Despite the occasional death on the fencing strip, modern competitive fencing is a safe sport. Heck, more kids have died taking a Little League baseball on the chest than have even been nicked by a blade!
Despite a higher degree and frequency of serious injury or even fatality, it looks that 16th-century fencing practice (as opposed to the duel, we suppose) was a civilized affair compared to archery. But the most deadly of pastimes in Tudor England apparently was football…
