Foil

From Karate, Kungfu, Wrestling, Mixed Fighting Information Source

A light, flexible weapon with which only thrusts with the point of the weapon to the opponent's trunk of body count as valid hits. Hits count on the abdomen, chest and back but not on the the arms, legs and head. Points are scored by the fencer who hits the target area and has "right of attack"

The foil has been the dominant factor in the development of modern fencing. Even sabre fencing, though involving the cut, and so introducing an entirely different factor, is limited by the conventions governing the right to attack, riposte, counter-attack, and so forth, identical to those at foil. The sabre target is also limited. This is, of course, not so at epee, but the fact remains that the terminology and basic concept of sword-play are akin to the foil, although naturally, the tactics and application of the basic system must be greatly modified at this weapon. For long the epee was regarded as the duelling weapon as such, while the sabre before 1939, was regarded as a specialty of the Hungarians and not practiced very widely in England outside the Services. Thirty or forty years ago, the fencing masters were still reluctant to give sabre or epee lessons except to those about to participate in matches or competitions, of which there were then vastly fewer. For them, the foil reigned supreme - precise, formal and elegant.