Lunge (fencing)
Encyclopedia
The lunge is the fundamental offensive fencing
technique used with all three fencing weapons: foil
, épée and sabre
. It is common to all contemporary fencing styles.
The lunge is the most basic and most important method of offensive scoring. It is fundamental to the attack, just as the guard is fundamental to the parry system. A lunge delivers the attack instantaneously and without any warning. It also allows time and a firm position for the fencer to recover safely in the event of failure.
attribute the first true lunging attack to Angelo Viggiani and his Lo Schermo of 1575 (the punta supramano, or "overhand thrust"). A simple advance or pass during the thrusting attack is common as early as the Royal Armouries Ms. I.33, roughly dated to the mid-14th century.
Fencing
Fencing, which is also known as modern fencing to distinguish it from historical fencing, is a family of combat sports using bladed weapons.Fencing is one of four sports which have been featured at every one of the modern Olympic Games...
technique used with all three fencing weapons: foil
Foil (fencing)
A foil is a type of weapon used in fencing. It is the most common weapon in terms of usage in competition, and is usually the choice for elementary classes for fencing in general.- Components:...
, épée and sabre
Sabre
The sabre or saber is a kind of backsword that usually has a curved, single-edged blade and a rather large hand guard, covering the knuckles of the hand as well as the thumb and forefinger...
. It is common to all contemporary fencing styles.
Background
A number of things happen at almost the same time during the execution of a lunge:- The blade arm extends for the earliest possible arrival on the defender.
- The front leg kicks forward, with the heel barely skimming the floor.
- The back leg straightens powerfully and the back arm is forcefully thrown straight back, pushing the body explosively forward.
- The cut (sabre) or thrust (all three weapons) arrives on the defender.
- The front heel reaches its end and comes firmly into contact with the floor. The front leg absorbs the body's forward momentum as the front foot rocks forward to full contact with the floor, ending with the front knee directly over the heel and the front foot pointed straight ahead. The back arm, shoulders, hips, and the front thigh end up parallel with the floor in a stable and balanced position.
The lunge is the most basic and most important method of offensive scoring. It is fundamental to the attack, just as the guard is fundamental to the parry system. A lunge delivers the attack instantaneously and without any warning. It also allows time and a firm position for the fencer to recover safely in the event of failure.
History
The characteristic motion of the modern lunge traces its ancestry to European swordplay of the 16th and 17th centuries. Scholars of fence such as Egerton CastleEgerton Castle
Egerton Castle M.A., F.S.A. was a Victorian era author, antiquarian, and swordsman, and an early practitioner of reconstructed historical fencing, as well as the captain of the British épée and saber teams at the 1908 Olympics.He was born into a wealthy family; his maternal grandfather was the...
attribute the first true lunging attack to Angelo Viggiani and his Lo Schermo of 1575 (the punta supramano, or "overhand thrust"). A simple advance or pass during the thrusting attack is common as early as the Royal Armouries Ms. I.33, roughly dated to the mid-14th century.