| Epee. Duel to first blood. |
| Points list for US Men's Epee Women's Epee Congrats to: Wes Kelsey and Kelley Hurley ?2006 US Epee Champs! |
| Epee, (pronounced EPP-Pay) is the decendant of the duelling sword. It is similar to the foil in length but it is heavier, weighing approximately 27 ounces. It has a larger guard than the foil, since the hand is valid target area, and it has a much stiffer blade. Touches are scored with only the point of the blade, and can be scored on any part of the opponents body. The point must hit with a pressure of at least 750 grams and must depress one milimeter to simulate skin penetration. Epee is a much more passive game than foil or sabre since it is easier to hit an opponent's outstretched arm than it is to hit one that is defending. It is therefore the goal of most epeeists is to bait the opponent into attacking you. Most epeeists will continue this baiting all day until time runs out and the fencer who is behind on points gets desperate and starts to attack foolishly. The outcome of this is obvious. This situation is deemed a little too boring for all but the most dedicated spectators, so a new rule change forces the epeeists to either engage their opponents actively, or have the time declared used by the referee and the final minute be decided by a coin toss. If the bout ends with the score tied the fencer who won the coin toss will be declared the winner. A quick lunge can hit foot, hand or torso, while some epeeists attack occasionally by running at their opponent or 'fleching' Stop thrusts to the hand or arm stop attackers. Epee is considered by some to be a more realistic form of fencing since no rules govern the scoring of touches. On the other hand it is also less realistic because there is no priority given to deadly hits over mealingless nicks and cuts. |
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| Even I know that these two foil fencers have no business competing in a Modern Pentathalon World Cup! Olympic test event huh? I guess your marketing people failed that test. For those of you who don't get the joke, the modern pentathalon does not include any foil fencing, just a brief, fleeting taste of epee. For those of you who still do not get the joke turn this page over. |
An up close and personal view of a common epee scoring point. The flat surface at the top which is used to score ponts is a little larger that 1/4 inch in diameter. Epeeists simulate dueling, therefore they must hit with enough pressure and penetration to break the skin. The larger sping is the pressure spring, it holds the tip up and provides 750grams of pressure. A hit with less than 750g will not register. The smaller spring is the contact spring, it is adjusted in length to insure that the tip must travel one mm to score a touch, when the tip moves down, the contact spring touches the two contacts at the bottom. When the contacts are touched and thus connected, the current travels from one to the other and signals that a touch has been made. The contact spring is also connected to the tip. If the tip is in contact with either the metal surface of the strip or the opponent's bell guard, the current will travel from one contact, through the tip into that object disabling the ciruit between the two contacts. No touch will be scored. The penetration is measured by placing a "shim" of 1.5mm under the tip, then placing a 0.5mm shim and depressing the tip. The point must not score with the 0.5mm shim in place. |
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