FIE

This is a picture of Eva after her opponent's blade broke, and the jagged tip punched a hole in her knickers and scratched her leg. While there was a fair amount of blood, it was a just a superficial cut. However, this strengthened her resolve to obtain international competition quality protective gear- and to insist that I do the same. After years of taking the silly risk of fencing in cheap fencing jackets and knickers, I now have 100% FIE approved ballistic nylon puncture resistant equipment. Which is bloody expensive. And this is also why some people say FIE doesn't stand for "Federation Internationale d' Escrime", but rather "Fencing is Expensive".