Learn the balestra in fencing: a short forward bound followed by an immediate lunge. With prerequisites, milestones, the attack rule and a safe landing.
The balestra is a short bound forward, directly followed by a lunge. The FIE glossary describes it as a “forward bound followed by a lunge”: a bound forward in which the back foot is called up, you land on the back foot and then the front leg is called [1]. It sharpens the tempo of your attack and surprises the opponent in rhythm.
The honest answer to “Does the balestra make me faster?”: not automatically. I found no study on the balestra itself. What is documented concerns the lunge: in a measurement of 19 fencers, elite fencers reached a higher horizontal peak velocity of the centre of gravity and a higher peak force of the rear leg than intermediate-level fencers [2]. So the rear leg is the engine, and that is exactly what you train in the balestra.
And the opponent is not slow: in a measurement of 24 elite fencers, defenders needed 0.353 seconds on average for the defensive movement [3]. The balestra therefore wins through rhythm and surprise, not pure speed.
The balestra is the change of rhythm your opponent did not plan for.
Without a good lunge, the balestra is a waste. Practise the lunge ten times in a row to a target mark and return to the on-guard position. Milestone: ten lunges in a row that end on the same target mark.
First practise only the hop: a short, flat bound on the spot in which the back foot gets contact with the floor first. You do not jump high, but flat. Film yourself from the side and check that your hips stay at the same height. Milestone: ten short bounds in which you land quietly and silently.
Now you bound forward, about one foot length (your coach shows you the measure that suits your leg length). The back foot lands first, then the front. The description follows the FIE glossary: bound forward, landing on the back foot, then the front leg is called [1]. Milestone: ten bounds forward after which you stand in the on-guard position.
Combine the bound and the lunge without a pause. The arm extends before the lunge: under the FIE rules the attack is the arm extension that continuously threatens the opponent's target and precedes the lunge [4]. Milestone: ten balestra lunges in which the arm is extended before the lunge (phone video from the side).
Use the balestra against a partner who stands calmly on guard. Decide beforehand whether you execute it. If you become unsure in the middle of the lunge, the action becomes slower: in a study with 18 fencers, reaction and movement time of the lunge rose with uncertainty [6]. Milestone: against a calm partner you hit cleanly in six out of ten attempts.
The balestra stresses ankles and knees. In an analysis of 809 FIE competitions, 72.4 % of the time-loss injuries involved the lower extremities, and the most common was the ankle sprain (25.3 %) [7]. Bound only after a thorough warm-up, on a non-slip floor and with full protective clothing [4]. Land softly with bent knees. Stop if your ankle or knee hurts. This guide explains and motivates, it does not replace supervised training or a coach.
Count the rhythm out loud: “one–two–three” for hop, landing, lunge. Once you have spoken the rhythm, it passes into the body. This is coaching experience, not a study.
A short bound forward in which the back foot lands first, followed by a lunge with the front leg [1]. It changes the rhythm of your attack.
To close the distance with a change of rhythm. The opponent needs 0.353 seconds on average for the defensive movement [3], so rhythm wins, not haste.
There is no study on that. What is documented is that the force of the rear leg determines the speed of the lunge [2]. Whether the balestra is faster depends on your technique.
Before the lunge. Under the FIE rules the arm extension precedes the lunge [4]. Whether you begin it already in the bound is decided by your coach.
It stresses the legs. Most fencing injuries involve the lower extremities [7]. A warm-up, a non-slip floor and a soft landing help.
Learning the Counter-Riposte: The Answer After Your Attack Was Parried and Countered