The way it was explained to me, foil evolved from training for duels to the death (body strikes only), epee evolved from training for duels to first blood (hit

The way it was explained to me, foil evolved from training for duels to the death (body strikes only), epee evolved from training for duels to first blood (hit anywhere works), and sabre from cavalry training (edge is legal, but only waist up as you're often on a horse). Then they took on their individual quirks like right-of-way.