Mark Cocker (wrestler)

Last updated

Mark Cocker
Wrestleoff (2).jpg
Mark Cocker defeating Commonwealth Games Bronze medallist Chinu Xxx
Born(1982-06-14)14 June 1982
Bolton, Greater Manchester, England
NationalityBritish
Known forGB and International Wrestler & coaching elite Combat Sports & Grappling.

Mark Cocker (born 14 June 1982) is a freestyle wrestler, Ju-Jitsu and Judo player who trains with Bolton Olympic Wrestling Club. Cocker is a British and English freestyle wrestling champion [1] [2] and has competed for England and Great Britain for fifteen years. [3] He is also a 1st Dan black belt in Judo under Steve Pullen MBE and 1st Dan Black Belt in Ju-Jitsu under Professor Trevor Roberts.

Contents

Early career

Cocker first got into martial arts after training with local instructor Trevor Roberts, and gained his 1st dan black belt in Roberts' Tetsu-no-otoko-ryu style of Ju-Jitsu. After showing a flair for grappling, Roberts began to coach him in the Russian style of combat known as Sambo wrestling and eventually, he began to train at his local wrestling club in Bolton. Cocker's junior career saw him take regional and national titles and he was chosen to represent Great Britain in the World Cadet Championships in 1998 held at the then Nynex Arena in Manchester. He placed 14th in the world. [4]

Senior career

After a successful Junior career, Cocker moved into the senior ranks winning and medalling in numerous domestic and international tournaments. In 2002, he narrowly lost a 'wrestle off' for the English 2002 Commonwealth Games team to a former South African wrestler who gained eligibility to wrestle for England. Cocker attended the 2002 Games as 96 kg reserve. 2002 also saw him place 7th in the FISU World University Wrestling Championships and he was the first British wrestler to ever compete at this event. [5] Cocker continued to compete domestically and internationally until late 2004. He then began to cross train in other sports including a return to Ju-Jitsu and Judo. He transferred his wrestling skills onto the Judo mat training under Steve Pullen at Urmston Judo club and gained his 1st Dan black belt in Judo, represented the North West in the National Team Championships, and secured a bronze medal in the 2008 Heart of England Judo Championships. [6]

Return to competition

In late 2008, Cocker resumed his freestyle wrestling career and began training again at Bolton Olympic Wrestling club. What made Cocker stand out from other elite British wrestlers was his part-time status, receiving no funding as he developed his career in teaching. He made his competitive comeback in the 2009 British Open wrestling championships winning the bronze medal in the 120 kg weight division. [7] He went on to win the 2010 English Open Championships at the 120 kg weight division [2] and placed second in the 2010 British Closed championships. [8] In July 2010, Cocker was chosen to represent Great Britain at the UK Sport funded GB World Cup event held in Sheffield and won the silver medal, beating wrestlers from Uzbekistan and Latvia to reach the final. [9] [10]

2010 Commonwealth Games

In August 2010, Cocker was victorious in a final 'wrestle off 'against the Great Britain international and Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Chinu Xxx, at the 120 kg weight division, [11] to decide who should represent Team England in the 2010 Commonwealth Games to be held in Delhi. The 'wrestle off' was a 'best of three' series of matches held at the Salford Wrestling academy, the same venue that he had lost his 2002 Commonwealth Games 'wrestle off'. Cocker won both matches and was selected to represent Team England in both the Greco-Roman and Freestyle disciplines [12] [13] making him the only English wrestler to ever compete at a Commonwealth Games in both styles. Cocker was knocked out in the semi-final stage, finishing 5th in both styles. [14] [15]

Senior career continued

In 2011, Cocker won the 2011 British Open Championships, [16] [1] represented Great Britain at the FILA 2011 European Wrestling Championships [17] held in Dortmund (Germany), was selected to compete in the 2012 London Olympics test event [18] (unable to compete due to injury) and placed second in the 2012 British Open Championships. [19] During 2013 Cocker again won the British Open Championships (the first Team England qualifier for the 2014 Commonwealth Games) [20] beating the Poland international T. Bujak [4] 7–0 in the final before being selected to represent Great Britain at the FILA International Olympia Tournament in Greece where he secured a bronze medal. [4] In 2014 Cocker won a silver medal in the English Open Wrestling Championships (120 kg category) [21] before dropping to the 97 kg weight category and winning the British Closed Wrestling Championships. [22]

The 2014 British Open Wrestling Championships

On 11 May 2014 Cocker placed third [23] at the 2014 British Open Wrestling Championships (the final qualifier for the 2014 Commonwealth Games), losing only one bout to the eventual winner of the tournament. Subsequently, Cocker was not nominated for selection to the 2014 England Commonwealth Games team. In August 2014 it was discovered that the winner of Cocker's weight failed a drugs test [24] at the 2014 British Open and was found guilty of a doping violation resulting in a two-year ban from all competitions. The British Wrestling Association anti-doping policy would mean that no final positions were amended however the athlete who had failed the test was removed from the official results effectively moving Cocker to second in the final standings (behind the athlete he had previously defeated by points superiority in the 2014 British Closed Championships). In January 2015, after a successful complaint and mediation process with the British Wrestling Association, Cocker received an apology [25] from the National Governing Body for any confusion or distress they had caused him due to a failure to follow its own anti-doping policy following the violation at the 2014 British Championships.

The 2017 British Open Wrestling Championships

Cocker taking a body lock Cockerattack.jpg
Cocker taking a body lock
Cocker setting up a suplex Cockersuplex.jpg
Cocker setting up a suplex
Cocker winning the 2017 British Open Championships Cockerpin.jpg
Cocker winning the 2017 British Open Championships

On 4 November 2017 after a three and a half year absence from competition, Cocker entered the 2017 British Open Wrestling Championships held in Nottingham. The event was also the final 2018 Commonwealth Games qualifier. Cocker, at 35 years old was an eligible 'Masters' age category competitor, but competed in the 125 kg senior open age category. Cocker won all his matches by either points superiority or pin. Cocker secured notable wins over Mandhir Kooner (Commonwealth Games bronze medallist) and Richard Tuke, suplexing and pinning his opponent in the final bout. The competition was reported to be Cocker's final open age category entry. [26]

Achievements on return to competition

YearTournamentPlaceWeight class
2018 ADCC British Open - Professional2nd [27] Heavyweight (99 kg)
2017British Open Wrestling Championships1st [28] Heavyweight (125 kg)
2015Grapple Nation 6 No-Gi Jiu Jitsu - European Championships2nd [29] Heavyweight (O91 kg)
Grapple Nation 5 No-Gi Jiu Jitsu - Advanced Category3rd [30] Heavyweight (97.44 kg)
2014British Open Wrestling Championships3rd (2nd) [23] Light Heavyweight (97 kg)
British Closed Wrestling Championships1stLight Heavyweight (97 kg)
English Open Wrestling Championships2ndHeavyweight (120 kg)
2013Aspull Open Wrestling Tournament1st [31] Heavyweight (120 kg)
FILA International Olympia Wrestling Tournament3rdHeavyweight (120 kg)
2013 British Open Wrestling Championships1stHeavyweight (120 kg)
20122012 British Open Wrestling Championships2ndHeavyweight (120 kg)
20112011 British Open Wrestling Championships1stHeavyweight (120 kg)
20102010 Commonwealth Games Freestyle Wrestling Championships5thHeavyweight (120 kg)
2010 Commonwealth Games Greco-Roman Wrestling Championships5thHeavyweight (120 kg)
2010 England Commonwealth Games Wrestling Trials1stHeavyweight (120 kg)
2010 FILA International Great Britain Cup of Wrestling2ndHeavyweight (120 kg)
2010 English Open Wrestling Championships1stHeavyweight (120 kg)
20092009 British Open Wrestling Championships3rdHeavyweight (120 kg)

International results

YearTournamentPlaceWeight class
2018 ADCC British Open - Professional2nd [27] Heavyweight (99 kg)
2013International Olympia Tournament3rd [3] Heavyweight (120 kg)
2011European Championship18th [3] Heavyweight (120 kg)
2010Commonwealth Games - Freestyle5th [3] Heavyweight (120 kg)
2010Commonwealth Games - Greco-Roman5th [3] Heavyweight (120 kg)
2010Great Britain Cup2nd [3] Heavyweight (120 kg)
2002World University Championship7th [3] Heavyweight (96 kg)
1998World Championship14th [3] Heavyweight (76 kg)

Teacher

Mark Cocker was an Assistant & Deputy Headteacher at Sale High School, Manchester. In January 2016 he moved to Pleckgate High School, Blackburn as Headteacher. In January 2019, Pleckgate High School was rated as outstanding by Ofsted in all categories. [32]

Documentary

In 2002, Cocker was part of a documentary [33] 'Catch – The Hold Not Taken' that was created to investigate the roots of different styles of wrestling such as freestyle and Catch wrestling, and how wrestling has evolved over the decades. The documentary starred Cocker alongside UFC veteran Dan Severn and Olympic Gold Medallist Dan Gable.

Elite Athlete Coaching

Cocker is an accredited UKCC level 2 coach, [34] predominantly coaching wrestling to elite wrestlers and mixed martial artists. Notable athlete associations include UFC competitor, BAMMA world champion and KSW World Champion Scott Askham, [35] BAMMA World Champion and UFC competitor Marc Diakiese, Cage Warriors World Champion Andrew Clamp and Cage Warriors athlete Ieuan Davies who have all been coached by Cocker. Cocker has also coached the 2019 & 2022 British Freestyle Wrestling champion at 97 kg, Ash Roden. [36]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wrestling</span> Combat sports

Wrestling is a martial art and combat sport that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves different grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins, and other grappling holds. Many different wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat sports, and military systems. Wrestling is genuine competition; professional wrestling is athletic theatre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Freestyle wrestling</span> Style of Wrestling

Freestyle wrestling is a style of wrestling. Along with Greco-Roman, it is one of the two styles of wrestling contested in the Olympic Games. High school wrestling and men's collegiate wrestling in the United States are conducted under different rules and termed scholastic and collegiate wrestling. U.S. collegiate women's wrestling is conducted under freestyle rules.

Zevegiin Oidov is a retired Mongolian wrestler. At the 1976 Summer Olympics he won the silver medal in the freestyle 62 kg class. He also won two world champion titles, in 1974 and 1975 in the 62 kg class. In 1977 competing in the freestyle 68 kg class he came in second, taking the Bronze medal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geetika Jakhar</span> Indian wrestler (born 1985)

Geetika Jakhar is an Indian wrestler. Geetika comes from a family of sportspersons. She got Arjuna Award - 2006. She is the only women wrestler in the history of Indian sports to be judged the Best Wrestler of the 2005 Commonwealth Games and also who won medals at Asian Games 2006 and 2014 respectively. Geetika is the first woman wrestler being awarded with the Arjuna Award by Government of India in 2006. She is also a proud recipient of Bhim Award by government of Haryana. For her extraordinary achievements in the field of sports, the government of Haryana has appointed her to the post of Deputy Superintendent of Police in 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reza Yazdani</span> Iranian sport wrestler

Reza Yazdani nicknamed The Leopard of Juybar, is an Iranian wrestler and two time World Champion, who won Gold in the 2011 World Wrestling Championships and 2013 World Wrestling Championships in the 96 kg division.

Leon Rattigan is a British freestyle wrestler who is in the Great Britain national squad. He started Freestyle Wrestling at the age of ten in Bristol Olympic Wrestling Club under the late legendary coach Amir Esmaeli. Rattigan has won the British Senior Championships and the English Senior Championships multiple times in his wrestling career. Rattigan competed in the 96 kg class in the 2009 world championship for GBR and also won the gold medal in the British Senior Championships 2009. Rattigan won the bronze medal for England in the men's freestyle 96 kg event at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, India in October 2010. During 2011, Rattigan has also won the British Open wrestling championships and the Sassari International Tournament.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mats Nilsson</span> Swedish judoka and mixed martial arts fighter

Mats Nilsson is a Swedish grappler and retired mixed martial artist. Nilsson formerly competed in the Welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He is the three time FILA Grappling world champion in the -90 kg no-gi and -92 kg no-gi division and a two-time bronze medalist in FILA Grappling European Championship. Nilsson holds a black belt in both Judo and Brazilian jiu-jitsu. He is currently fighting out of Rumble Sports, Copenhagen, Denmark, while representing Kaisho Martial Arts, Helsingborg, Sweden in grappling.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pooja Dhanda</span> Indian wrestler (born 1994)

Pooja Dhanda is an Indian wrestler from Budana village of Hisar district in Haryana, who won Bronze medal at the 2018 World Championships at Budapest in 57 kg weight class. She won Silver medals at 2010 Summer Youth Olympics and 2018 Commonwealth Games at Gold Coast in 60 kg and 57 kg category respectively. The grappler also won a Bronze at the 2014 Asian Wrestling Championship. Pooja has defeated Olympic and World Championship medalists. Government of India honoured her with the Arjuna award for outstanding performance in the field of Sports.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yuri Maier</span> Argentine wrestler (born 1989)

Yuri Maier is an Argentine Olympic wrestler who has won multiple international titles representing his country and individually. Among his most outstanding results, he has been awarded 12 medals at Pan American Championships in several different age categories, making him the top Argentinian medalist in wrestling history. He also received the Revelation Sports Clarín Award in 2004, winner of the Jorge Newbery award in 2005 as the best athlete of the City of Buenos Aires in this field. He was nominated many times for the best Argentinian athlete award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kuramagomed Kuramagomedov</span> Russian freestyle wrestler

Kuramagomed Sharipovich Kuramagomedov is a freestyle wrestler who competed for Russia in the 2004 Summer Olympics and won a world title in 1997 at 97 kg. He also represented Russia at the World Championships in 1998, where he won bronze at 97 kg. From 2003 to 2005, he competed for Russia at 120 kg. He won a silver medal at the 2005 World Championships.

Hafize Şahin is a Turkish female freestyle wrestler competing in the 59 kg division. She is a member of the Trakya Birlik SK in Edirne, where she is coached by Habil Kara. She continues her study in physical education and sports at Trakya University, which she began at Aksaray University.

Palwinder Singh Cheema is a retired amateur Indian freestyle wrestler, who competed in the men's super heavyweight category. Considered one of India's top wrestlers in his decade, Cheema has claimed the gold medal at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester, England, scored two bronze in the 120-kg division at the Asian Games, and also represented his nation India at the 2004 Summer Olympics. Throughout his sporting career, Cheema trained full-time for NIS Patiala Wrestling Club under his coach and father Sukhchain Singh Cheema.

Fred Jessey is a retired amateur Nigerian freestyle wrestler, who competed in the men's welterweight category. He represented his nation Nigeria at the 2004 Summer Olympics and produced a remarkable tally of four career medals, including a bronze in the 66-kg division at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester, England and a welterweight title at the 2003 All-Africa Games in Abuja. Jessey also trained for his native Bayelsa State's wrestling club under his personal coach Jackson Bidei.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anita Sheoran</span> Indian wrestler (born 1984)

Anita Sheoran is a female wrestler from India. She has won gold medal at the 2010 Commonwealth Games along with winning multiple medals at the Asian Wrestling Championships and the Commonwealth Wrestling Championships.

Fitzloyd 'Fitz' Dean Walker is a Jamaican-British retired wrestler and judoka, who represented Great Britain and England. In wrestling, he won medals at the Commonwealth Games and Commonwealth Championship, along with being a record-setting fourteen-time British champion.

The 2003 European Wrestling Championships were held in the men's Greco-Roman in Belgrade and men's freestyle style, and the women's freestyle in Riga.

The 1947 European Wrestling Championships were held in 11–14 April 1947 Prague, Czechoslovakia. Only Greco-Roman wrestling competitions were held, in which representatives of 15 countries participated. It was the first European Wrestling Championship in which Soviet wrestlers took part.

The 1946 European Wrestling Championships were held in 20–22 October 1946 Stockholm, Sweden. The competitions were held only in freestyle wrestling.

The 1939 European Wrestling Championships were held in 24–27 April 1939 Oslo, Norway. The competitions were held only in Greco-Roman wrestling.

The 1911 European Wrestling Championships were held in 1911 Budapest, Austria-Hungary. It was the first official European Championship in history. The participants competed only in Greco-Roman wrestling.

References

  1. 1 2 "British Senior Championships (2010) FS FW – British Wrestling Association". Britishwrestling.org. 12 February 2011. Archived from the original on 1 October 2011. Retrieved 12 November 2011.
  2. 1 2 "English Senior Championships – British Wrestling Association". Britishwrestling.org. Archived from the original on 1 October 2011. Retrieved 12 November 2011.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 http://www.foeldeak.com/en/wrestlingdatabase.php
  4. 1 2 3 "J. Foeldeak GMBH - Sports Mats, Wrestling Mats, Judo Mats, Grappling Mats". Archived from the original on 27 July 2011. Retrieved 29 July 2011.
  5. ↑ http://www.fila-wrestling.com/index.php?option=com_database&act=ficheLutteur&Itemid=174&filtre_pays=&lettre=&recherche_lutteur=cocker&filtre_cate=&style_select=&age_select=&annee_select=&id_lutteur=85B52AF5DE4B458895671BDDC71D0240 [ dead link ]
  6. ↑ "MIDLAND AREA HEART OF ENGLAND JUDO CHAMPIONSHIPS 2008 - Results, Pool Sheets & Knockout Tables" (PDF). British Judo Association. 7 September 2008. Retrieved 10 March 2022.
  7. ↑ "British Senior Championships – British Wrestling Association". Britishwrestling.org. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 12 November 2011.
  8. ↑ "British Closed Championships – British Wrestling Association". Britishwrestling.org. Archived from the original on 1 October 2011. Retrieved 12 November 2011.
  9. ↑ "GB Cup – British Wrestling Association". Britishwrestling.org. Archived from the original on 1 October 2011. Retrieved 12 November 2011.
  10. ↑ Hope, Nick (17 July 2010). "BBC Sport – Wrestling – British wrestlers star at GB Cup". BBC News. Retrieved 12 November 2011.
  11. ↑ "Mark Cocker wins 120kg wrestle off – Talk British Wrestling". Talkbritishwrestling.ning.com. Archived from the original on 28 March 2012. Retrieved 12 November 2011.
  12. ↑ "Delhi 3rd–14th October 2010 – British Wrestling Association". Britishwrestling.org. 14 October 2010. Archived from the original on 15 August 2012. Retrieved 12 November 2011.
  13. ↑ "THE ENGLAND TEAM | Sporting Life | Commonwealth Games, Delhi 2010, Medal Table". Sporting Life. Archived from the original on 25 October 2011. Retrieved 12 November 2011.
  14. ↑ "J. Foeldeak GmbH – Sports Mats, Wrestling Mats, Judo Mats, Grappling Mats". Foeldeak.com. Archived from the original on 19 August 2010. Retrieved 12 November 2011.
  15. ↑ "Freestyle wrestling – Mark Cocker (England) : season totals". The-sports.org. 30 March 2011. Retrieved 12 November 2011.
  16. ↑ "Bolton Olympic Wrestling Club". Bolton Olympic Wrestling Club. Archived from the original on 28 March 2012. Retrieved 12 November 2011.
  17. ↑ "J. Foeldeak GmbH – Sports Mats, Wrestling Mats, Judo Mats, Grappling Mats". Foeldeak.com. Archived from the original on 27 July 2011. Retrieved 12 November 2011.
  18. ↑ "LONDON WRESTLING INTERNATIONAL INVITATIONAL - British Wrestling Association". Archived from the original on 28 July 2014. Retrieved 24 July 2014.
  19. ↑ "2011 British Senior Championships - British Wrestling Association". Archived from the original on 17 July 2012. Retrieved 12 April 2012.
  20. ↑ "2013 British Senior Championships - British Wrestling Association". Archived from the original on 25 September 2013. Retrieved 21 June 2013.
  21. ↑ "2014 English Senior Championships - British Wrestling Association". Archived from the original on 8 April 2014. Retrieved 8 April 2014.
  22. ↑ "British Closed Wrestling Championships 2014 - British Wrestling Association". Archived from the original on 13 April 2014. Retrieved 13 April 2014.
  23. 1 2 "2014 British Senior Championships - FS-FW-GR - British Wrestling Association". Archived from the original on 23 June 2015. Retrieved 22 June 2015.
  24. ↑ "Providing a list of all anti doping rule violations". Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
  25. ↑ "2014 Change to Anti-Doping Policy and Apology - British Wrestling Association". Archived from the original on 23 June 2015. Retrieved 22 June 2015.
  26. ↑ "Golden hat-trick for Bolton wrestlers at the British Senior Championships". 10 November 2017.
  27. 1 2 "Adcc British Open 2018 • Adcc News".
  28. ↑ "2017 British Senior Championships (FS, GR, WW) - British Wrestling Association". Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
  29. ↑ "#GN6 RESULTS" (PDF). Grapple Nation. Retrieved 10 March 2022.
  30. ↑ "#GN5 RESULTS" (PDF). Grapple Nation. Retrieved 10 March 2022.
  31. ↑ http://ww.liga-db.de/Turniere/VT/GB/2013/GB/131109_Wigan/ENG94135129624120.htm [ dead link ]
  32. ↑ "Blackburn high school rated 'outstanding' after remarkable turnaround". 6 March 2019.
  33. ↑ "Catch Profiles: Mark Cocker". Riverhorse.tv. Retrieved 12 November 2011.
  34. ↑ "Coaches".
  35. ↑ "Stunning UFC win for Hemsworth fighter Askham".
  36. ↑ "British Senior Freestyle Wrestling Championships 2019".
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.