Yesterday was my first experience with l’escrime = fencing. I took Guillame (11) to practice. He has been fencing for 4 years and according to the teacher it takes 10 years at least before you can be considered a good…fencer?
It is a difficult sport that requires ALOT more strategy than you would think. Just from watching, it seems like everything is very systematic and defined – there are set rules, set stances, set plays with the sword in which the opponent has a set counter-play…Just from being there an hour, I learned a lot about this form of art. Fencing is definitely one of the most underrated, overlooked sport around. I don’t know how popular it is in France, but in the States I have never known anyone to do it.
The building was SO cool…While I was waiting and watching, I grabbed a book that was lying around titled something along the lines of “Random but Elegant Professions in Paris” (you know, giving the behind-the-scenes guys some limelight) which profiled various people and their professions. Le livre included people such as, the elevator operator for the Eiffel Tower, the lady who does all the speaking for the train stations (that ‘calming’ voice you hear when traveling) and the “Last Musketeer” – the fencing school’s instructor.
It was pretty cool reading about him in the book while he was standing right there. He was a PE professor, I believe, who started the school in 1971 bringing to fruition his childhood dream. La salle d’armes (armor/weapons room) which is what it is called is located in the Latin Quarter which definitely holds a very antiquated, yet trendy aura. It was my first time in this area and it’s definitely right up my alley…I think that I will be looking forward to Wednesdays more and more…
Anyway, the building is one of the oldest in Paris and the decor of la salle d’armes has not been changed since its creation in 1886. Apparently it was always used for fencing/weapons/armor/whatever other chivalrous things Parisians did back in those days and has been passed down by only a few owners. There were papers hanging on the walls from the early 1900s and metal tools and scraps lining the walls next to all the helmets, swords, and other paraphernalia (which I'm sure have actual terms that i am completely ignorant to).
Maybe one day I will get to see the great Maitre Jean-Pierre Pinel de la Taule in action!
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