In 1553, the Italian architect, engineer and mathematician Camillo Agrippa published his "Trattato Di Scientia d 'Poor, Con un Dialogo di Filosofia" ("Treatise on the Science of Arms, with a Philosophical Dialogue"). He applied geometric principles to the analysis of combat. Based on that, he argued that a thrust is faster, and therefore more effective, than a cut. He was also the first to describe, in a published work, how the reach of an attack can be increased by increasing the distance between the feet after stretching the arm. This is how he describes a precursor to the stoccade, or lunge. He also presents four guards: Prima, Secunda, Tertia and Quarta, which reasonably correspond to the four hand positions in later rapier fencing. Camillo Agrippa is therefore seen as an important founder of rapier fencing.

Two important trends in (rapier) fencing art emerged from Agrippa's work. He described a dynamic and athletic fencing art emerged in Italy, which, although still based on geometric and mathematical principles, did not focus strongly on that. The thrust became the most important form of attack because it was faster than the cut. Movement mainly took place along a straight line between the fencers. In Italian rapier fencing, four hand positions based on the positions defined by Agrippa were also used. Important Italian masters were Salvatore Fabris (1544-1618) whose "Lo Schermo, overo Scienza d'Arme" was first published in 1606; Nicoletto Giganti, author of "Scola, overo, Teatro", also published in 1606; Ridolfo Capo Ferro, author of "Gran Simularcro dell'Arte Eddelluso della Scherma" (published in 1610), and Francesco Ferdinando Alfieri. Italian rapier fencing quickly spread throughout Western Europe, and also became an important art of self-defense in, for example, Germany, where Fabris and his students had a great deal of influence.

In Spain, a fencing art with the name "La Verdadera Destreza" evolved. Within Destreza, geometry and mathematics played a much greater role in the handling of the fight. The fencers did not move along a straight line, but approached each other along a circle in order to attack at an angle. The only hand position used within the Destreza is similar to the Italian Tertia, but the arm was always extended parallel to the ground. Important masters within the Destreza were Jerónimo Sánchez de Carranza, author of "De la Filosofía de las Armas y de su Destreza y Aggression y Defensa Cristiana", published in 1582, and Luis Pacheco de Narváez (1570-1640). The fencing art described by Antwerp resident Girard Thibault (1574-1629), who had trained with Narváez in Spain, was strongly influenced by Destreza.

Rapier fencing remained an important art of self-defense in Western Europe until about the end of the 17th century. During this time, both the hilt and the blade of the rapier evolved. The method of fencing also evolved, and the use of dui-tempi counters (parry-riposte) increased compared to the stress-tempo counter. The developments of the hilt were generally aimed at providing better protection for the sword hand, by adding additional rods, metal plates, or even a metal bowl. In social situations, however, the length of the blade and the size of the rapier hilt were perceived as awkward. In France in particular, this led to the development of a sword with a shorter blade and a considerably smaller hilt, something that Thibault was to some extent already in favor of. This court sword (épée de cour in French, also called smallsword in English) was not only shorter but also lighter than the rapier, and was therefore used differently. As the weapon became faster compared to the fencer, while the stress-tempo or counter-tempo counter had been the main reaction to an attack, the parry-riposte (dui-tempi) now became more important. The fencing style with the épée de cour was also more formal and graceful, and the official duel became a more important aspect of the art.

Also in France, the foil was developed around the same time as a practice and competition variant of the epée de cour. The modern foil fencing stems from this. The modern épée fencing comes from the dueling style that arose from fencing with the epée de cour.

Johannes Georgius Bruchius