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4 things to know about fencing, according to Olympic fencer Kat Holmes

Aug 11, 2016; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Simona Pop (ROU) competes against Katharine Holmes (USA) during the women's epee team event at Carioca Arena 3 in the Rio 2016 Summer Olympic Games. Mandatory Credit: Dan Powers-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 11, 2016; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Simona Pop (ROU) competes against Katharine Holmes (USA) during the women's epee team event at Carioca Arena 3 in the Rio 2016 Summer Olympic Games. Mandatory Credit: Dan Powers-USA TODAY Sports

Kat Holmes Good Riddance [Time of Your Life] Daylight Here’s to the Night Future This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.

There are actually 3 different types of fencing

Jul 27, 2021; Chiba, Japan; Katharine Holmes (USA) fights Ewa Trzebinska (POL) in the fifth place match of the women's fencing epee team competition during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Summer Games at Makuhari Messe Hall B. Mandatory Credit: James Lang-USA TODAY Sports

 ORIG FILE ID: 20210723_jtl_sj8_390.JPG
Jul 27, 2021; Chiba, Japan; Katharine Holmes (USA) fights Ewa Trzebinska (POL) in the fifth place match of the women's fencing epee team competition during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Summer Games at Makuhari Messe Hall B. Mandatory Credit: James Lang-USA TODAY Sports ORIG FILE ID: 20210723_jtl_sj8_390.JPG

FTW: How would you describe fencing to someone who has never seen it before?  There’s foil, epee and sabre. (I fence epee. So, you should only watch epee. No, I’m kidding.) Epee is actually the easiest to watch and the easiest to understand. Basically, the whole body’s target, and you hit with the tip. It’s kind of like a clicky-top pen. So, when you compress the tip, a light goes off. So, if I hit and compress that tip, a light goes off. If we both hit at the same time, we’ll both get a point. In foil, you can only hit on the chest. There’s this silver thing called a lamé you have to hit on the chest. You also hit with a point. In sabre, you hit from the waist and up, and instead of hitting with the point, you cut and slash. Foil and sabre have these complicated rules called right of way, where you have to have control of the action to score - meaning you either have to score in attack or in defense, you have to parry the blade. So, you knock the blade out of the way. You have control of the blade before you hit.

The sport has deep Olympic ties

Jul 13, 2024; Paris, France; A detail view of the Olympic rings hung on the Eiffel Tower ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics. Mandatory Credit: Jon Durr-USA TODAY Sports
Jul 13, 2024; Paris, France; A detail view of the Olympic rings hung on the Eiffel Tower ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics. Mandatory Credit: Jon Durr-USA TODAY Sports

FTW: What are important things new fans should know about Olympic fencing? How is the Olympic stage different from other stages? It’s one of the original sports to be held in the modern Olympic games. So, the premise is epee ... it comes from actual combat. You’re trying to draw blood. Foil is the court form, like what you practiced in the courts. You could only hit on the torso. The foil is much lighter. And then sabre comes from the cavalry. So, you’re on a horse. You’re slashing, and you’re cutting your sabre, and you want to kill the man but save the horse, who’s a spoil of war.

Team USA is actually really good

PARIS, FRANCE - JULY 21: Anne Cebula, Jacqueline Debruvich, Maia Weintraub, Lauren Scruggs, Katherine Holmes, Margherita Guzzi Vincenti and Hadley Husisian try on clothes during Team USA Welcome Experience ahead of Paris 2024 Summer Olympics at Polo Ralph Lauren on July 20, 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by Joe Scarnici/Getty Images for USOPC) ORG XMIT: 776173500 ORIG FILE ID: 2162879041

FTW: Tell us about Team USA and your thoughts on competing in Paris. Next to dressage, we have the most [expletive] venue at the Olympics. We’re gonna be at the Grand Palais, which is this insane old building that they’ve been tricking out. It’s gonna be an amazing venue to have a competition at.

Fencers actually wear an extension cord while competing

Jul 27, 2021; Chiba, Japan; Katharine Holmes (USA) fights Aleksandra Jarecka(POL) in the fifth place match of the women's fencing epee team competition during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Summer Games at Makuhari Messe Hall B. Mandatory Credit: James Lang-USA TODAY Sports

 ORIG FILE ID: 20210723_jtl_sj8_375.JPG
Jul 27, 2021; Chiba, Japan; Katharine Holmes (USA) fights Aleksandra Jarecka(POL) in the fifth place match of the women's fencing epee team competition during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Summer Games at Makuhari Messe Hall B. Mandatory Credit: James Lang-USA TODAY Sports ORIG FILE ID: 20210723_jtl_sj8_375.JPG

FTW: What kind of special equipment do you compete in? Is there a secret or weird thing you use that most people wouldn’t suspect?

This article originally appeared on For The Win: 4 things to know about fencing, according to Olympic fencer Kat Holmes