en garde - (pronounced ‘on guard’) the basic position
lunge - an attack
quarte - (pronounced ‘cart’) parry four, covers your upper left torso
octave - (pronounced ‘octarv’) parry 8, covers your lower right torso and right leg
sixte - (pronounced ’seest’) parry 6, covers you upper right torso and fencing arm
riposte - a hit after a parry
flèche- (French for ‘arrow’) a very fast, aggresive action made by flinging yourself at your opponent with your arm extended and then running past them to make it harder for them to hit you if you missed them

Piste - The strip that a fencer fences on, approximately 45 feet long and anywhere from five to six feet wide.

remise - continuing a short attack without withdrawing

ballestra - a jump or stamp usually followed by a large fleche

Coupé - (coopey) Also known as a ‘cut over’, flicking the blade over that of the opponent’s as opposed to underneath.

Flunge - A sort of leaping lunge, used in sabre fencing.

Prise de Fer - Forcing the blade into a new line usually on a lunge that pushes the opponent’s tip safely off target while yours touches

Coupé lancé - (coopey lance-ay) A ‘flick’ where the blade is bent through the air past the opponent’s guard, used extensively in foil to the back and epee to the wrist

feint - a fake attack

second intention - the act of feinting in such a way as to trick your opponent into thinking that that is your final action, when in actuality it sets up a second action

advance - the primary action for forward movement in fencing

retreat - the primary action for backward movement in fencing

disengage - the act of avoiding the opponent’s blade without engaging (touching) it

extend - the extension of your arm, used for attacks in distance too close for a lunge

attack - the act of making a threatening action towards your opponent (i.e. advancing, lunging, flèching, extending, etc)

parry - blocking an opponent’s blade from hitting your target area while they are attacking

beat - the act of tapping your opponent’s blade with your while attacking

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