Fencing an Olympic sport? But isn’t that what I have in my garden to keep out the dogs?

Ha! The sport of fencing involves fighting with different types of swords. But actually the two meanings have the same origin – from the old French defens, meaning “defence”.

Oh, yes, of course. People have been fighting with swords for a long time, haven’t they?

Yes, indeed. They discovered some carvings in Egypt showing sword fighting that date from about 1190 BC.

Really? And when did it become a sport?

In the 14th or 15th century. Both the Italians and the Germans say they invented fencing.

For some reason I thought it was the French.

That’s not surprising because French has been the language of fencing since 1573. A man called Henri de Saint-Didier wrote a document that included most of the terms still used today.

Such as?

Well, touché, for example. It’s French for ‘touched’, and it’s what a fencer says when he’s been hit by his opponent’s sword.

I’ve heard people say that in English, but they weren’t talking about fencing.

Yes, you can say it if someone makes a good point against you in an argument or discussion.

Speaking of arguments, didn’t people use to decide arguments by having sword fights?

Yes, and they were called duels. They were quite common. People sometimes even got killed.

Oh! Maybe better to just do it as a sport, then.

I agree. Fencing is one of the few sports to feature at every modern Olympic Games.

And who’s won the most medals?

The French have won one more medal than the Italians in total but the Italians have won more gold medals. So there’s no way of knowing who’s the best.

Yes there is. They could have a duel!

Touché!

击剑：

击剑是从古代剑术决斗中发展起来的一项体育项目，它结合优雅的动作和灵活的战术，要求运动员神的高度集中和身体的良好协调性，体现出运动员良好的动作和敏捷的反应。早期的击剑由于缺乏良好的护具，容易对运动员的身体造成创伤，引起流血，重伤，甚至死亡。自从现代击剑中引入了完善的保护衣具，并采用钝的剑尖，已经消除了这项运动的危险性，也极大的促进了这项运动在全世界范围内的传播。现代击剑运动是奥运会的传统项目，击剑比赛项目男子有花剑、重剑、佩剑，女子有花剑、重剑。

法国、意大利、俄罗斯、德国、匈牙利在不同时期，都是击剑强国。引领着世界击剑运动发展的潮流，并各自代表一个古典的击剑流派，其基本技术动作和战术打法风格都有明显的差异。

[key words]

bodywire 电子裁判器
blade 刃
hilt 剑柄
handle 手柄
en garde 防守
lunge 刺
parry 避开
engage 交锋
piste, strip 击剑场
epee 重剑
sabre 佩剑
foil 花剑