If we start at the pommel end of the foil blade and work toward the guard, the French blade and orthopaedic grip blades typically have a tang within the grip that is secured to the pommel and that ends at the guard. In true Italian pattern blades the tang transitions into a flat ricasso inside the guard. And that is all there is to a blade until it emerges as one long, tapering piece of steel from the guard. The question becomes how many regions is the fencing end of the blade divided into? The answer is not as obvious as you might think ...
There is common agreement that the blade has two regions (not including the point):
- Hutton (1891) describes two parts, the Forte, extending from the guard to the center of the blade, used for turning aside attacks, and the Feeble, the portion of the blade extending from the Forte to the point.
- The 1908 French regulations (the Amateur Fencers League of America translation) clearly states that the blade has two parts, the Forte which is the half of the blade nearest the guard, and the Foible which is the half nearest the point. The forte is used for parries and takings of the blade, and the foible for beats and presses.
- Deladrier (1948) states that the blade is divided into two halves, the Forte, the stronger half from the guard to the middle, and the Foible, the weaker half from the middle to the point.
And there is agreement by some that the blade has two asymmetrical regions:
- Colmore Dunn (1899) divides the blade into two parts, the one third closest to the guard as the Forte and the remaining two-thirds toward the point as the Foible.
- Grandiere (1906) uses the same one third Fort and two-thirds Faible division. However he describes the use of the point to execute touches, the middle for engagement, and the Heel or Fort for parrying.
- The 1877 French Ministry of War Manuel d'Escrime (Slee's translation) references the Heel, the strong part next to the guard, used for parries, the Middle, the middle part used for engagement, and the Point, the forward, weak part of the blade with which hits are made.
- Parise (1884, Holzman's translation) divides the blade into three equal parts, from the guard forward, the Forte, Medio, and Debole.
- Rondelle (1892), a French trained Master, also identifies three equal parts of the blade, from the guard, the Heel, used for parries, the Middle, used for engagement, and the Point, the part used to make touches.
- Heintz (1895) identifies the first third of the blade from the point as the Feeble, used for thrusting. The middle third is the Middle, used for engagement. The third closes to the guard is the Fort, used for parrying.
- Manrique (1920) divides the blade into three equal subdivisions, the Forte nearest the handle, the Middle, and the Foible from the Middle to the point.
- Castello (1933), who describes foil technique in a French context, delineates three regions of the blade from the pint rearward: Weak, Middle, and Strong. Beats are executed with the middle of the blade, and takings of the blade with the strong of the blade.
- Vince (1937) identifies, from the guard forward, the Strong, Middle, used for beats and presses, and Weak.
- Nadi (1943) refers to the third nearest the guard as the Strong, the middle third as the Middle, and the supplest third nearest the point as the Weak.
The above is not an exhaustive coverage of all sources. However, it suggests that the theory of the foil blade has three alternatives: (1) a blade with two equal parts, (2) a blade with a strong occupying one third of the length and the foible two thirds of the length, and (3) a blade with three equal divisions. The understanding of the foil blade as having two regions appears to be a distinctly French understanding. However, the three-region approach finds Italian and French School advocates. There is some variability in the terminology, but the deciding factor in both terms and in divisions lies in the perception of apparent strength and the potential value for defense, engagement, and attack of each segment.
Note: This post has been updated by post W.2 Additions to the Number of Sections of the Foil Blade (December 2021).
Sources:
Castello, Julio Martinez; The Theory and Practice of Fencing;
[fencing manual]; Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York, New York, United States of
America; 1937.
Collmore Dunn, H. A.; Fencing; [fencing manual]; George Bell
and Sons, London, United Kingdom; 1889.
Deladrier, Clovis; Modern
Fencing; [fencing manual]; United States Naval Institute, Annapolis,
Maryland, United States of America; 1948.
Grandiere, Maurice; How To Fence; [fencing manual]; The Walter
Scott Publishing Company, New York, New York, United States of America; 1906.
Hutton,
Alfred; The Swordsman: A Manual of Fence for the Foil, Sabre, and
Bayonet; [fencing manual]; H. Grevel & Company, London, United Kingdom;
reprint by The Naval and Military Press, Uckfield, East Sussex, United Kingdom;
1891, reprint no date.
Nadi, Also; On Fencing; [fencing manual]; G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York, New York, United States of America; 1943.
Rondelle, Louis; Foil and Sabre: A Grammar of Fencing in
Detailed Lessons for Professor and Pupil; [fencing manual]; Estes and
Lauriat, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America; 1892.
Vince, Joseph; Fundamentals of
Foil Fencing; [fencing manual]; Joseph Vince, New York, New York, United
States of America; 1937.
Copyright 2019 by Walter G. Green III
How Many Sections to the Foil Blade? by Walter G. Green III is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
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