For activities such as fencing, the ability to quickly complete a lunge and return to the on-guard or move off position for another redoubling attack direction is critical for success. Determining which qualities of strength is important in each situation, are predictors of lunge performance.
Strength and power of lower body extremities are important aspects of lunging. However, as to how these two qualities should be assessed, strength should be defined as the force exerted under a given set of conditions during a maximal voluntary contraction, and power defined as the rate at which mechanical work is performed under a specified set of conditions or the product of force and velocity. Both definitions imply that strength and power are defined by conditions such as velocity, contraction type, posture, and movement pattern specificity.
Some activities, such as sprinting, jumping and throwing require force to be produced and have been classified as fast stretch shorten cycle activities. In such events, the rate of force development may be the most important physical capacity.
For an activity such as lunging in fencing, sprint performance is an important aspect of a fencer’s overall athletic performance. The ability to quickly complete a lunge and return to on-guard or move off in another direction is critical for success in such sports. Of particular interest to the present study was the relationship between the qualities of strength and lunge ability. However, no research has examined the relationship between the qualities of strength and lunge performance, because the lunge is a relatively slow activity when compared to the foot contraction times of sprinting.
The main aim of this topic was to determine that qualities of strength are important predictors of lunge performance. Such information may provide for talent identification, injury prevention, and rehabilitation or development of this functional task.