Modern day Sabre is fast, exciting and clever. Fencing itself has often been compared to physical chess, with strategy, planning moves in advance and thinking ahead of your opponent are key to winning the game. In reality you have to do all this while your opponent is trying to do the same, earn your right to be the attacker, and clever in your defense to outsmart them. Sabre has kept the feeling of ‘charging’ from its military origins and points are often scored within seconds of the referee saying ‘fence’.

It’s hard for those who are new to fencing to understand how the decision of point scoring is made, which is why it is not well followed by those outside the sport. Often it is easier to think of it as a game of tag with a stick, with the person who is ‘on’ being determined at the start of the fight. If you miss a hit, you become the defender and have to stop their attack from reaching you before you can do something about it. As the attacker you have to finish the attack without hesitation and not fall into any traps set by the defender.

In numbers, sabre is the smallest weapon in the UK, but is growing fast and has a supporting community across the country, with clubs and coaches joining together for training and support, which is not as common in the other weapons.

It is dynamic and tactical. Control of space and execution at the right time with good technique are all key to making a successful sabreur. Due to it’s fast pace it relies on instinct as much as planning in advance.

If you want to see some top level sabre fencing in action, I would recommend a youtube search for Sabre World Cups, Olympic finals, or channels such as Sydney Sabre, Cyrus of Chaos and Sabre Styles.