Over at Elite Training Centre, Jake Peacock is honing his skills and planning a career in mixed martial arts.
Jake is a little different than the other fighters who are hitting the bag at the gym in the city’s southeast.
He was born without a right hand and forearm but he isn’t letting that stop him from reaching his goals.
“I want to take it as far as I can,” said Jake. “I want to be great. I want to be the best and just want to reach the top and make a living off of it.”
The 19-year-old grew up in England and his dad, Gavin played professional soccer for Chelsea and Newcastle so entering a competitive sport was a natural fit.
Jake is serious about his conditioning and makes the drive in from Canmore to Elite Training Centre everyday to train.
‘In the family they know the hard work that is required to be in a professional sport and to be a professional athlete. So Jake is already all there,” said Elite Muay Thai Master Francois Duval.
Jake is training to be a MMA fighter but it is sometimes difficult to find him an opponent so he has been taking fights in other disciplines to solidify his skills.
“There’s people that have much, much greater challenges and I don’t even consider it a challenge. It’s a difference of angles and a bit of a different arm and stuff like that but at the end of the day it’s not a disability,” said Duval.
In June, Jake won a unanimous decision in his first competitive muay thai bout in Red Deer.
“I hit hard. I feel like I’ve got heart as well. I’ll got to the end if I’, in the ring. I want to be the last man standing,” said Jake.
Jake’s will fight on the Journey Fight Series VII card on September 8, 2012 at the Century Casino in Calgary. For tickets go to the Journey Fight Series website.
