Fencing is an open-skilled combat sport that was admitted to the first modern Olympic Games in Athens (1896). It is mainly practiced indoors, with three different weapons: the foil, the sabre and the épée, each contested with different rules. A fencing international tournament may last between 9 and 11 hours. Bouts represent only 18% of total competition time, with an effective fight time of between 17 and 48 minutes. The physical demands of fencing competitions are high, involving the aerobic and anaerobic alactic and lactic metabolisms, and are also affected by age, sex, level of training and technical and tactical models utilized in relation to the adversary.
Moreover, the physical demands of fencing are closely linked to the perceptual and psychological ones, and all are subjected to a continuous succession of changes during the bouts based on the behavior of the opponent. For this reason it is difficult to identify a significant relationship between any one physiological characteristic and performance, and performance is more likely to be influenced by perceptual and neuro-physiological characteristics. Fencers need to anticipate the opponent and to mask their true intentions with a game of feints and counter-feints, which must be supported by an adequate psycho-physical condition to prevent central and peripheral fatigue.
Gulio Sergio Roi
Diana Bianchedi
Fencing from your brain's POINT of view 