What constitutes an attack?page up: Fencing FAQnext page: 1.16 What constitutes a point-in-line?

According to Article t.7 (old 10) of the FIE Rules of Competition, "the parry is the defensive action made with the weapon to prevent the offensive action from arriving". A successful parry deflects the threatening blade away from the target. It is normally not sufficient to merely find or touch the opponent's blade; the fencer must also exhibit control over it--although the benefit of the doubt usually goes to the fencer making the parry. If the attacker must replace the point into a threatening line before continuing, it is a remise (renewal of the attack) and does not have right-of-way over the riposte. However, if the parry does not deflect the blade, or deflects it onto another part of the target, then the attack retains the right-of-way (mal-pare' by the defender). In practice, very little deflection is needed with a well-timed parry. A well-executed parry should take the foible of the attacker's blade with the forte and/or guard of the defender's. This provides the greatest ...  more