Are fencers allowed to touch each other, turn round or use their free hand?
A · Advanced · Conduct and refereeing · 3 of 3Fencing at close quarters is allowed while both can still use their weapons. Contact between the bodies stops the bout. Causing it on purpose to avoid a hit, turning the back on the opponent and covering the target all bring a yellow card. Using the free hand or arm to attack or defend brings a red card straight away.
How it works
- Close quarters: allowed "so long as the competitors can wield their weapons correctly" and, at foil and sabre, the referee can follow the phrase.
- Corps à corps: exists "when the two competitors are in contact". The referee must stop the bout.
- On purpose: causing it "intentionally to avoid being hit", or jostling the opponent, is a first-group offence. The offender's hit is annulled.
- A hard attack is not a fault: a fencer who brings about contact by a flèche or a vigorous advance, without brutality, commits no fault.
- A violent flèche: one "resulting in a shock which jostles the opponent" is intentional brutality, a second-group offence.
- The back: "It is forbidden to turn one's back on one's opponent during the bout." First group, and the hit is annulled.
- Ducking: displacing the target and ducking are allowed, even if the free hand or the back knee touches the piste.
- Passing: when one fencer goes completely past the other, the referee calls halt and puts them back. A hit made while passing counts. One made after passing does not.
- The free hand: using the non-sword hand or arm "to carry out an offensive or defensive action is forbidden". Red card, and the hit is annulled.
- Covering: substituting a non-valid part of the body for the target, by covering or by an abnormal movement, is a first-group offence.
- The wires: taking hold of any part of the electrical equipment with the free hand is a first-group offence.
- One hand: the weapon is used with one hand, with no changing hands in a bout unless the referee allows it for an injury.
- Extra eyes: the referee may call for two judges to watch for use of the free hand.
The glossary has the corps à corps entry, the turning the back entry, the using the non-sword hand entry, the passing entry, the flèche, the brutality entry and the judges.
Tricky cases
Two fencers collide at the end of a fast attack. Is someone carded?
No, not for the collision alone. Contact from a flèche or a vigorous advance, without brutality, is no fault. The referee stops the bout and restarts it.
A fencer closes in on purpose to smother an attack that was about to land. What happens?
A yellow card, or red if they already have a yellow. Any hit they scored is annulled.
A fencer instinctively pushes the opponent's blade away with the free hand. What is the penalty?
A red card, even for a first offence. Any hit they scored is annulled.
A fencer spins right round to dodge and hits the opponent while facing away. Does it count?
No. Turning the back is a first-group offence and the hit is annulled.
Why the rule exists
These rules keep the contest between two blades. A fencer who could barge, grab, shield the target with an arm or spin away would be using the body to do the weapon's work. They also carry the sport's safety: a back turned to a blade exposes the unprotected rear of the head and neck.
Where it differs
| Where | What changes | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Foil and sabre | Close quarters only while the referee can follow the phrase | FIE t.24 |
| Sabre | No flèche at all, so the flèche rules apply to foil and épée | FIE t.101.5 |
| Covering the target | Matters at foil and sabre, where part of the body is off target | FIE t.79; FIE t.97 |
| Épée | The whole body is target, so there is nothing to cover | FIE t.91 |
From the rule book
Fédération Internationale d'Escrime, Technical Rules (August 2026), articles t.21, t.24 to t.30, t.48 and t.170. Checked 14 October 2026. Official document: FIE Technical Rules (PDF).