I really have only two rules in my classes, and I take them very seriously:

1:  Be Safe!
2:  Have Fun! (except where it would conflict with rule #1)

 Safety is very important!  Getting hurt is not fun.  If one hurts one's playmates, then very soon no one will want to play with you! This means that horseplay is O-U-T!

A question that I am often asked (second only to ''Fencing? what kind? Cyclone or picket?'') is ''Do you use REAL swords?''  To this I must reply ''Yes!''  While a fencing foil is as much a weapon as a golf club or a tennis racquet, all of these are potentially lethal if used in a manner inconsistent with their design.

Foils, epees, and sabres are sports equipment, not toys.  As our mothers are almost always fond of saying -- ''You could put an eye out with that thing!''  Just like you wouldn't point a loaded gun at anyone who isn't a direct threat to your well-being (I hope!), please don't point a foil (or an  epee, or a sabre) at someone who isn't wearing appropriate safety gear.  During the course of lessons you may catch me giving a demonstration without a mask, but keep in mind, that I am doing so AT MY OWN RISK, so you may better hear me speak.  I never fence without a mask, jacket, and glove!  (I have been known to fence without a sword, but very rarely.)

Very nearly as important is rule #2:  Have fun!  (With concessions to safety, of course.)  Since we all know that getting hurt is no fun, having a good time is why most people take up fencing in the first place.  If you are a college student, and are in my class for a PE credit, you have lots of other options to get that PE credit, and I want to personally thank you on behalf of all fencers everywhere for joining us in camaraderie, entertaining us when we score on you or when we have a
particularly good ''phrase'', and for teaching us about ourselves when you score on us.

Learning to fence is a lifelong process.  Every student I have ever had has taught me something valuable.  If you are fencing ''just for fun,'' then if you're not having fun, you probably have more important things you could be doing with your time  and money. Take up golf.  I hear it's fun.  Learning to fence is a long term commitment.  I can't teach you how to fence in an afternoon.  No one can.  By taking this first step, and by sticking with it, you will be rewarded with a lifetime of adventure. 

The various rules and regulations for fencing, particularly with foil fencing, can and does fill a largish book.  However, there are some basic ground rules that can be covered in  a few paragraphs. 

Right-Of-Way:  In foil and sabre fencing, there are restrictions as to where,  how and when touches are scored.  Foil fencing first became popular in the mid-eighteenth century as a method of practice for lethal combat.  The first, and probably most important concept that defines foil fencing is Right-Of-Way.  Since surviving a duel would be considered the optimal result, right-of-way is simply common sense.  If both duelists attack and hit simultaneously, both duelists die.

Right-of-way is the common sense idea that if one fencer attacks, then it becomes the other fencer's responsibility to defend himself, before he can launch an attack of his own.  In foil fencing, only one fencer may score at a time. (There can be only ONE!)  If both players score within 1/25th of a second of each other, then the Director decides who has ''right-of-way''.  The fencer who first fully extends their arm, and becomes a threat to the other is considered to have right-of-way.  There are many rules that cover the many possible situations that may arise in the course of a match, but mostly they are common sense, and can be solved by simply asking yourself a few basic questions:  Who extended  their arm first?  Were any attempted parries successful? (I.E., was the attacker's foil moved so it was no longer a threat?)

Target area depends on the weapon involved.  With epees, the target area includes the entire body from head to toe.  Sabers target only from the waist up, including the head and arms.  Foils only score with touches to the torso.  Head, arms, and legs are not valid, although if a foil does land ''off target'', then any actions occurring after that are ignored. In Sabre fencing, hits landing below the waist are ignored. The manner in which touches are scored is very important.  Foils and epees are called ''point only'' or simply ''point'' weapons.  They are not considered to have an edge, and excessive whacking is actively discouraged.  Points are scored only when pressure is delivered from the point (end of the sword farthest away from you) onto appropriate target area. Sabres are ''edge'' weapons, with touches being scored by striking with the edge of the blade, or with the top third of the back edge, or with the occasional point tip. Touches that graze, slide, or that are delivered with insufficient force are ignored.

 If all this seems unbelievably technical and boring, then just relax.  Trust me, you will eventually absorb all these things, and then some.  How to be relaxed when you are being chased around the room by some guy (or girl) with a sword is probably the most important thing you learn to do as a fencer.  Over the course of several months, I will be constantly harping about one thing or another.  ''Very nice, but you need to (X) before you/instead of/after you (Y).'' I am going to tell you, for what seems like the bazillionth time, and soon you will begin to think that you will NEVER get it all together.  However, the very moment you decide you are ready to give it up, and mosey over to a nearby tavern, pub, or coffee house, I will say, ''Great!  I knew you could (X) before you/instead of/after you (Y)!''

The most common problem I see in beginning fencers, is the over-analysation of what it is you're trying to do.

As Phil Knight once said:  ''Just do it!''  You will be surprised to find out how easy it really is, since there is really only one ''right way'' to do any given move.  The
trick is to simply do ''X followed by Y'' so many times that you can literally do it in your sleep.  (I have.  Ask me sometime.)

Before long, you will discover there simply isn't time to think about how you execute a move, and do it at the same time.  Instead you will be thinking about things like timing, tactics, and psychological warfare.

Like many other things in life, only when you have overcome any self-consciousness, ignore any mistakes you may be in  the habit of making, and repeatedly  stab at the problem until you master it that things fall into place.

The Sport And Art Of The Sword
Chapter One: The Pre-History Of Fencing
Chapter Two: Through The Ages
Chapter Three: The Evolution Of Fencing
Chapter Four: Sport And Art
Chapter Six: An Exercise Regimen
Chapter Seven: The Zen Of Fencing
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