Crime Blotter: Reported offenses in the Tri-parishes
October 23, 2012LSU releases 2013 slate
October 23, 2012
Stephen Griffiths, a 13-year-old Cut Off boy, was attacked by a masked man yielding a sword Thursday night at the Cut Off Youth Center.
Don’t be alarmed – it was a planned attack.
Stephen is a member of Les Lames de La Fourche, a fencing club that is teaching the art of the sport to anyone interested in the Tri-parish area.
“I just love the sport,” he said following his training session. “It’s a real good sport. This is something that I love to do and it’s just a lot of fun for me.”
Les Lames de La Fourche is a local organization designed to teach the basics of fencing to locals interested in the sophisticated sport.
The group was started 12 years ago by Golden Meadow native Mike St. Pierre.
It currently has five members. They meet every Thursday from 6-7:30 p.m. at the Cut Off Youth Center.
St. Pierre opened his doors to SportsNet this week and elaborated on the finer points of the intricate sport.
The instructor – an old dog that learned a new trick
Walk into the Cut Off Youth Center’s doors on a Thursday afternoon at 5:53 p.m. and you’ll hear basketballs pounding the building’s concrete floors in every direction.
Autumn is a busy month for the South Lafourche recreation building, as Biddy Basketball practices are scheduled from Monday-Friday.
At this time, three separate teams are polishing their crafts across four goals laid across the facility’s main floor.
Tucked in a small corner of the gym’s outreach is St. Pierre, a short, stocky 69-year-old man with salt-and-pepper colored hair.
At this time, he is quietly readying himself for his afternoon’s work, plugging in various electrical equipment needed to host a fencing bout.
“Over here,” the instructor shouts to grab attention. “You’re just in time. We’re about to get started.”
When one thinks of a sports instructor, the image of a lifelong pupil of the game quickly enters one’s mind.
That’s not St. Pierre – he got a late start to the fencing game.
He said he started the sport in his late 50s while watching his nephew take up and excel in fencing.
“My nephew qualified for the Junior Olympics,” St. Pierre said. “I followed him and supported him and along the way, I saw older guys than me fencing.
“At that point, I said to myself, ‘If they can do it, I can do it, too,’ so that’s how I got started.”
That was 12 years ago.
St. Pierre has now proven that an old dog can learn new tricks.
Since picking up the sport, St. Pierre said he’s qualified for Nationals multiple times.
He also currently holds a National Referee’s License.
St. Pierre’s trained with some of the top names in the sport and has competed against elite competition.
“I fenced against Cliff Bayer, who was on the 2000 Olympic team,” St. Pierre said. “And I was the only one in the pool to score points against him. That’s bragging rights as far as I saw.”
As an instructor, St. Pierre is dedicated, but patient.
Throughout the workout, he proves both, showing that he truly loves both the art of the sport and also his pupils.
“That’s a lot of camaraderie within our group,” said Martin Griffiths, Stephen’s father, who is also a club member. “I like that about our club. I like that a lot.”
Truly a sport for all ages
St. Pierre is 69. The younger Griffiths is 13. The boy’s father is 32.
From that spread, one can easily see that fencing is a sport that caters to all ages.
Les Lames de La Fourche is no different, allowing anyone to compete.
“One thing I enjoy about fencing is that you can do it all of your life,” St. Pierre said. “I fenced against a gentleman once who was 87. He beat me 5-2 and after the bout, he said, ‘How old are you, son?’ So I said, ‘57.’. He said, ‘Well, I’ve been fencing 10 years longer than you’ve been alive.’ He didn’t even have to move. He had the control and the expertise to go behind it.”
St. Pierre said that once bitten by the fencing bug, you’re likely to serve a life sentence. He said those most dedicated to the sport do it as long as they can physically compete.
Martin Griffiths can attest to what St. Pierre said. He hopes to continue his hobby now and into the future.
“I enjoy it,” the father said. “I’m really having fun with it. I’ll be doing this hopefully for the rest of my life.”
The reason why the sport caters to a wide variety of ages is because of the skills involved in being skilled within the sport – most notably concentration and mental strength.
“The thing I like about fencing is that you use your mind and your body,” St. Pierre said. “It’s referred to by many as physical chess. You don’t see very many 69-year-old football or basketball players. But fencing, you will see a lot of people at that age. … It’s about concentration. If you play chess, in chess, you have to plan three or four moves ahead. Fencing is the same way.”
Another strength Stephen Griffiths touted is determination and perseverance.
He said one must be able to keep their focus, even when trailing in a bout.
That was on display Thursday when the younger Griffiths faced his father. He trailed throughout the bout, but finished strong, earning a few late points before finally being defeated.
“You just focus on thinking ahead about what they are going to do and also what you’re going to do to get them instead,” Stephen said. “You need determination because if you’re losing, you need to come back and actually thinking about wanting to win.”
“He did great,” St. Pierre said following the bout. “He never gave up. He made a late rally.”
The dangers and physicality involved
“I got this one last week,” Martin Griffiths said, pointing to a ripe red bruise across his chest.
“Most of mine went away,” St. Pierre said scanning his body for a similar raspberry. “But I can tell you that there are plenty of battle scars. They definitely hurt.”
As one could guess, a sport based around sword fighting is not always safe.
St. Pierre said the most common injury is a healthy, quarter-shaped bruise that occurs when one is hit on an area not protected by the fencer’s nylon suit.
“It hurts,” St. Pierre said with a laugh. “I’d be lying if I said it didn’t. It’s probably similar to a BB or maybe a paint ball.”
The bruises are common and expected occurrences.
But in the most rare instances, severe injuries, or even death can occur.
“You can die in fencing,” St. Pierre said. “The blades will break. The metal of the fencing weapon is designed to break flat. I’ve broken blades before and they break flat. But what happens is sometimes you’re rushing and charging a guy and the momentum is so great – it’s like taking a nail and shoving it into someone. The suit can handle a blade, unless it’s broken.”
But away from the most severe risks, fencing is simply put – a touch, grueling sport.
After bouts, each of the club members are noticeably tired and drenched in sweat.
“It’s hot inside that big, thick suit – it’s very hot,” St. Pierre said. “I fenced in a tournament and drank a gallon and a half of water and never used the bathroom. But at the end of the tournament, you could wring the sweat out of my jacket.”
The elder Griffiths doesn’t mind – he said he enjoys the workout. It helps keep him in shape.
“It’s an excellent way to stay fit,” he said. “I definitely love the workout side of it.”
How to get started
Getting involved in Les Lames de La Fourche is pretty simple – one just merely has to show up to the Cut Off Youth Center on any Thursday.
St. Pierre said those interested in the sport can study the club for free however many Thursday’s that they’d like.
“Everything is free,” he said. “Until you actually join the club. You can watch us and ask as many questions as you’d like.”
The instructor admits that making the leap into the sport is expensive because of the costs involved in buying suits, swords and other equipment.
But once that is out of the way, he said he does everything in his power to make the rest of the program affordable to anyone.
“The beginning fencing lessons are 17 lessons at $10 per lesson,” St. Pierre said. “I warn you at the get-go. The most boring portions are the footwork lessons. Those are the first seven lessons. You pay half of the price for those beginning lessons and then you decide from there if you want to continue. If you do, that’s when you owe the second half.
“I want to make sure this is advantageous financially for anyone that wants to do it.”
Following the initial lessons other membership fees will exist to join the club. They are also competitively priced.
“What we charge for three months is equivalent to what you’ll pay for one month in Baton Rouge and New Orleans,” he said. “We’re reasonable.”
Those who want to learn more about the club can visit their website at www.lldlf.com. St. Pierre said he also welcomes phone calls at 985-475-7262.
“I’m more than happy to talk to anybody,” he said with a smile. “That’s what we’re here for.”
Local fencer Martin Griffiths (left) and his son Stephen square off in a bout at the Cut Off Youth Center. The two fencers are a part of Les Lames de La Fourche, a fencing club that meets once a week at the South Lafourche recreation building. The fencers opened their doors to SportsNet this week and showed us the in’s and out’s of their craft.
