For the initiated, fencing is fencing--two people in white attire engaging in some fancy swords play.

The sport's apparent simplicity, however, belies the variation of technique and strategy that fencing encompasses. For one thing, in collegiate fencing meets there are actually two or three different competitions--namely the foil, sabre and epee.

Although the weapons used in the three divisions are very similar, the differences in rules and scoring are such that very few fencers can master all three weapons.

In epee, the fencer who first touches his opponent on any part of the body is awarded a point.

"Epee is the most straight forward," says senior Kwame Van Leeuwen, who captured the NCAA championship last season in the foil division. "Epee's the most exclusively physical of the three."

Sabre and foil require that a fencer gain "right of way" before a point can be scored. The "right of way," analogous to earning a side-out in volleyball, involves hitting your opponents blade and taking initiative in the attack.

Also, the target area and attacking motions differ between sabre and foil. In sabre, attacks are made with a slashing motion of the weapon and points are awarded for any hit above the waist. Points in foil are scored with thrusting hits on the opponents torso and back.

Even the simple white fencing uniform is more complex than it looks. The uniformis made largely out of kevlar. Copper wires cover the target areas and points are recorded electronically because the action is often too fast for an observer to judge.

Men's fencing teams field three fencers in each division and each of the three battles the other three opponents in his division in turn. Each bout is worth one team point. In a bout, the first fencer to reach five touches is awarded the bout.

This year the Harvard women's team, which had previously only competed in the foil division, has expanded to include epee fencers as well. Women's competitions include four fencers in each of the two divisions, with each facing all of the opposing team's fencers in the division. Up to 32 points can be scored in a women's match.

Harvard Teams Defeat MIT

With a full complement of fencers, Harvard travelled to MIT Saturday and battled the Engineers into submission. The women won 23-9, and the men triumphed, 18-9.

The women's team was carried by the Ivy League champion foil squad, with sophomore captain Viktoria Danics, sophomores Sara Crasson and Brindisi Chan and freshman Jill Katz all going 4-0 on the day.

The foil team captured the Ivy League foil crown last weekend with a 9-7 win against Penn--concluding an undefeated foil season.

The women's epee squad lost 9-7, but in the squad's first year of competition the close margin was encouraging.