En-garde and lunge built correctly from the ground up: feet, knees, weapon arm, gaze. The right knee angle gives you measurably more reach in the lunge.
Why does my opponent hit me when we're the same height? The honest answer: it's almost never the arm, it's your front knee. A kinematic motion analysis shows it in black and white: experienced fencers reach about 1.17 metres in the lunge, while beginners manage only around 1.02 metres – at the same body height. The difference lies almost entirely in the front knee: the elite extend it by about 51 degrees in the final phase, beginners by only around 18 degrees. And the best part: this angle is not talent, it is technique – you can start training it in front of a mirror today. The basic stance, the en-garde, looks simple, but it is the engine for every attack and every parry. In this guide you will build your en-garde correctly from the ground up – feet, knees, weapon arm, gaze – so that everything you learn later rests on a stable foundation.
Point the front foot towards the opponent. The rear foot sits with its heel directly behind the front heel, toes turned 90 degrees to the side – forming an "L". The distance between the feet is about shoulder width. This base gives you stability forwards and backwards and lets you push off instantly.
Bend both knees slightly, as if sitting onto a tall bar stool. The front knee stays above the ankle, not in front of it. Your centre of gravity sinks between your feet. This bent position is no detail: it is the source of the explosive power for the lunge, and it makes you a smaller target.
Hold the weapon in front of you, the elbow about a hand's width from your body, the point aimed at the opponent's target area. The rear arm is bent and slightly raised – it is not decoration but your counterweight in every movement. In good fencers, power transfers from the inside out: first shoulder and elbow, then the hand.
The most common beginner mistake happens in the head, not the leg: novices stare at the opponent's blade. Gaze studies show that experienced fencers almost never look at the weapon, but at the opponent's upper body and weapon hand – where every action is announced. From the very beginning, train yourself to anchor your gaze on your opponent's chest and to perceive the blade only in your peripheral vision.
Now add movement. First extend the weapon arm towards the target, then push off powerfully with the rear leg while the front foot shoots forward flat and the front knee extends. The rear leg stays extended on the floor – it is your engine, not just ballast. It is exactly the active extension of the front knee that gives you the reach from the introduction. Then pull yourself back into the en-garde under control.
Warm up before every session – especially the ankles, hips and the front thigh muscles, which work hard in the lunge. Do dry drills only with enough distance from other people and never with an unprotected point against a partner. When fencing against an opponent, always wear full protective equipment. If your knees twinge in deep positions, go less deep and build strength first.
Film yourself once from the side during the lunge. Mentally draw a vertical line down from the front knee: if it lands above or behind the ankle, you are fine. If the knee pushes past the toes, shorten the lunge until the line is right. This single side view earns you more clean repetitions than any cue from the front – and protects your lead knee at the same time.
Not through the arm, but through the front knee. In motion analysis this is exactly what separates elite from beginner: active final extension of the lead knee by about 51 degrees instead of only 18 – that's a good 15 centimetres more lunge at the same body height. Train the full knee extension deliberately instead of just pushing the arm forward.
Because the blade tells you too late what's coming. Gaze studies show that experienced fencers almost never fixate on the moving blade, but anchor their gaze on the opponent's torso and weapon hand – where every action is announced earlier. Beginners scan all zones inefficiently and react more slowly as a result. Train the gaze anchor from day one.
Yes, and you should. The en-garde and lunge are pure dry drills – you only need two square metres of space and a mirror or a phone to film. Practise without a weapon or with a substitute, and never with an unprotected point against a partner. Ten clean repetitions a day beat one frantic training session.
Not to start – firm indoor shoes are enough. But it does make a measurable difference: in one study, attack time was shorter in fencing shoes (0.92 s) than in an ordinary court shoe (0.96 s), and a heel cup additionally reduced impact forces at the ankle. If you fence regularly, that's your first sensible upgrade – but no must for getting started.
Fechten: First Steps and Exercises