Advance, retreat, lunge
Ready when: The grip and en garde, without a weapon (b2) done.
What you are learning
The three basic moves: advance (step forward), retreat (step back) and lunge (a long reach forward with the arm going first), always ending back in a balanced en garde. Fencers win touches with their feet as much as their hands.
Words on this card Touch, Target, En garde, Advance, Retreat, Lunge, Recover, Distance, Tip
- Touch
- Landing the weapon on the other fencer's target; one touch is one point.
- Target
- The part of the body where a touch counts.
- En garde
- The referee's calls: take your stance; get ready; start fencing; stop.
- Advance
- A step forward: front foot first, back foot follows.
- Retreat
- A step back: back foot first, front foot follows.
- Lunge
- A long reach forward: the arm extends, the back leg pushes, the front foot lands far ahead.
- Recover
- Pushing back from a lunge into the en garde stance.
- Distance
- The gap between two fencers, measured by how far each can reach.
- Tip
- The blunt point of the weapon.
Show it first for the one teaching
- From en garde, advance: lift the front toes, step forward with the front foot, then bring the back foot the same distance.
- Retreat: step back with the back foot, then the front foot follows.
- Lunge: straighten the arm first so the spoon points at the wall target, then push off the back leg and step the front foot far forward.
- Recover: push back off the front foot into en garde.
Your part while they practise
Call "advance", "retreat" and "lunge"; check the child ends in en garde on balance after each.
Step by step
- Advance: front foot first, back foot follows.
- Retreat: back foot first, front foot follows.
- Extend the arm so the tip points at the target.
- Push off the back leg and lunge.
- Recover to en garde.
How much: 20 of each, in sets of 5 10 min a session 3 days a week
Say one thing Pick one line from "What you will see" for today and say only that.
The game: Simon says
Move only when the call starts with "Simon says"; after every move be back in a balanced en garde.
Who plays: 1 or more children; you call.
How to play, turn by turn
- Turns
- Everyone stands in en garde on the line
- Call a move: "Simon says advance", "retreat", "Simon says lunge"
- Move only when the call starts with "Simon says"
- 20 calls
- Fair play
- A grown-up must recover from every lunge before the next call.
- Points
- 1 point for each right move that ends in a balanced en garde.
- Fouls
- No point, and the player sits out one call
- Moving without "Simon says"
- Falling forward out of the lunge
- The legs moving before the arm in the lunge
- Winning
- The most points after 20 calls.
- 8 points for 1 star
- 12 points for 2 stars
- 16 points for 3 stars
Easier or harder
Slow, no lunge.
Mix calls quickly.
What you will see, and what to say
- the child falls forward
Back to en garde, balanced
Finish every move ready for the next. - the arm is late
Arm first, then legs
The tip moves before the feet.
Self-check
10 advance-retreat pairs and 5 lunges, each ending in a balanced en garde.
Stop and get a coach when
Pain in the knee or hip in the lunge.
Fitness for this
Warm up first: how to warm up, at workonfitness.com. For strength and stretching, its exercise library shows each exercise step by step, with an easier version.
This card trains footwork, lunge.
awiseathlete.com/sports/fencing/fencing-b3