Learn the advance-lunge in fencing: step and lunge without a pause, arm extension under FIE rules, reach, common mistakes, a milestone check and safety notes.
How do I get to an opponent who has long had the lunge in view? The honest answer: with an advance-lunge. You take a step forward and go into the lunge immediately afterwards; that way you bridge much more distance than with the lunge alone. The Hessian Fencing Association lists this compound leg movement under the name "step forward – lunge (patinando)" [1].
For orientation: the movement covers the "long measure", i.e. the distance from which you can only reach the opponent by extending the arm and two leg movements, for example a step and a lunge [1]. In the middle measure, one leg movement is enough [1].
Realistically: the mechanics settle after a few weeks with a coach. Step and lunge in the same flow, with correctly timed arm extension, is an advanced skill – that is experience, not a study result.
Under FIE rules an attack with a step-forward-lunge is correctly executed if the straightening of the arm precedes the end of the step forward and the start of the lunge (foil) [2]. In sabre the beginning of the arm extension precedes the step, and the hit arrives at the latest when the front foot lands [2]. Remember: arm first, legs afterwards.
The step forward is a movement of the front foot, followed by the rear [3]. The rear leg does not overtake the front. You stay in the on-guard position. The BASPO teaching material points out that changes of distance are often linked to rhythm changes [4].
From the step you go straight into the lunge: the front leg is lifted from the floor by extension, the rear leg extends explosively, the front lands heel first, the rear stays straight [1]. A pause in between gives your plan away to the opponent (practice). Practise the transition in slow motion first: step, breath, lunge – then without the breath, then at tempo. Film yourself from the side and make sure your on-guard position does not collapse between step and lunge.
In a study with elite and national junior fencers, the elites estimated their reach in the advance-lunge more accurately (deviation 5.4 % versus 10.9 %) [5]. Their actual distances were even smaller than the juniors': according to the authors, timing and distance estimation are key skills [5]. For you that means: it is not about getting as far as possible, but about being precise.
After the hit you return to the on-guard position (see the recovery guide).
Milestone: if you execute ten advance-lunges in a row without a pause, with the arm straight before the lunge and a clean recovery, you move on to the bind or to feints. That is a practice standard, not a study value.
The advance-lunge loads the legs heavily. In a laboratory study on sabre, the vertical ground reaction force was higher in the front leg than in the rear; joint load was highest at the hip, then the knee, then the ankle [6]. At international FIE tournaments, 72.4 % of time-loss injuries affected the lower limbs [8]. Warm up hips, thighs, calves and ankles.
These figures do not say that the step and lunge cause the injuries. But the legs are where it happens in fencing. This guide explains and motivates – it does not replace supervised training.
Build the movement in stages. A Delphi survey among Olympic-level épée coaches found a majority (76.2 %) in favour of teaching stepping first and introducing bouncing later [7]. That is expert opinion, not an effectiveness study; the panel was small (about 21 coaches). Applied to you: learn the advance-lunge slowly and precisely first, before adding tempo and rhythm changes.
A step forward, immediately followed by the lunge, for greater attacking distance [1]. The Hessian Fencing Association calls it "step forward – lunge (patinando)" [1].
In foil the arm extension must precede the end of the step and the start of the lunge [2]. In sabre the beginning of the arm extension must precede the step, and the hit must arrive at the latest when the front foot lands [2].
That depends on you. In a study, the advance-lunge reach of elite fencers was around 3 metres (299 cm) [5]. More important than the value is that you know your own reach.
No. The forward crossover step is not allowed in sabre [1].
The Bind (Liement) in Fencing: Leading the Opposing Blade Safely Into the Opposite Line