To Lunge or not to Lunge…

     I got into a very passionate debate with my wife the other day as we were driving to her parents’ house.  The topic de jour was lunging, and I shall present the summary of her argument:  She is of the opinion that in saber, lunging is largely a waste of time (and this mainly because she doesn’t fence foil or epee).  She feels that over-frequent lunging is very bad for the knees, and that too many fencers rely on the lunge.

     She’s wrong.  She’s also right, but I will get to that later on.  The points she raised got me to thinking about lunging, when to do so and when not, and the comment one of the Goucher fencers made recently:  “Well, you SAID to lunge more!”  I felt that I had left something out, and this venue is the easiest for me to correct that oversight en masse.

     The most elemental question most people have about lunging is “WHY?”  Some people ask ‘how,’ and fewer still ask ‘what for?’   It appears that far more people would like to know why fencers use a lunge, so I shall answer that first.

     Laziness notwithstanding, a properly timed and executed lunge is a wonder to behold.  The lunge is a very fast forward motion designed to drive your blade through your opponent.  Yes, Virginia, it is lethal when you take the safety tips and protective gear off.  That’s the point behind it.

The lunge uses the legs to provide additional speed, momentum, and power behind the thrust that a simple extension could not – cannot – match.  The physiological difference between using one arm and one’s entire body should be clear – an example being the karateka (karate practitioner) throwing a reverse punch.  Lunging also covers a greater distance faster than an advance with extension. 

     How?  As I’ve pointed out to several fencers, the lunge is a devilishly simple yet highly complex action involving the entire body.  It takes quite some time to get down right, so if you’re having trouble with it or your legs aren’t quite up to it yet don’t worry.  Proficiency will come with effort and knowledgeable supervision.  The way it works goes something like this (difficult to describe using linear text because several things occur at the same time):
1. Weapon arm extends
2. Front leg kicks out from the knee, picking up the toes first and the heel second.  The motion is the same as for toe-kicking a soccer ball or kicking your sibling in the shin.  The thigh does NOT move.
3. This really should be 2a, but Microsoft Word sucks so we have to cope.  At the same time as the above-mentioned #2, the back leg straightens itself and propels the body forward.  This straightening is the cause of much vexation among beginning fencers.  For that matter, it vexes many intermediates and advanced fencers as well.  The objective behind straightening the back leg is to keep it at a LOW angle (45 degrees relative to the floor at most) so as to propel one forward and not upwards.  This motion can be tricky to learn, which is why I make you all do the Crouching Lunge Thingy, also known as Russian Lunges.

So now you’re in motion, flying after your opponent!  But, as the Greatest American Superhero discovered, you gotta learn how to LAND too!  Common mistakes for lunging will follow, I promise.
1. The front leg lands in a reverse of how it left – heel lands first, rolling forward to the toes.  DO NOT let your front knee go past your front heel.  There must be a 90 degree angle from your heel to your knee to your hip on the front leg. 
2. The torso must remain upright.  Do not lean forward AT ALL EVER.  I know that I am guilty of this on occasion, but don’t be that stupid git who says “well the coach can’t get it right so I don’t have to either.”  Leaning forward puts an excessive weight on the front leg and makes a proper recovery exceedingly difficult.
3. The back leg must be straightened nearly completely.  Be careful not to shove the joint into being locked straight, as that will cause damage over time.  DO NOT EVER roll your ankle.  The sole of the back foot must be facing or ON the ground, not turned at any angle other than straight down.  The back foot may pivot off the toes, though (if that’s confusing, I’ll demonstrate next time I am in).  This is again one area I do not shine as the sterling paragon of fencing all the time…just mostly.  Grin
4. The back arm is held straight behind the torso.  This little extra aids balance as well as assisting in the recovery.  Don’t be lazy like some people and let it flop.

Now, for those common mistakes I’ve identified…there aren’t very many, but they’re prolific. 

     For example, people who throw themselves forward and try to stop themselves using the front leg as a brake tend to have a lot of weight on their front legs as they try to halt their momentum where they THINK they should stop.  More on self-perception in another edition. 

     Anyway, if you find yourself trying to stop yourself in this manner, quit it.  Your back leg is trying to push you further, which is a good thing.  Let yourself go that extra 12 inches or whatever forward and trust in your balance.  If you fall down, SO WHAT??  The only thing that takes a severe beating from that is one’s pride – which is something that doesn’t really belong in a salle to begin with.    Just make sure that you don’t roll your ankle when you land, you’ll be fine.

     The next biggy is the one where people don’t go far enough!  You’re there, the bearded jerk says lunge for the millionth time and you just kinda plop yourself out there.  Or maybe you’ve not stretched, or you just don’t like lunging.  Well, in this circumstance, too bad.  The most common cause of this error is people forgetting to use their back legs.  They just kinda hold it straight and fall forward with their front legs; this gives the appearance of a controlled crash or a zombie falling over.  Well, the Undead are Unwelcome in my classes without specific prior invitation.  The controlled crash thing is a great way to mess up your knees, and as someone with messed up knees I can say that the experience is not one to wish for.

     Anyone who’s taken 20th century history should be familiar with the kamikazes – for those who aren’t, they were Japanese suicide bombers who flew their airplanes into American warships.  For some strange reason, there exist a large percentage of fencers who must be channeling the spirits of these pilots when they lunge, because they hurl themselves at their opponent with no thought given to recovery.

     Confidence in the attack is well and good, but your opponent can be a sneaky person.  They can RETREAT when you lunge and leave you high-n-dry.  Not a happy place to be when they parry-riposte, stop hit, or otherwise score on you.  One can say all they wish regarding the redoublement (which sounds like some recycled chewing gum, and that’s nasty) or forward recovery, but the simple physiological fact remains that in lunging like that you’re placing enormous strain and weight on your front leg.  Personally, I feel that people who kamikaze-lunge either have relatively poor senses of distance or weren’t taught properly.  Yes, there’s the 3rd option wherein they choose to ignore what they were taught – I almost forgot about that one.

     And then you have the people who think they’re onstage.  These folks think that the important part of the lunge is what you look like when you land, regardless of every other consideration.  There’s no physical correction to be made here, the mental perception must be repaired before any sort of physical modifications will be successful.

All this is well and good, because it’s getting there that’s the fun, right? 
     Wrong.  Getting there is HALF the fun.  Let’s not forget getting back!  The recovery is a vitally important part of the lunge and one that is frequently overlooked, downplayed, or otherwise lessened in value or esteem.  This is a critical, critical oversight.  Translated, that means a BIG MISTAKE, doubly so when combined with the tendency some people have to suicide lunge.  I seem to recall something known as “second intention,” as well as good bout strategy, being able to take advantage of said flaws in technique.

     The recovery is pretty much (but not quite!) a lunge in reverse.  When done quickly, a recovery looks something like a backwards hop – especially if you’re trying to get out of the way from someone lunging BACK at you, which beats falling down every time.
     Anyway, personal barbs aside the sequence of events goes something like this (as before, recall that this is all pretty close to simultaneous):
1. Bend your back leg, but do not raise your torso or body up with it.
2. Straighten out your front leg and raise your toes off the ground.  This process should take a total of less than a second to complete, because…
3. Your back arm curls back to where you keep it at on-guard.
4. Push off with your front foot, making sure to lift it off the ground as you recover.  Keep bending the back leg and make sure not to just straighten it vertically.  When the front foot lands, you should have returned to on-guard.

It was pointed out during my demonstration of the lunge and recover partner drill that I hopped backwards.  This is incorrect.  It appeared as though I was hopping because I added a retreat into the recovery – which is not a habit most of the Goucherites have adopted, I may add, and they should.  One of the easiest ways to lose points is to fail to retreat after a recovery where appropriate.  The lunge and recover partner drill is a great way to teach that, if the people doing the drill think tactically.

So now that I’ve gone over lunge and recovery, let’s do some practical applications thereof.  To lunge for lunging’s sake is intellectual laziness and a waste of your time and energy.  If you don’t HAVE to lunge, don’t. If you aren’t sure if you are close enough to score with it, don’t.  Ideally, the lunge is launched from the middle distance – a place that if your opponent retreats, you will still catch him.  This is where the blade-timidity I’ve noted in several of you will bite you in the tender places.  But don’t worry, I am patient and we will work on that too.

The lunge, like every other fencing technique, is a tool to be used where appropriate and then put away.  I’m sure most of you are familiar with the saying “If all you’ve got is a hammer, everything starts looking like a nail.”  That’s the case here, and it’s a diabolical trap to fall into.  If all you ever do is lunge, lunge, and lunge some more you’ll be awfully easy to beat.  It’s the same as any other pattern.  Once someone figures it out, you’re in serious trouble (accusations of ‘cheating’ aside).  However, that’s another Coachly Thoughts for a different time.

So, when to lunge?  The reason why we do so many lunging based drills is that in foil and epee, the lunge is a critical part of your fencing repertoire.  If you don’t know how to do it well, you’re automatically at a big disadvantage.  There is no specifically universal “always best time to lunge”, so those of you looking for an easy out had best keep looking.  For those who care, here’s the secret:  The best time to lunge is after you’ve observed your opponent and decided when they’re at their most vulnerable.  It changes after every action, and with every opponent.

Does that sound overwhelming?  It isn’t, really.  Hmm.  It is not.  There are certain universal indicators of body language that you can learn and use to determine whether or not someone is off-balance or has otherwise put themselves at a weakness you can exploit.  The easiest way to learn this is to observe yourself when you fence.  When do YOU feel off-balance?  Is there a relationship between your feeling off balance and when you get scored on?  Ask your partner (and when you’re fencing for ‘fun,’ use it as an educational experience to learn new things and better yourself rather than just screwing around) what they noticed and if they would share that with you.  Obviously, it helps if you can return the favor.

To conclude, the lunge is a very complicated maneuver that requires a great deal of very conscientious practice in order to perform properly.  The recovery is just as important as the lunge outward; both may be used to your tactical advantage. The best way I can suggest for you to learn how to use the lunge to your advantage is to first ask me for a few demonstrations and a lesson or two.  Watch and learn – make notes or whatever you have to do.  Then put those theories of yours into practice and refine them.

That’s this episode of Coachly Thoughts.  Stay tuned for next time when I take on the biggest topic yet:  The mind of the fencer!