Fencing, also called
Olympic fencing emerged as a competitive sport at the end of the 19th century, with the Italian school having modified the "
classical fencing", and the
French school having later refined the Italian system. Modern fencing uses three weapons, and so is divided respectively into three competitive scenes:
foil, sabre (spelt "saber" in the United States) and
épée. Most (but not all) competitive fencers choose to specialise in one of these only.