Much of a bout consists of convincing your opponent that you are going to do one thing - perhaps drawing a parry or counter attack - and actually doing something else to make their action ineffective and scoring a hit on them. Modern fencing is derived from the French school - hence a number of terms are in French.
 What competitive fencing and the type of swordplay you see in the films do have in common is that whether you are fighting for your life or for a position in the next round or for a medal, it requires you to focus all your mental, and often physical - energy on the task of hitting your opponent without being hit. When the pressure of actually doing this to survive is removed, fencing becomes an excellent way of forgetting about problems and getting rid of aggression.
 Fencing is practiced with one of three weapons (fencers rarely use the term 'sword', for some reason). Each has slightly different rules and techniques, although many apply to all weapons. At the highest level, fencers tend to concentrate on one weapon, many club fencers fence two or three. All are available to both men and women (although women's sabre is only just obtaining recognition at the highest competitions like the Olympics), and all may be fought by the disabled from wheelchairs.
 All weapons are fought along a strip, called a piste, measuring around 14 metres by 1.5 to 2.0 metres, and in competitions the fencers are adjudicated by a referee, with electrical scoring apparatus assisting in determining and identifying hits. The first fencer to score a given number of hits (usually 5 or 15, depending on the type and stage of the competition) is declared the winner.