Fencing at Kingston University

Sword fighting in strange, white beekeeper-esque outfits isn’t the first thing that comes to most people’s minds when you mention the word fencing, usually people envision a handyman hammering some wooden stakes into the ground. However, at Kingston University, fencing here is not the latter.

Every Tuesday evening at 8pm, students congregate at Tiffin Boys School sports facilities, dressed in funny white breaches, side-shuffling backwards and forwards and poking the person in front of them with a long, metal sword - don’t worry it’s not sharp, at least not anymore it’s not.

Made up of three weapons: foil, èpèe and sabre, each classification has their own set of rules, slightly different equipment and a different playing style. 

Modern fencing originated in the 18th century, influenced by the Italian School of Fencing of the Renaissance, and was then later improved by the French. Electric fencing as we know it today first appeared in the 1955 foil world championships. 

At Kingston, the primary weapon is épée, where the target is the entire body, and the sword itself has a larger guard to protect the hand. A little more simple to understand than foil and sabre, there’s no priority ruling - meaning that competitors can score points on one another at the same time. The footwork is much slower and more relaxed than foil and sabre.

initial attacks and parries

Foil on the other hand is fairly limited as far as targets go; points can only be scored on the torso of the body, including a small section of the mask when fencing in senior competitions. Sabre however, is the torso, arms and full mask. Both weapons work on a priority basis, meaning that unlike épée, only one fighter can score a point at a time. Priority scoring works through initial attacks and parries; this means that if someone starts the attack, but there’s blade contact and a parry from the opponent - and they hit at the same time, the person who parried gets the point. However, if the fencer starts the attack, and their blade is not parried but they hit at the same time, the person starting the attack gets the point. It often gets a lot more complicated in competitions, as the three minute time frame requires fencers to be incredibly quick with their movements, there tends to be a lot of back and forth with parries before successfully gaining a point. 

As the 2023/24 academic year draws to a close, Kingston’s fencers prepare for the annual Varsity competition, where City, London University and Kingston come together to compete in sports across two days. Though not winning in any weapon for the last few years, there appears to be a more positive outlook on this year’s competition, particularly in épée.

Newcomer to the Kingston University fencing club, but long time fencer Zack Lingard, a second year Forensic Psychology student says: “I think we have a good chance at winning this year,

“I’m well versed in how competitions work and I’m ready to give it my all to try and win all my rounds.”

The club’s aims in this next academic year are to really push for new members, so that the University will provide them with more funding for new equipment, an extra day of training, and to be able to take part in the weekly BUCS league. Individual members of the club can also choose to represent themselves independently and attend competitions outside of the University through British Fencing, which is widely encouraged by coach Antonio, and more senior members of the team. 

Whilst the fencing season at Kingston University has now come to an end, it will start again in late September and is open to all students, regardless of experience level. So if you’re looking to get into a new sport next year, then fencing might be for you!