Guest post by Michael Strickland
Let’s take a break from the rigors of politics and enjoy a feel good story.
Jake “The Snake” Beckmann took on former UFC fighter Nate “Rock” Quarry for a new World Heavyweight Championship this past Saturday at an event put on by the Full Contact Fighting Federation, based in Oregon. But this was no ordinary match.
19 year old Beckmann is a little different from most kids, due to his down syndrome, but he refused to let that get in the way of his dreams of taking on a professional fighter and winning a championship.
The bout was co presented by Create The Connection, which is an organization founded by Beckmann. Their website reads:
“Create the Connection is a social advocacy organization co-founded by Jacob Beckmann, a young man with Down Syndrome. Jacob inspires so many to face their fear of judgment and take the chance to reach out to others. His spirit of acceptance and self-determination prompted the idea for Create the Connection. We are dedicated to explore personal empowerment for all people, regardless of diagnosis or physical challenge.
Our mission is to develop innovative outreach activities and communication tools to assist people with differences to engage the world around them in meaningful, exciting ways. People with differences may find themselves on the outside looking in at times. Perhaps they notice that they are ignored or notice that people may not say hi or engage them. At times they may even be avoided or ignored.”
As for the match, Beckmann had a plan, stuck to it, and it worked. After the match, ring announcer Kevin Keeney had the first chance to interview Beckmann, where it was revealed that Beckmann’s game plan was to hit Quarry up top a few times to soften him up, then go for the single leg take downs. Beckmann executed that maneuver several times throughout the match, and in the middle of the 2nd round, he was able to lock in an ankle lock, which Quarry submitted to.
Quarry said he knew it was going to be a tough match up, and on this night he just wasn’t able to get the win and said Beckmann just got the best of him.
Jake Beckmann has a facebook fan page at https://www.facebook.com/jacobmma19/
