page_title: Fencing
section_title: Épée
hierarchical_section_title: Fencing / Weapons / Épée
context_page_description: Fencing is a group of three related combat sports. The three disciplines in modern fencing are the foil, the épée, and the sabre; winning points are made through the weapon's contact with an opponent. A fourth discipline, singlestick, appeared in the 1904 Olympics but was dropped after that, and is not a part of modern fencing. Fencing was one of the first sports to be played in the Olympics. Based on the traditional skills of swordsmanship, the modern sport arose at the end of the 19th century, with the Italian school having modified the historical European martial art of classical fencing, and the French school later refining the Italian system. There are three forms of modern fencing, each of which uses a different kind of weapon and has different rules; thus the sport itself is divided into three competitive scenes: foil, épée, and sabre. Most competitive fencers choose to specialize in one weapon only.
  Competitive fencing is one of the five activities which have been featured in every modern Olympic Games, the other four being athletics, cycling, swimming, and gymnastics.
context_section_description: The épée is a thrusting weapon like the foil, but heavier, with a maximum total weight of 775 grams.  In épée, the entire body is a valid target.  The hand guard on the épée is a large circle that extends towards the pommel, effectively covering the hand, which is a valid target in épée.  Like foil, all hits must be with the tip and not the sides of the blade.  Hits with the side of the blade do not register on the electronic scoring apparatus (and do not halt the action).  As the entire body is legal target, there is no concept of an off-target touch, except if the fencer accidentally strikes the floor, setting off the light and tone on the scoring apparatus.  Unlike foil and sabre, épée does not use "right of way", and awards simultaneous touches to both fencers. However, if the score is tied in a match at the last point and a double touch is scored, the point is null and void.
caption: Valid épée targets