Fencing Salute Rules: How to Salute in Saber and What Changed in 2026
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The fencing salute is required before and after every bout. How to do it in saber, why the October 2026 USA Fencing rules dropped the handshake from t.122, and why refusing is a black card.
The fencing salute is required at every USA Fencing bout, and the rule around it just changed. The October 2026 USA Fencing Rules for Competition, article t.122, require the salute before and after each bout but no longer list a handshake. The November 2025 edition did. Refusing to salute is still a black card.
Here is what the salute is, how to do it in saber, and what the current text says.
What the rules call a salute
Both the USA Fencing Rules for Competition (October 2026) and the FIE Technical Rules (August 2026) define it in article t.1. The salute is "a gesture of civility" toward the opponent, the referee, and the spectators.
To perform it, the two fencers:
- Face each other
- Stand still on their on-guard line
- Place the mask under the non-sword arm
- Lift the guard to the chin
- Lower the blade to the ground
That is the whole definition. No flourish is required.
How it works in a saber bout
Before the bout. You walk to your on-guard line, mask off and tucked under your back arm. You salute your opponent, the referee, and the spectators. Then mask on, and the referee calls you on guard.
After the final touch. USA Fencing's October 2026 t.122 says that when the final hit is scored, both fencers stand still on their on-guard lines while the referee decides. Then both salute the opponent, the referee, and the spectators. "The bout has then ended."
That second step matters in saber. When the last touch is a double light, the referee decides it on right of way. You stay still and wait for the call. Ripping your mask off and celebrating before the referee rules is not the salute the rule describes.
The handshake change
Here is the wording side by side.
- November 2025 USA Fencing rules, t.122: after the decision, fencers "must return to their on guard line, perform a fencer's salute and shake hands with their opponent." (November 2025 rules)
- October 2026 USA Fencing rules, t.122: fencers stand still during the decision, "then perform the fencer's salute (cf. t.1) to their opponent, to the Referee and to the spectators. The bout has then ended." No handshake appears.
The FIE's August 2026 t.122 uses the same salute-only wording, marked "Application: current and from the 2026-2027 season."
The handshake has been in flux before. In March 2020, USA Fencing's Referees' Commission temporarily suspended the handshake part of t.122 because of COVID-19. Fencers still had to salute (USA Fencing, March 6, 2020).
Plenty of fencers still shake hands after a bout. Under the October 2026 text, the salute is the required part.
What happens if you refuse
This is not a minor etiquette point. The USA Fencing penalty chart (October 2026) lists "Refusal of fencer to salute opponent, the referee and the audience at the beginning or at the end of the bout" under t.122 as a black card offense. A black card means exclusion from the competition.
The rulebook goes one step further. Under t.145.2, temporary suspension can be applied at a competition only in the case of a fencer refusing to salute.
For the full card ladder, read Yellow, Red, and Black Cards in Saber Fencing.
Common beginner mistakes
- Saluting with the mask on. The definition says mask under the non-sword arm.
- Skipping the referee and spectators. The rule names all three.
- Moving during the final decision. Stand still on your line until the referee rules.
- Leaving before the final salute. Under t.122, the bout ends after that salute, not at the last light.
- Throwing the mask. Article t.123 penalizes violently or dangerously throwing a mask or equipment, even after you leave the strip, as a 4th group offense.
Practice it before your first event
Do the salute in every club bout, not only at tournaments. It becomes automatic, and you will not think about it when nerves hit at a pool. If you are heading to your first local event, read How to Enter Your First Saber Fencing Tournament on AskFRED and check dates on our USA Fencing tournament schedule. Rule updates land on our USA Fencing News hub.
Learn the basics in Bethesda
Saber Nation is a saber-focused club at 4701 Sangamore Rd, Suite LL2, Bethesda, MD. Book a private lesson or contact the club.
Sources: USA Fencing Rules for Competition, October 2026 (t.1, t.122, t.123, t.145.2); USA Fencing Rules for Competition, November 2025 (t.122); USA Fencing Penalty Chart, October 2026 (t.170); FIE Technical Rules, August 2026 (t.1, t.122); USA Fencing, Handshaking Rule Suspended, March 6, 2020.