 14 meters long and 1.5 to 2 meters wide.

Both fencers in a bout use the same type of weapon. There are three different weapons used in modern fencing: the foil, the epee, and the saber. The target area where a touch is scored is different for each weapon (see illustration, below).

The foil is a light, flexible sword descended from the weapon used for training in days of old. In foil fencing, you must touch the point of your foil on the torso (front or back) of your opponent.

The epee is a heavier, stiff blade descended from dueling weapons of old. In epee fencing, a touch may be scored by touching the point of your epee anywhere on your opponent's body (head to toe).

The saber is a light, flexible version of a cavalry sword or cutlass. In saber fencing, a touch is scored by touching the point or edge of your saber anywhere above your opponent's waist (including head & arms).

For those new to fencing, it can be challenging to follow the lightning speed of the fencers’ actions. To become more comfortable in watching a fencing bout, it helps to focus on the actions of just one fencer. The fencer being attacked defends himself by use of a parry, a blocking-motion used to deflect the opponent’s blade, after which he/she may attempt to score with a riposte (literally "answer" in French). In fact, you may notice a particular cadence to the bout as the fencers rhythmically alternate roles as attacker and defender.

Fencers seek to maintain a safe distance from each other – that is, out of range of the other’s attack. Then, one may try to close this distance to gain the advantage for an attack. At times, a fencer will make a false attack - a feint - to probe the types of reactions and possible defenses by the opponent. Much of the fencing bout consists of this preparation, during which a fencer simultaneously determines the opponent's true intentions while feeding the opponent false information of their own. The complexity of this deadly "conversation" between the two opponents represents one of the more subtle beauties of the sport.

Of course, eventually one or both fencers will land a valid hit. When this occurs, the referee stops the bout and - in foil and saber - determines who was the attacker, if their opponent successfully defended themselves, and which fencer should be awarded a touch, if any.