Сабля: современное фехтование, правила и оборудование.

A weapon and type of modern fencing

The sabre (US English: saber, both pronounced '/s//eɪ//b//ər/) is one of the three disciplines of modern fencing. The sabre weapon is for thrusting and cutting with both the cutting edge and the back of the blade (unlike the other modern fencing weapons, the épée and foil, where a touch is scored only using the point of the blade). The cross sectional profile of the sabre blade is commonly a V shaped base which transitions to a flat rectangular shaped end with most blade variants, but this is dependent on how it is manufactured. This allows the blade to be flexible towards the end. According to regulation, manufacturers must acknowledge that the blade must be fixed horizontally at a point from the tip of the blade. Standardised adult (size 5) blades are in length (excluding other components). At the end of the blade, the point is folded over itself to form a "button" which, when viewed end on, must have a square or rectangular section of no larger or smaller. The button must not be any more than from the end of the blade section.

The scoring apparatus or box aids the referee's final judgement. As for all electrical apparatus used in modern fencing, the referee must take into account the possibility of mechanical failure. This period is set into the electrical apparatus to aid judgement. Recent regulation adjustments to the "functioning times of the scoring apparatuses" following from the 2016 Olympic Games modified the registering times from 120 ms (± 10 ms) to 170 ms (± 10 ms). Scoring apparatuses with the new modification are marked with a magenta identification label bearing in black text "FIE 2016". If both hits occur and the time difference is greater than the lockout period, one signal is displayed by the judging apparatus. The referee is likely to award the point to the first hit. If both hits occur within the lockout period, both signals are displayed; in such a situation final judgement of the score is determined by the 'right of way'. Changing the lockout timing effectively changed the way with which the sabre was fenced, making it faster with greater emphasis on footwork. Although the essential nature of the game would remain the same, the strategies for attack and defense would need to be rethought. The timing change was initially greeted with a degree of controversy, as many fencers were accustomed to having the longer timings. This made the techniques then employed vulnerable to fast stop cuts (a hit made by the defender that lands whilst the attacker is still beginning an attack, also known as a skyhook) or [[Remise (fencing) (a second attack made by the original attacker after the first has technically finished). It was commonly regarded that the shorter timings would only encourage poor technique and an "attack only" mentality, negating much of the art of the sport. Remises and stop cuts would not normally score a point, as a hit by the attacker would take priority. However, the hit made with priority may arrive too late under the shorter timings to register, and so the stop cuts and remises would indeed score. As a result of the narrower timings, the efficacy of attacks into preparation was increased, meaning that it was now more critical that the preparing fencer must already have begun an attack by the time the two fencers were in hitting distance of each other. The techniques of how to parry and riposte have been extended. The solid parries, used extensively before the change of timings, would be supplemented by an additional step back by the defender to avoid the attacker remising (continuing to push their blade after their attack has technically done) or else the defence to be performed as a beat attack, an extending arm that deflects the oncoming attack halfway through the extension before hitting the original attacker's target area. With hindsight, the shorter timings seem to have encouraged a tightening and refinement of the original techniques with smaller, neater moves so that, on the whole, sabre fencing became faster and more precise than it had ever been before.

The referee may halt the action for reasons such as a safety hazard, fencer injury, or violation of the rules. When the referee says "halt", no further action may score a point. For cases of rules violations, the referee may choose to either warn the offender or show him or her a penalty card. A warning has no scoring implication. Cards, on the other hand, have further penalties:
Yellow card: Offender's touch may be annulled, similar to a warning. This may be given if a fencer moves forward before "fence" is heard, or unnecessary action after "halt" is heard. Red card: Offender's touch usually annulled, point awarded to opponent. Two yellow cards result in a red card. Black card: Offender is removed from the tournament and the building. This can be caused by refusing to salute, or falsifying documents and covering up breaches in rules. The referee will traditionally score the bout in French, but most non French speaking referees tend to make calls in the relevant local language. However, in international competitions, the referees are required to use French. There are also associated hand motions the referees will make to indicate specific calls in order to bridge a potential language barrier. Most current referees are required to make calls both verbally and with the relevant hand motions to avoid any type of confusion.