The following clips were recorded at the Duke University varsity Fencing practice. The fencers first warm up together, following which, they do a series of quickness exercieses. They then split up into their respective weapons-- epee, foil, and sabre-- to practice their footwork, without their equiment. The footwork patterns are different for each weapon, as showcased by their different footwork drills. As a general rule of thumb, lunges result in a loud impact sound, due to its use as an attack movement in the sport. There are countless other movements in fencing, some defensive, some offensive. The recording below with focus on the discernable footwork of the sabre weapon.
In the back third of the Duke Varsity Fencing practice room, the four sabre weapons practice their footwork. The movements on the metal are very sharp and quick and controlled. What might not be apparent is the fact that this movement has the athlethes moving backwards. It is a defensive sabre movement, which must be reactive and fast-twitch, as is heard here.
This sound is an attack movement that the sabre executes. The lound first sound is, as mentioned above, a lunge, which is then followed by a couple of shorter and quicker foot movements. It is a very controlled footwork pattern which results in two very different sounds on the same surface.