April 2008 [2]

The Lunge 

Defined as “An explosive foward movement of the front hand and leg”.  The lunge is a fencers best weapon.  It should be aimed straight at the opponent for best effect. 

The lunge starts with the finger and thumb moving the point and the arm extending stright from the elbow, the front leg kicks forward from the toe and extends straight towards the target, the back leg pushes down and extends straight giving forward momentum.   The body’s ‘centre of gravity’ moves forward until gravity takes over, the weapon arm is thrust forward with the momentum of the lunging leg.  The weapon point hits the target and the attack finishes with the downward movement of the front leg due to gravity or individual stretch or reach.

Relaxed: Relaxed equals speed.  It is also more deceptive if your oppponent doesnt see tension before an action.  Thus the hand fires forward before any other visible movement.

Practice: The general conception is 200-300 repetitions of an action trains the muscle memory, including error training – where the body adapts to changes and the mind reintroduces the learnt processes.  So training correctly is very important

Tip: Begin with back foot against a wall and lunge keeping the foot in place.  Build different lengths of lunges; small, medium, large & Slow to Fast.  Keep head facing forward with Torso upright and the back leg locked straight, return to guard with balance, the front leg lands last.