Nathan Mysiorek is a UDM fencer from France. He lived in France all his life and still continues to go back for the holidays to visit family.
A typical school day for Mysiorek in France was 8 a.m. until 5 or 6 p.m. and then he would go to fencing practice from 7-9 p.m. There weren’t a lot of fencing clubs in his area in France, so he had to drive 15 minutes away to the nearest fencing club. He has traveled a lot for fencing and has been to most parts of France for his sport. He left his home country to fence at UDM but still enjoys his time in France.
“I like practicing back home where I learned everything,” Mysiorek said.
Mysiorek has been fencing since he was six years old. Having now done it for 12 years, one can say that he is dedicated to the sport.
Like most athletes that have a passion for a sport, they have a reason for why they started their journey. Mysiorek said that he had a magnetic planner with a fencer drawn on it. This magnetic planner with a fencer drawn on it was one of the inspirations that made him start fencing. He was also a big fan of Star Wars and loved watching Zorro with his parents; he found it extremely cool to fight with swords while watching Zorro.
Mysiorek chose UDM for fencing because he said, “It was possible for me to fence in college while managing my academic career at the same time.”
Another reason why he chose UDM was because the business programs that the university provides are good and his father works in Auburn Hills, so he can visit him. Most athletics also have someone who inspires them in their chosen sport. A few of his biggest inspirations in fencing are Maxime Pianfetti and Aron Szilagyi, who is a multiple time world and Olympic champion.
There are three positions in fencing, which include epee, foil and saber. Mysiorek is a saber, which means he has to be pretty fast, and he is allowed to touch everything above the belt.
Mysiorek said, “There are a lot of difficult rules in fencing that can be hard to understand, but it is mostly about speed and initiative”.
Many people often have a “what if” option if they weren’t playing their favorite sport.
Mysiorek said, “If I were not fencing, I probably would have played soccer because it is popular in France and my friends are on a club soccer team.”
Besides fencing, you can find Mysiorek studying for his major in Business Administration. He was also part of the Entrepreneurship Association and helped it design the EA cafe cart. Mysiorek’s plans after UDM are to go back to Europe to pursue a PhD in Quebec.
