1.6 What is the best weapon for a beginner to start with?

 
     Foil is the most common starter weapon.  It is an excellent weapon
     to begin with if you have no preferences or want to learn
     generalized principles of swordfighting.  Transitions to the other
     weapons from foil are relatively straight forward.  Foil is an
     abstracted form of fencing that emphasises proper defence, and
     cleanly executed killing attacks.  Historically it was a training
     weapon for the small sword, so it is well suited for the purposes of
     learning.  However, it is far from a simple weapon, and many
     experienced fencers return to foil after trying the others.
 
     Sabre can also be an effective starter weapon, for a few reasons.
     Like foil, it has rules of right-of-way to emphasize proper
     defense, and its de-emphasis of point attacks can be a relief to
     a beginner who doesn't yet have much point control.  Also, some
     low-level sabre competitions are still fenced dry, meaning that
     it can be the cheapest of all weapons to compete in (although
     electric sabre is definitely the most expensive weapon).
     However, sabre differs from foil and epee in a few key respects
     that can reduce its effectiveness as a starter weapon if the
     fencer plans to try the others in the future.  Among these
     differences are the aforementioned de-emphasis of point attacks,
     and a different sense of timing and distance.
 
     Epee can sometimes be a good starter weapon for two reasons.  First,
     the rules are simple and easy to grasp, and second, the competition
     costs are lower, since no lame' is required.  However, the apparent
     simplicity of the sport can obscure its subtleties to the beginner,
     and make progress difficult later on.  Furthermore, the lack of
     right-of-way in epee can make transitions to the other two weapons
     difficult, if put off for too long.