ATHLETE PROFILE- Nicholas Tobianski

Hometown– Sterling Heights
High School– Immaculate Conception
College– Undergrad Central Michigan / University of Virginia for graduate school/Currently enrolled in the University of Detroit-Mercy in the Physician’s Assistant program. Major in sport medicine and a minor in exercise physiology.

Hobbies– Soccer, Hockey and Fencing.
CrossFitting for  2 1/2 months.
 Nicks own words on his fencing career.
I started to fence competitively and really enjoyed it.  I qualified for the national championships a few times early in the 2000’s, with my best finish in 41st place.  That was enough to allow me to fence in the Olympic qualifiers for the 2004 Olympic Games.  Though I had virtually no shot of making the Olympics, it was still a great experience.  I currently compete in some local and regional competitions, with the occasional national tournament here or there (mostly because of school). Since 2004 I have stayed active in high level fencing and have worked as the athletic trainer for the US National fencing teams, and have attended the last 5 world championships with them. Nick as the team Medic for the United States 2008 junior fencing team (click for more info) in Acireale Italy.

 While I am at UDM I am working as a graduate assistant coach on the fencing team. I get to share some of my experiences and help young fencers with the sport I love.  We compete against teams like Notre Dame, Ohio State and Northwestern, all with national team members competing on these teams, and even a few Olympians at Notre Dame.  It really is unlike any other NCAA sport because you can compete against, as mentioned above, Olympic medalists in one bout and then fence against someone who held a weapon in their hand for the first time last week.

 I first learned about CrossFit through a fencing coach who was helping on the national team.  Having worked with high level athletes for many years I see how they train and the exercises they do.  In the few short weeks I’ve been doing CrossFit I’ve seen a remarkable change in my fencing.  Many people think that fencing is mostly what you do with your arm, however, that can’t be further from the truth.  Like any martial art, a majority of fencing is your footwork, your distance and your explosiveness of your feet and legs.  Because of CrossFit I have seen great increases in speed and distance on my lunges, as well as explosion through very technical and athletic moves.  I also see improvements in conditioning as well.

Never work out with anybody who has a shot at the Olympics? Well now you have.

Motor City CrossFit Fencing from Motor city crossfit on Vimeo.