Tuhia he tohutoro mō tēnei wāhanga - I whānau a Cohen ki Brooklyn, New York, ā, he Hurai ia. I whakataetae tana tuakana a Herb Cohen i nga Taakaro Maccabiah i te tau 1961
I riro i a ia te NCAA foil championship i te tau 1961-62, i riro i a ia te mētara parahi i roto i te mētara takitahi me te mētara koura me te roopu mētara o te US i nga Taakaro Pan American 1963, ko ia te toa mētara o te Amateur Fencers League of America (AFLA) i te tau 1964, me te taiapa takitahi me te roopu mo te United States i te 1964 Summer Olympics.