What happens when both fencers hit each other at the same time?
I · Intermediate · The weapons · 3 of 8It depends on the weapon. In épée both fencers score a hit. In foil and sabre the referee looks for who was at fault. If one fencer broke the conventions, only the other scores. If both attacked at exactly the same moment, it is a simultaneous action and nobody scores.
How it works
- Épée: when the apparatus registers both hits, "a hit is scored against each competitor".
- Foil and sabre: "there is either a simultaneous action or a double hit".
- Simultaneous action: "simultaneous conception and execution of an attack by both fencers". The hits are annulled for both.
- Double hit: "the result of a faulty action on the part of one of the fencers".
- The defender is at fault: by stop-hitting into a simple attack, by trying to dodge and failing or by pausing after a parry.
- The attacker is at fault: by attacking into a point in line without deflecting it, by carrying on after the blade was found or by renewing after an immediate riposte.
- In doubt: if the referee cannot judge which side was at fault, the fencers are put back on guard with no hit.
- Off target in foil: in a simultaneous action the hits are annulled "even if one of them has been hit off the target".
- Épée, one hit invalid: if one of two hits was on the floor or made after leaving the piste, only the valid one scores.
- Épée pools at 4-4: a double hit is not counted, and the fencers stay where they are.
The glossary has the double hit, the simultaneous action entry, the right of way entry, the stop hit and the hit.
Tricky cases
Both sabre fencers launch from the on-guard lines at "Play!" and both hit. Who scores?
Nobody, if the referee judges the attacks to have been conceived and executed at the same moment. That is a simultaneous action.
An épée fencer leads 14-13 and there is a double hit. What is the score?
15-14. Both fencers score, and the bout is over.
A foil fencer is attacked, ignores it and hits back as the attack lands. Who scores?
The attacker. A fencer who makes a stop hit on a simple attack, without being ahead by a period of fencing time, is the only one counted as hit.
Can a double hit win an épée pool bout from 4-4?
No. At 4-4 in the pools a double hit is not counted, and they fence on for a single deciding hit.
Why the rule exists
Two people who run each other through have both lost a duel, and the three weapons draw different lessons from that. Épée scores it against both. Foil and sabre ask who made the mistake, and refuse to reward a fencer who ignored an attack in order to land a hit of their own.
Where it differs
| Where | What changes | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Épée | Both score | FIE t.92 |
| Foil and sabre, one fencer at fault | The other scores | FIE t.89; FIE t.106 |
| Foil and sabre, true simultaneous attacks | No hit | FIE t.89.2; FIE t.106.1 |
| Épée pools at 4-4 | Doubles do not count | FIE t.38.1 |
From the rule book
Fédération Internationale d'Escrime, Technical Rules (August 2026), articles t.38, t.89, t.92, t.94 and t.106. Checked 14 October 2026. Official document: FIE Technical Rules (PDF).