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Video length: 2 min
Old age: fencing lessons at the EHPAD to overcome gloom and stay active
In an EHPAD in Montreuil, in Seine-Saint-Denis, Wednesdays are reserved for Margaux Rifkiss, French team saber champion, who runs a fencing workshop for the residents.
(France 2)
In an EHPAD in Montreuil, in Seine-Saint-Denis, Wednesdays are reserved for Margaux Rifkiss, French team saber champion, who runs a fencing workshop for the residents.
Margaux Rifkiss calls them her “champions”. A group that the European team saber champion comes to train in fencing every Wednesday, in an EHPAD in Montreuil, in Seine-Saint-Denis. She is their trainer and their first supporter. Remembering the different movements of the saber, while playing, is a way for residents to work on their agility and memory with the help of a champion, member of the French team.
A parade against loss of autonomy
For Lydie Cambon, 92, things are going a little too quickly. “I had a stroke and I feel that after each session, things are more dynamic”, she explains. Offering a breathing space, and adding color to their lives… Margaux had this idea thinking of her grandmother, also a resident of an EHPAD for several years. “Wednesday afternoon is a time when I don’t fight, it’s me who trains and supports the residents. It’s a real moment of sweetness”, rejoices the champion, her daily life punctuated by competition. A solution to the loss of autonomy for these seniors.
