the short lunge

[big daddy]

I ws reading th eother about the short lunge used by soviet fencers. They use it in both saber and foil . I was wondering do any of you on this board use this lunge and how is it working for you ?

[sabreur]

I've changed my game significantly in the last year or so to incorporate a very upright lunge. The distance covered in the lunge is not that different from the distance covered with my old lunge--the difference is that I slide my back foot pretty radically, and end up with my feet basically at twice their en garde distance or less, my torso very erect, and my weight very balanced over my feet.

Makes a huge difference in my ability to move out of the lunge, in either direction. Also, the very erect, head-up position makes it much easier to counter-parry if your attack is parried. Took a while to learn to do it--basically, I have to work on a concerted kick with the front foot as the back leg drives--then immediately releasing the weight off the back foot so it can slide.

MR

[troygaljair]

I recently incorporated the short lunge into my repetoir (yeah, I probably spelled it wrong. I know) and found it to not be as useful as I had hoped, but effective if used only once or twice in a bout. It seems to work best in epee, but that may be just chance. TJE.

[VELISARIOS]

Short lunge...! Sometimes work sometimes did not. You must close the distance carefully and then you may act like this.

[Bokken]

Longer lunges in saber, I've noticed, tend to get one eaten alive by parries and stop hits.

Not that it really matters for me, I've got arthritis and patellar tendonitis in both knees and I can't do a long lunge anymore without risking collapse on-strip.

The shorter lunge has proven very useful for me mainly because it doesn't put as much stress on the joints and is faster for me to recover from. It's also helped my on-guard posture - as sabreur says, the centered weight and not leaning benefit one significantly.

[Alain]

I know this thread had foil and sabre in mind, but in épée short lunges are a good thing. You can use them to get either free hits to the hand - when your opponent is being lazy - or as a preparation for something more cunning and dispicable.

Also, in sabre, I'd have to agree with Bokken in saying that long lunges are suicidal - a good fencer will simply move out of distance, make a parry and then mercilessly wrap their blade around your head

[Sabresque]

Short lunges seem to have worked for me... I will say that it was quite a shock going from a coach that had you do insanely long lunges to a coach that would get mad at me if i did the same. The lunge isn't really any shorter, it just seems like it. The correct use of your body, coupled with better balance makes these lunges just as long as my prior long-as-possible lunge, and easier to move from.

[Magic Dr.Shoon]

Short lunges are the explosive lunges aren't they? I think it is a must to have it in your repetoir. If someone is in your distance, just time it right and they CAN'T react fast enough, even if it was predicted by your opponent it's very hard. It's 1 short sharp explosive attack. This I find more effective when your blades aren't engaged (which very few people do these days)