I am so happy for the guy. He works extremely hard and is very humble. Mark has NO EGO and is always looking for ways to improve his skills (whether it be in BJJ, sub grappling or MMA) training with us or anyone else that will help him grow. He is also a phenomenal teacher and role model and you can see the results in his students' skills and their personalities. There are many people coming from all over taking Mark's classes because of his reputation. I am proud to be his student and friend. Congrats Mark and also belated Happy B-day.
Big congrats to Yael also. She has been making the trek to Kombat Arts and also worked really hard drilling and sparring in preparation for the trials. We can go for that drink finally :)
Yael I guess that means more hill running :) Don't forget the piggy back.
Found some description of Mark's matches at the JJGear forum
I'll try my best. These are what I remembered of his matches:
Mark Bocek vs Drew Puzon
Both guys working the clinch early on and Bocek managed to take the back from standing position. Puzon defended and walked to his corner to get instructions but Bocek was working for the choke. After a couple minutes or so it was sunk in and Puzon tapped. The match ended before scoring started.
Mark Bocek vs Rob Kahn
Kahn pulled guard immediately and both guys got down to business right away. Once scoring started Bocek passed to sidemount and then mount. Kahn recovered half guard. Bocek again passed the same way, to sidemount and then full mount. Kahn might've recovered guard again I wasn't sure. But the match ended with Bocek in a very tight full mount working some attacks. Final score was 12-0 or something.
Mark Bocek vs Don Ortega
The entire match stayed mostly on the feet. The guys circled a lot. They clinch, break, clinch, and break again. Once scoring started, both guys started to engange a little more. Towards the end Bocek started to gain ground and he managed to get behind Ortega and slammed/suplexed him to the mat, landing in side control. The crowd went nuts. The match ended soon after.
Mark Bocek vs Mike Fowler
The start was a little blurry as I didn't really remember what happened until scoring started, probably some scrambles but none of them really went for anything. Once scoring started Bocek managed to jump to Fowler's back from the clinch and he stayed there until near the end of the match. In between he took out one hook and placed in back in securing a body triangle, scoring once more for taking the back. Towards the end they hit the mats and Fowler escaped the back, I think. Some traingle attempts from Fowler but Bocek was in no danger. Then from top half-guard Bocek exploded into a spinning armbar and he had Fowler's arm extended as time expired.
During the entire tournament Bocek was always on top. No one was able to put him on his back.
Thanks for the descriptions GeeRoxx. Any clue how this post fits into things?
From the UG....
From: Kurt Pellegrino Date: 10/29/06 04:59 PM Member Since: 07/28/2002
mark bocek great job on the win it should of been me and u in the last fight ssssssoooooooo maybe we can do a superfight if u want to.....kurt batman pellegrino
I believe they had some good battles in the past and were the 2 favorites to win the division. Although not sure why he (among others) pulled out of the trials.