Legal Touches in Foil Fencing

Video Transcript

"The foil is a thrusting weapon, a poking weapon, which means the the only legal touches are touches that are scored with the tip of the weapon. It is actually a descendant of the rapier. So this is the pointy end, and the end that you want to stick into your opponent. When you're fencing with an electric foil, there's actually a tip on the end that will be depressed, that sends a charge that will register on the electric system. So that if the, the pressure has to be actually five hundred grams, which isn't a lot, but it's enough that the tip does have to depress. It's about the equivalent of five hundred paper clips of pressure. So a legal touch, is any touch that's on the target area, that depresses the tip of the blade that much, which would be just, that would be plenty, to give it a little bit of curve in the blade. Not too much so that you risk breaking the blade. A glancing blow is not legal, so a blow that hits the person with the tip, but does not depress the tip, won't count and a blow that is, let's go over here, that it has enough pressure and is legal, but is otherwise on off target areas will not count. When the, when you are fencing electric, the electric sensor will register a white light for off target touches, and a colored light for on target touches. So that it will be clear, and also Siri, if you could take an En Garde. If someone fencing Siri were to make an attack that were aimed at her torso, but that hit her arm first, enough to set of the electrics, it would also not be a legal touch. So that if I were to hit this, her arm here, it would set off a white light, and then continue my move here, it would set off a colored light after the white. But it would show clearly that I hit off target first, which in Foil Fencing is not a legal touch, unlike some other types of fencing. That's the legal, the legality of the touching."