11/14/2024
First-year Kathwari Honors Student, Music Performance major, and stunt-woman-in-training Kylin McMahon isn’t about sitting still and letting life pass her by. In high school, the Pandemic had kept her cooped up and bored, left to watch movies after she’d turned in all her work ahead of time. One fateful night, after watching Puss and Boots, Kylin found herself fencing with everything from TV remotes to mops, battling imaginary foes big and small. From this moment on, Kylin knew she just had to learn this new skill.
Five years later, Kylin has moved up in the ranks for both saber and foil, two fighting styles distinguished in how the blade is used. In saber, the blade can thrust or slash, and in foil, the blade can only thrust. Additionally, the foil is allowed to hit the opponent’s torso, while the saber can hit the torso, head, and arms, but not the hands or anything below the waist.
Between the two, saber is considered the more challenging style, and it happens to be where Kylin excels. In fact, she has qualified for the Summer 2025 Nationals in saber. Additionally, her dedication to the sport and positive influence on others earned her the Ralph Sheponi Fencing Scholarship.
When asked about how fencing impacts her academics and her work in the honors program, she explains, “Fencing has taught me patience and discipline, and that’s what academics require too. For both, I form a goal, I come up with steps for how to move forward in achieving that goal. I feel energized and more motivated to do academic work with the joy I feel from starting and participating in WestConn’s new fencing club.”
Kylin emphasizes how important community is in joining the Kathwari Honors Program and creating WestConn’s Fencing club, which had its first Interest Meeting on November 6th. Kathwari Honors Program faculty focus on giving students various opportunities to learn about and prepare for life after WestConn, and Kylin wants to share similar experiences with everyone on campus with the Fencing Club: “Fencing is a passion of mine, and I want to share it with others. This club will be a safe place for someone to learn for the first time without being tossed into a competition. It’s also an opportunity to learn patience and discipline, and I hope people will learn those attributes and life lessons to take with them wherever they go.”
