Jonathan Robert James Willis is an

épée The ( or , ), sometimes spelled epee in English, is the largest and heaviest of the three weapons used in the sport of fencing. The modern derives from the 19th-century , a weapon which itself derives from the French small sword. This contains ...

fencer. In 2007, he became the first British fencer since 1981, to win an event during the

2006–07 Fencing World Cup The 36th FIE Fencing World Cup began in October 2007 and concluded in September 2007 at the 2007 World Fencing Championships in Saint Petersburg, Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, tr ...

. He is also a three times British champion.

Biography

Fencing career

Willis began fencing at

Hazel Grove High School Hazel Grove High School is an 11–18 mixed secondary school and sixth form with academy status in Hazel Grove, Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. History The school became part of The Laurus Trust in September 2019 . Hazel Grove S ...

after meeting Bob Merry, a fencing coach who encouraged him to take up the sport. His father, a postman, was also keen on sport. Willis joined an after-school club, where he won a team foil competition. Following this he took part in three Under-15s competitions: he won two and came second in the other. At this point Willis still considered fencing to be "a bit of fun", although he continued it because of his height. He decided that

was the weapon best suited to him and entered a North-West Under-16s event, which he won. The first senior competition Willis took part in was the Merseyside Open, in which he reached the quarter-finals. After this Willis approached Stockport Sword Club's head coach, Professor Andrew Vincent. Andy offered to coach Willis for free because Willis could not afford it. Willis has been training with Vincent for 13 years. During this time he has gone through a variety of jobs, got a degree in mechanical engineering and obtained accountancy qualifications. He has won two Commonwealth Fencing Championship medals: a silver medal in 2002 and a bronze medal in 2006. In March 2007, under the coaching of Vincent, Willis took part in a World Cup event in Germany, where he won gold, becoming the first British fencer to win a World Cup event since 1981. Also in 2007 Willis won the first of his three epee titles at the British Fencing Championships. In 2007, Willis worked for and was sponsored by B&Q. Their backing allowed Willis to train almost full-time and to travel over-seas for competitions. He was contracted to work 12 hours a week but was given time-off for sporting events. In 2008, he won his second British epee title before the British Olympic Pathway Programme dropped Willis from funding for 12 months in April 2009. However, he continued to compete on the World Cup circuit through self funding and was put back on funding and won his second World Cup in Kish Island in Iran during January 2010. In 2010, he won his third and final epee title at the British Fencing Championships. In March 2010, Jon left his home town club of Stockport and moved to live and train in Heidenheim, Germany. He retired from international fencing after failing to be selected for Team GB and a failed appeal during 2012..

Post retirement

Willis lived in London and became the club director of the Salle Paul Fencing Club. He continues to run competitions all over the country and continues coaching.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Willis, Jon 1981 births Living people British male fencers