A first fencing kit: what beginners' classes require, then what to buy.

Lessons come before kit

We suggest starting with lessons from a qualified coach, and asking the club what it lends and which protection level it requires before buying anything. Where a club lends kit, British Fencing's Safety Committee notice of 20 March 2026 says the club must make sure the mask is the correct size. The coaching qualifications, such as USA Fencing's Foundation of Fencing Coaching Course and British Fencing's Level 1 and Level 2 coaching awards, are on how people learn. This guide recommends no club, coach, armourer or shop.

The protection level is not one number. It depends on the body, the activity and the event, and the levels are given in newtons: the FIE's Annexe A describes its 800 N level as the perforation force the clothing material must resist. No item below is presented as preventing injury, and none is said to be certified, safe or legal; the national rule, the FIE's homologation at FIE events and the officials on the day decide.

What a beginners' class requires: British Fencing

British Fencing's Equipment by Activity page (updated 2 October 2026) sets the kit for beginner classes, pupils in lessons and under-14 and under-10 fencing:

• a CEN 1 mask with a 350N bib and a back strap;
• a CEN 1 (350 Newtons) jacket, plastron and breeches;
• any fencing glove;
• a chest protector, compulsory for anyone with female breasts.

The same page says sparring in shorts is unacceptable under any circumstances and that indoor trainer-type shoes are required. British Fencing's announcement of 1 July 2026 on the 23rd edition of its Safety Guidelines says tracksuits remain permitted for some activities, such as coach-supervised beginners' classes. The guidelines (approved 25 June 2026) also allow full-length trousers of sufficiently strong material, with openings closed, in place of breeches where both fencers use non-electric foil blades or size 0 blades at any weapon, except in BF-licensed competitions (1.3.vi). In lessons and classes, epee fights must not include the legs as target unless the pupil wears at least 350 N breeches and long socks (4.4.2). Classes with plastic or foam weapons need a purpose-designed plastic face mask or a regulation fencing mask, a long-sleeved top and legs covered to within 10 cm above the knee (1.8).

British Fencing lists a 24th edition of the Safety Guidelines, Board approved in September 2026, which could not be read; the section numbers here are from the 23rd.

The step up to club sparring

For general club training, the Equipment by Activity page asks for a CEN 2 (800 Newtons) plastron with CEN 1 (350 Newtons) jacket and breeches, and a sabre glove carrying the FIE 800N label at sabre; at foil and epee any glove is accepted. British Fencing's documents differ on the plastron. Its markings page (minimum standards as at 13 March 2026) gives 350N as the minimum plastron for metal club fencing, with 800N recommended; the Equipment by Activity page (2 October 2026) requires 800 Newtons for general training. Its under-plastron safety page (updated 8 June 2026) advises personal buyers to choose 800N, because that level meets the standard for all activities, National Championships included.

In the United States: USA Fencing

• No FIE label needed. The Rules for Competition (October 2026) say an FIE-homologated uniform and mask are not required in USA Fencing competitions (note to t.64.1), and the mask bib must resist 350 Newtons (m.25.7.e). The Athlete Handbook 2026-2027 (2.17.1) says standard uniforms and plastrons are acceptable without an FIE label.
• The plastron. It must have at least two layers and a sleeve to the elbow with no opening or seam at the armpit, and need not be 800 Newton material (note to t.64.5), although the reproduced m.25.3.c text states 800 N: the rulebook disagrees with itself here.
• Sabre and chest protection. At sabre an 800 N glove is required at every level of competition, and women must wear chest or breast protectors (Athlete Handbook, 2.17.1).
• Lessons at tournaments. At USA Fencing-sanctioned tournaments, fencers and coaches must wear mask and glove during drills, lessons, warm-ups, camps or clinics (Athlete Handbook, 2.17.1), and anyone taking a lesson on a competition site must wear at least a mask, glove and chest protector (Rules for Competition, t.20.2).

Where the FIE level applies

At FIE events the Material Rules (August 2026) require jackets, under-plastrons and breeches of cloth resisting 800 Newtons, with the under-plastron obligatory (m.25.3.c), and a mask bib of 1600 Newtons (m.25.7.d); a chest protector is compulsory for women and optional for men (m.25.4.c). No one may hold an FIE licence, and so enter an official FIE competition, before their 13th birthday (Organisation Rules, August 2026, o.29.1). Kit bought to a national level may not meet the FIE level, so the event's own rules are the ones to check. The FIE Technical Rules (December 2024 edition, t.20) say fencers equip themselves at their own risk. For lessons on site at official FIE competitions, the FIE's published record of decisions of the Congress in Manama on 22 November 2025 shows t.20.2 amended so that a fencer taking a lesson wears at least a mask, a glove, a chest protector, a top covering the torso and shoulders and shorts reaching to within 10 cm of the knee; Technical Rules amendments apply from 1 January 2026 unless another date is stated. That wording was read from the document's tracked changes, not from a clean 2026 edition of the Technical Rules.

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