When you first see it you may think that fencing is an easy sport, while in fact fencing requires the endurance of a track runner, the stamina of a boxer, and the speed of a soccer player. The three most important skills in fencing are footwork, point control, and blade work. To block an opponent’s sword with your sword is called a parry. There are nine different parries. There are also many styles of fencing; a few are foil, epe, and toto. In a bout, both players salute each other before the bout, and after the bout they both shake hands with their non-sword hand.