Forte (fencing) Forte (fencing) In fencing, forte (from the Romance root meaning "strong") is "the strong part" of the blade—the one third-closest to the hilt. The "strength" refers to the control established over the opponent's weapon upon contact of one's forte with the opponent's foible (a situation of favourable leverage). (See also parry (fencing).) Fencer Ridolfo Capo Ferro defined the forte as the blade from the hilt to the middle. From the middle to the top is known as the debole. The debole is the part of the sword, especially a rapier, that is used for offensive actions. Italian fencing master Ridolfo
Fencing practice and techniques prevents the arrival of that attack by closing the line in which that attack is to finish". In practice, sabre referees tend to look at the point of blade contact: contact of a defender's forte with an attacker's foible is generally counted as a parry, whereas contact of a defender's foible with an attacker's forte is incorrectly executed, and priority stays with the attacker. Some fencers refer to a retreat that makes an attack fall short as a "distance parry", but this is informal use: an actual parry requires blade contact. Modern fencing also includes the addition of penalty cards