Flèche vs Lunge: What EMG and Force Plates Tell Us

A study of world-leading épée fencers reveals why the flèche is 58 milliseconds faster than the lunge — and why that matters more than you think.

Sep 07, 2026 | FencingBuddies Team | 5 min read
fencing training épée footwork sport science biomechanics
Featured Research Paper
Flèche versus Lunge as the Optimal Footwork Technique in Fencing
Borysiuk, Markowska, Konieczny, Kręcisz, Błaszczyszyn, Nikolaidis, Knechtle & Pakosz
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(13), 2315 (2019)
View Paper

Every fencer, parent, and coach has debated it: which attack is better, the traditional lunge or the dynamic flèche? Researchers brought in six world-leading female épée fencers from the Polish national team — including four World Championship medalists — and used EMG sensors, force plates, and motion capture to find out. The answer is clear: the flèche is significantly faster and more explosive than the lunge.

Lunge vs Flèche: Two Attacks, Two Biomechanics THE LUNGE rear leg straight, pushes first 90° foot lands before touch Movement time 568 ms Rear leg force 115.9 N THE FLÈCHE rear leg crosses over body runs through the attack touch lands, then legs cross over Movement time 510 ms Rear leg force 142.8 N 58 ms faster
Illustration based on Borysiuk et al. (2019). The flèche generates 23% more rear-leg force and completes the attack 58 ms faster.
World Champion performing a flèche attack with EMG sensors and motion capture markers
Flèche: Body launched forward, rear leg crossing over. Note the motion capture markers and EMG sensors on the fencer's muscles.
World Champion performing a lunge attack with EMG sensors and motion capture markers
Lunge: Deep stance, front foot planted, rear leg fully extended behind. The force plates under her feet measured ground reaction forces.

Photos: Borysiuk et al., Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019, 16(13), 2315. Performed by World Champion Danuta Dmowska (published with consent). CC BY 4.0.

The Science Behind the Strip

The researchers used three measurement systems simultaneously on each attack:

  • EMG (electromyography): Electrodes on 8 muscles measuring exactly when and how hard each muscle fires.
  • Force plates: Two Kistler plates under the fencers' feet measuring the vertical and horizontal force generated by each leg.
  • Motion capture: An OptiTrack system with eight cameras at 100 FPS tracking body position throughout the attack.

After warming up, each fencer performed six total attempts — three flèches and three lunges — toward the coach's target, mimicking competition conditions. The results were clear.

The Flèche: 58 Milliseconds Faster

The standout finding: while reaction times were nearly identical (175 ms for the flèche, 173 ms for the lunge), the flèche's movement time was significantly shorter — 510 ms vs 568 ms (p = 0.046).

Your brain processes both attacks the same way. The measured difference came from movement time rather than reaction time.

Why 58 ms matters: Under current FIE specifications, two épée touches less than 40 ms apart must register as a double, while touches more than 50 ms apart register only the first hit (40–50 ms is the permitted apparatus tolerance). The study found a 58 ms shorter average movement time for the flèche — an intriguing magnitude because it is of the same order as épée's double-touch timing window. The study did not measure the timing between two opponents' touches, so the 58 ms cannot be directly converted into a lockout advantage. But it illustrates why differences of only a few dozen milliseconds can potentially matter in épée.

Much Higher Calf Muscle Activation

EMG analysis revealed substantially higher gastrocnemius activity during the flèche in the rear leg:

  • Gastrocnemius lateralis (the outer calf muscle): 146 μV during flèche vs 73.1 μV during lunge — nearly 2× the activation (p = 0.027)
  • Gastrocnemius medialis (the inner calf muscle): 207.7 μV vs 94.7 μV — more than 2× the activation (p = 0.027)

The flèche produced substantially higher gastrocnemius EMG activity, alongside significantly greater rear-leg vertical ground reaction force: 142.8 N vs 115.9 N (p = 0.028).

Lunge vs Flèche: Key Measurements Lunge Flèche * p < 0.05 Movement Time * (ms, lower = faster) 568 ms 510 ms -58 ms Outer Calf * (gastroc. lateralis, EMG µV) 73 µV 146 µV 2.0× Inner Calf * (gastroc. medialis, EMG µV) 94.7 µV 207.7 µV 2.2× Rear Leg Force * (N, higher = more explosive) 115.9 N 142.8 N +23% Reaction Time (ms, no significant difference) 175 ms 173 ms n.s.
Data from Borysiuk et al. (2019). All differences marked * were statistically significant (p < 0.05). Reaction time was not significantly different.

Two Different Coordination Sequences

Perhaps the most interesting finding was how differently the legs coordinate during each attack:

  • The lunge: Starts with the rear leg pushing off. The front foot lands before the touch is made. The sequence is rear-leg-push → front-foot-land → touch.
  • The flèche: Both legs fire simultaneously with a powerful forward drive. The touch is made before the rear leg leaves the ground — it acts as support to prevent falling (which would be a penalty). The sequence is both-legs-drive → touch → rear-leg-lifts.

Can Your Opponent Read Which Attack Is Coming?

The researchers noted an intriguing tactical implication: because the flèche and lunge start with different leg activation patterns, an experienced opponent might detect "preliminary signals originating from the lower limbs" and anticipate which attack is coming. This means disguising the initial leg movement could be just as important as the attack itself.

A Brief History

The flèche wasn't always part of fencing. At the first modern Olympics in Athens in 1896, footwork consisted of steps, leaps, and lunges. It wasn't until the 1930s that Hungarian fencers introduced the flèche as an innovative, dynamic alternative — and it has been reshaping épée tactics ever since.

What This Means for Your Training

  1. Train your calves for the flèche specifically. The calf muscles (gastrocnemius lateralis and medialis) showed roughly twice the EMG activation during the flèche compared to the lunge in this study. Calf raises, plyometrics, and explosive push-off drills may help build the foundation for a faster flèche.
  2. Focus on movement time, not reaction time. Both attacks had identical reaction times. The speed advantage comes from how efficiently your body executes after the decision is made. Drill the explosive push-off until it's automatic.
  3. Disguise your initial leg movement. If opponents can read which attack is coming from your lower body, practice making your flèche and lunge setups look identical for as long as possible.
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