rather than a sabre. Swords in the modern military are no longer used as weapons, and serve only ornamental or ceremonial functions. One distinctive modern use of sabres is in the sabre arch, performed for servicemen or women getting married. Modern sport fencing The modern fencing sabre bears little resemblance to the cavalry sabre, having a thin, long straight blade. Rather, it is based upon the Italian dueling saber of classical fencing. One of the three weapons used in the sport of fencing, it is a very fast-paced weapon with bouts characterized by quick footwork and cutting with the edge. The valid target area is from the waist up excluding the hands. The concept of attacking above the waist only is a 20th-century change to the sport; previously sabreurs used to pad their legs against cutting slashes from their opponents. The reason for the above waist rule is unknown, as the sport of sabre fencing is based on the use of infantry sabres, not cavalry sabres. In the last years, Saber fencing has been developing in Historical European Martial Arts, with blades that closely resemble the historical types, with techniques based on historical records. See also Pattern 1796 light cavalry sabre Pattern 1908 and 1912 cavalry swords Szabla wz. 34 Sabrage, the act of opening a Champagne bottle with a sabre Buffalo Sabres, the American professional ice hockey team that takes their name from the sword Cutlass, the Western European equivalent Dao, the Chinese equivalent Scimitar, the Arab equivalent Shamshir, the Persian equivalent Szabla, the Central and Eastern European equivalent Talwar, the South Asian equivalent Turko-Mongol sabers, the East Asian equivalent Zulfiqar, the sword of ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib Barbourofelidae, and Nimravidae, feliforms of which some members are called "sabre-toothed cats" Machairodontinae, the group of felids commonly called "sabre-toothed cats" Lightsaber, a fictional sword-like melee weapon used in the Star Wars universe References W. Kwaśniewicz, Dzieje szabli w Polsce, Warszawa (History of the Sabre in Poland), Dom wydawniczy Bellona, 1999 . Wojciech Zablocki, "Ciecia Prawdziwa Szabla", Wydawnictwo "Sport i Turystyka" (1989) (English abstract by Richard Orli, 2000, kismeta.com ). Richard Marsden, The Polish Saber, Tyrant Industries (2015) External links Blade weapons Swords Early Modern European swords Modern European swords 18th-century weapons 19th-century weapons Victorian-era weapons Hungarian words and phrases Police weapons American Civil War weapons