In 2002 Jo travelled to Australia for the Commonwealth Championships and met fellow England team-mate Marc Bengry. They both returned to England with medals, and more importantly, each other.
Soon after, Jo set up a fencing club called 'One Two Six FC', the name was taken from the a numberical bar called Bar 126 based in Clapham. The club orginated in the function room above this bar.
Jo soon persuaded Marc to try coaching and he took to it like the proverbial duck to water. Marc is particularly good with children, putting them instantly at ease and making every session engaging, informative and fun. As the club expanded, the club moved to various venues around London, ending up in a sports centre in Shepherds Bush running three nights a week.
Jo and Marc moved to Cobham in 2010 and in 2013 the club became Cobham Fencing Club. After starting a beginners course with 12 fencers the club has expanded to 2 nights a week using Notre Dame Sports hall with over 70 members. Jo and Marc are also coaching at many schools in the local area and in London.
At Cobham Fencing Club we teach foil to children from the age of 7 and epee to children from the age of 13. We can arrange for you to try the other weapons on request, and if we notice that you fence in a way that lends itself particularly to one weapon over another then we will advise you to consider a change.
For example: Jo fenced for six years with the foil and had limited success – by chance she was encouraged by someone to change to Epee and qualified for the World Championships within six months. Jo is now determined that her fencers do not miss any opportunities by fencing with the wrong weapon and she pays a lot of attention to the way that her athletes fence in case she feels they could do better at another weapon.