The short version
- Jake Peacock (30) was born without a right forearm, but competes in Thai boxing at a high level
- Former MMA athlete Håkon Foss believes that the lack of forearms can give advantages in combat
- Peacock has a six-fight contract in the ONE Championship organization, with millions of television viewers
- He has 13 wins and only one loss as a professional Thai boxer
- Peacock’s father, Gavin, played in the Premier League for Chelsea, and grandfather Keith played for Charlton
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– It is very impressive when you perform like that despite what many would say is a handicap, but I think it can be an advantage for him to a certain extent, says Håkon Foss to VG.
He is earlier MMAMixed Martial Arts, a full-contact martial art that incorporates techniques from various martial arts.– performer, and has three pro fights in Thai boxingA martial art that originated in Thailand and includes strikes with hands, feet, knees and elbows.. He currently works as a martial arts trainer in Moss.
Foss is among those who have caught on to Peacock’s inspiring path to the big martial arts scene. Despite dysmelia A medical term for congenital malformations of the arms or legs.he literally impresses violently.
– Look at me! I’m on the world stage kicking ass (“whupping butt”), beamed the 30-year-old after winning clearly on points against Japan’s Kohei Shinjo in bantamweight (66 kg) at a meeting in Bangkok at the beginning of April.
Around 5,000 spectators were present in the arena, and they got to see Peacock in action in the organisation ONE ChampionshipA large international martial arts organization based in Asia, which organizes matches in various martial arts.. He has signed a six-game contract in the organization that has millions of TV viewers worldwide.
Thus, there will be guaranteed more reunions with the man who now has 13 wins and only one loss as a professional Thai boxer.
Peacock is also undefeated in six professional boxing matches (five by knockout), but there it must be emphasized that the opposition has not been close to the level he faces in Thai boxing.
Foss therefore believes that Peacock can also benefit from missing a forearm, and justifies it as follows:
– The opponents see that there is a hole in his defence. Then they focus on that, and lose a bit of focus on other things.
– Jake’s style is that he is forward all the time and can put the opponent out of action a little. Some may also have a certain underlying sympathy for him, but he is just “taking advantage”, says Foss.
– He has an elbow that he gets to use from different angles than what the opponent is used to. He uses that arm to his advantage, Foss believes.
Jake Peacock has solid athletic genes. Dad Gavin (56) played in Premier League football for Chelsea, and grandfather Keith (78) was a midfielder in the lower divisions for Charlton in the 60s and 70s.
– My father’s job was to kick balls, and I kick people in the head. My grandfather played over 500 games for Charlton, so it’s in the blood, Jake told Sky Sports.
In 1993, Jake was born. In the same year, dad Gavin was brought from Newcastle to Chelsea for 1.5 million pounds, and became teammates with Erland Johnsen at Stamford Bridge.
Three generations of Peacock:
The two played together from the start in the 1994 FA Cup Final, with Peacock hitting the crossbar in the first half in a game Manchester United won 4–0 – after all the scoring came from 61 minutes onwards.
Gavin Peacock moved on to Queens Park Rangers in 1996, playing there until his retirement in 2002 after a brief spell on loan at Charlton in 2001.
Bank bullies
Jake thus grew up in London, and started martial arts at the age of seven. When he was 11 years old, he had enough of a bigger boy who had bullied him for a long time.
Jake simply gave the bully a beating.
– I got it done with minimal force. But afterwards the school tried to get me expelled because I had used more than one punch. I couldn’t believe it and my dad was quick to step up and sort it out with the school, Peacock said in an interview with the Guardian in 2022.
Jake Peacock
- Nickname: “The One”
- Age: 30 years
- Height: 171 cm
- Competition weight Thai boxing: 66 kg
- Nationality: English/Canadian
- Was born without a fully developed right forearm (dysmelia), but still competes against able-bodied people.
- Has six professional fights in boxing – all won, and five by knockout.
- Has 13 wins and one loss in professional Thai boxing. 11 wins by knockout.
- Debuted for the ONE Championship martial arts organization on April 5.
- His father Gavin Peacock played football for QPR, Gillingham, Bournemouth, Newcastle, Chelsea and Charlton.
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– A few days later, the bully came to me and said sorry. It was, and we ended up becoming friends, Peacock said.
It is part of the story that dad Gavin Peacock took his family with him and moved to Canada when Jake was 14 years old, and his father completed his theology studies before starting to work as a pastor in Calgary.
The son also has a strong Christian faith, and the self-confidence it has given him, in addition to his martial arts skills, he himself believes has contributed to him being more open about his disability. He receives an enormous amount of feedback from people who have allowed themselves to be inspired.
Now he runs his own martial arts center in Calgary alongside his career. On his Instagram account, Jake Peacock posted a picture of his father consecrating him and his wife:
Most of the athletes who are missing arms and/or legs compete in para sports, and the most famous is probably the sprinter Oscar Pistorius. The man nicknamed “Blade Runner” was also allowed to compete against the able-bodied, although it was claimed that his special prosthetic legs gave him an advantage.
Pistorius participated in both the Paralympic Games and the Summer Olympics in 2012, but was convicted in 2013 for shooting his girlfriend. He was released from prison in January this year.
But there are several examples of athletes with dysmelia and other significant handicaps who have competed against able-bodied people.
Nick Newell is a martial artist who has made a name for himself, despite also being born without an arm. He is missing his left forearm, but has still competed in MMA at a high level.
The 38-year-old has 16 wins in 20 professional fights, but has not competed since losing in the Bellator organization in the summer of 2021.
Football player Carson Pickett was born without a left forearm, but that didn’t stop her from having a great football career. The defender has played for a number of clubs in the American league, and has two caps for the USA.
Five years ago, a photo of Pickett and a little boy with the same handicap went viral.
Many will remember Håkan Söderstjerna who came to Fredrikstad from Swedish Landskrona in 2003 and played several seasons for Fredrikstad.
– I have many good memories from Fredrikstad, even if it didn’t turn out quite as I had hoped. I helped take them up to the Tippeligaen, and we always had full stands. It is a city that is passionate about its club and has proud traditions, Söderstjerna told fotbolldirekt.se in 2019.
After he gave up as a football player, the Swede has been doing a lot of tennis and padel.
