MoreCooler.com: It's more cooler with the thing

I was watching some of the Olympic fencing, and the editing is quite funny. They just cut to the touches. So a match lasts about 10 seconds, just touch -snip- touch -snip- touch. Wish I could do that.

This is in all seriousness: how long do fencing matches actually last? I have always been under the impression that a round was, at most, several seconds: usually just lunge, dodge, counterlunge, point. I wonder if I've gotten a skewed view of the sport due to my TV exposure?

It depends on the weapon. Only Sabre is really fast. Epee fencers usually take a long time figuring out their opponents defences.