I’ll also mention that fencing used to be wildly dangerous to train in. When I learned to fence (Italian school longsword) we practiced with plastic swords and lacrosse gloves. Compared to wood swords with leather gloves this is an incredible safety improvement, and still we broke fingers from time to time. Even modern longsword fencing helms[0] (sport fencing helms can’t handle the abuse) are much tougher thanks to the presence of pre-drilled plate which provides better visibility without reduced protection[1].
1 - Against cutting blows, which is the main issue in practice. Such a plate would be disastrous in actual war, since it would guarantee that any arrow making contact would “bite” rather than deflecting.
0 - https://i.pinimg.com/originals/4a/15/22/4a1522079ba2951466fb... This type is necessary if you wish to practice with steel swords, among other protective equipment. Steel can cave in regular fencing masks.
1 - Against cutting blows, which is the main issue in practice. Such a plate would be disastrous in actual war, since it would guarantee that any arrow making contact would “bite” rather than deflecting.