There are ten gold medals at stake. Men contest the épée, foil and sabre in individual and team events, while women do not have a sabre event.

World ranking lists are used to seed the 40 male and female competitors, who fence in a round that whittles the field down to 32 before an elimination tournament continues until the medals are decided. Between eight and 12 teams, each with three fencers, take part in team events that are seeded on the basis of results from the individual competition.

The aim is to touch your opponent with your sword and register a "hit" for a point. Three three-minute sections make up each bout, with a minute’s rest between. The first to reach 15 points wins, or 45 points for a team, regardless of time, but if neither reaches 15 points by the end of a bout, the fencer with the most points wins. Ties are decided by one minute of sudden-death extra time.

In team events, each of the three team members must fence the three members of the rival team, for a total of nine bouts. If time runs out in a bout, points decide the winner. Otherwise, bouts end when one fencer reaches five points (until the maximum of 45 points after all nine bouts).

The piste, where bouts take place, is a strip 14 metres long by 1.5 metres wide. Fencers are hooked up to an electronic scorer by means of wiring in sword and protective clothing. Underneath the fencer's jacket is an underjacket called the plastron, which protects the torso and arms. A wire-mesh mask protects the head, while gloves safeguard hands.

The foil is the lightest of the swords and must hit the opponent at a pressure of more than 500g to score a point. Only the attacking fencer can score. Where there is doubt about which fencer was the attacker, the referee decides.

The épée, with its origins in the swashbuckling tales of yore, is heavier that the foil and must be applied with a pressure of more than 750g on any part of the body, including mask and foot, for a point. Both fencers score if they register hits within 0.04sec of each other.

The sabre, with its origins in military cavalry charges differs from the other two swords in that points can be scored by registering hits with both the edge and the tip of the weapon, but only from the waist upwards.

The referee shouts "En garde!" at the start of each bout. Fencers stand at the on-guard lines 2 metres either side of a centre line on the strip, with one foot in front of the other. Fencing resumes from the same position after each score, while a hit is signalled by a green light for one fencer and a red light for the other. In the foil, a white light also indicates a hit outside the target area.

Beyond scoring hits, there is a system of penalties that involve shifting a bout one way or other down the piste, placing one opponent or the other in danger of stepping outside the rear limit of the piste, which results in a hit being awarded to the opponent.

The terminology of fencing can leave the unsuspecting bewildered. Words to watch for include:

Balestra: a short jump towards a rival fencer
Barrage: a bout that decides a tie
Lunge: an attack that involves the extension of the forward leg
Parry: blocking the thrust of an opponent
Reprise: the counterattack after an opponent's lunge
Riposte: the counterattack after a parry
Thrust: an attack with a sword that does not involve moving the feet