If the legs decide whether you reach the target, the blade decides whether you score once you get there. In épée the wrist and forearm are the highest-percentage targets, the toe is the easiest one to forget about, and the chest is what you go for when they panic. Bladework is the catalogue of ways to put the point on those targets.
(y-) Simple Attacks
A simple attack is one offensive action. One blade motion, one extension, one lunge.
Straight Thrust (Coup Droit)
The most basic attack. Extend the arm, the point goes where it was already pointing, and the lunge or fleche carries it to target. Works only when the opponent’s blade is already out of line.
Disengage (Dégagement)
Their blade is in the way. You drop your point under (or lift it over) their blade, switch sides, and extend. The whole disengage happens during the extension; the lunge follows the arm.
In épée the disengage is usually a tight, small circle around the bell guard, not a big looping motion. You want to be inside their reaction time.
Coupé (Cut-Over)
A disengage that goes over the top of the opponent’s blade instead of under. Larger and slower than a disengage, but useful when their blade is low and you want a fast switch to the high outside line.
(y-) Compound Attacks
A compound attack is two or more blade actions chained together. The first action is usually a feint to draw a reaction, the second is the real attack.
One-Two
A feint of a straight thrust on one side, followed by a disengage to the other side when the opponent attempts a lateral parry. The classic compound attack.
Feint-Disengage
Same idea as one-two but with the feint disguised as something else, like a partial extension or a small step that suggests an attack.
Double (Doublé)
A feint on one side, then a disengage that goes around the opponent’s counter-parry. Used against fencers who parry with a circular motion rather than a lateral one. You let their circle complete, then disengage as they finish.
Trompement
A general term for any feint-and-deceive action. The point is to make them parry the wrong line.
(y-) Taking the Blade
In épée, controlling the opponent’s blade matters more than evading it. These actions take and dominate the blade so that your touch lands while theirs is held offline.
| Action | Description |
|---|---|
| Beat | Sharp tap on the opponent’s blade to knock it out of line, then immediate extension and attack. |
| Press | Sustained pressure on the blade, used to feel the opponent’s reaction or to set up a disengage. |
| Glide (Coulé) | Slide your blade along theirs from base toward tip while extending. Common with prise de fer. |
| Froissement | A violent sliding beat along the length of the blade, designed to throw their weapon completely. |
| Bind | Take the blade diagonally across the body, high to low or low to high. Strong, controlling. |
| Croisé | Take the blade vertically on the same side, high to low. Forces their point into the floor. |
| Envelopment | Full circle taking, ending in the same line you started. Used to dominate a stiff or extended blade. |
(y-) Counter-Offense (Where Épée Gets Weird)
Because there is no right of way, you do not have to parry before riposting. You can simply hit them before they hit you, even on their attack. This is the defining feature of épée tactics.
Stop-Hit (Coup d’Arrêt)
A counter-attack into the opponent’s attack. As they extend, you extend faster and land on their wrist or forearm before their blade reaches you. To score cleanly it must land at least one full tempo before their touch, because épée gives a touch to both fencers on a true double.
Stop-Thrust to the Wrist
The most common épée action. They attack, you do not parry, you simply extend straight at their advancing wrist. The wrist is closer to you than their body, so it gets hit first.
Point-in-Line (Pointe en Ligne)
Your weapon arm is fully extended with the point threatening the target, established before they start their attack. Acts as a wall; they cannot attack into a point-in-line without first removing it (with a beat or a prise de fer). If they impale themselves on it, your touch counts.
Remise
A continuation of an attack after a parry without recovering. You attacked, they parried, you immediately put the point back on target in the same line without withdrawing the arm. In épée this is a free shot because there is no right of way to argue about.
Redoublement
Like a remise but with an additional blade action (a disengage, a coupé) between the parry and the second touch. Used when a straight remise would land back on their parrying blade.
Reprise
Recovering from a missed attack and immediately attacking again, with a fresh lunge or fleche. Distinct from remise (which never breaks the lunge) and redoublement (which never recovers).
(y-) Épée Specifics Worth Repeating
- The wrist and forearm are roughly half a metre closer to you than the chest. Aiming high-body when you could be aiming hand is throwing distance away.
- Toe touches are legal and underused. A drop-attack to the front foot scores the same as a chest touch and is almost impossible to see coming.
- The bell guard is huge (and target). A clean touch on the guard does nothing, but the wrist is right behind it. Aim slightly past the edge.
- Double touches award one to each fencer. In the closing seconds of a tied bout this can be either a tool (if you are leading by one and the bout will end on a double) or a disaster (if you are trailing).
Sources
- FIE Rules: Material and Target (m.16-m.30)
- USA Fencing: Epee Strategy and Tactics
- Aldo Nadi: On Fencing
- Fencing.net: Bladework articles
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