by Dennis Dalman
One could rightfully claim that Jake Clark of St. Joseph wrestled his way to success – and in more ways than one.
Born in Waconia and raised in the Twin Cities area, Clark, who is now 41, grew up with a single mother, Tami, and an older brother, Joey. The family was very poor financially, but a tight bond of grit and determination held them together, and when Jake discovered the joy of wrestling at age 4, he never stopped, never looked back. It was brother Joey, a school wrestler, who introduced him to the sport.
Little did Jake know at that time just how far wrestling would take him in the future. His multiple honors, awards, trophies would fill a very large room. The following is just a partial list of his staggering record of wins: U.S. National Champion (10 times), World Team Member (5 times), Olympic Alternate (2 times), United States Marine Corps Armed Forces Gold Medalist (11 times) and World Cup Champion.
Clark was the first person to win a national title for every competitive age group in the United States, right up to the master’s division. He was also a bronze medalist in the World Military Championships. From 1999 to 2008, Clark was a member of the U.S. Marine Corps where he served as the military version of a travel agent, helping personnel move from one assigned base to another. He did that job in many places – from Quanitco, Virginia all the way to Okinawa, Japan.
His wrestling adventures have taken him to 60 countries, including many times to Russia, where he learned to speak Russian. His first trip there was when he was 15 years old and a member of Team USA. He’s been there 20 times since.
Clark recently competed in the Final Olympics Qualifier for wrestling in Fort Worth, Texas, making him (at age 41) the oldest competitor and putting him in the record books for competing the most consecutive times in Olympic Trials (2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020 – held recently because of the pandemic).
He was an Olympics wrestling alternate twice, in Athens, Greece in 2004 and in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 2016. His World Cup Championship he earned in 2006 in Istanbul, Turkey.
“I’m a lucky guy,” Clark said. “The sport just clicked with me at 4 years old. I was a two-time high-school state champion in Minnesota and was undefeated in my junior and senior years. After that, wrestling opened up the whole world to me. When I was young, I never thought I’d be able to go to do all those things, to go to all those places in the world. I’m lucky.”
For five years, Clark also helped “grow” the sport of wrestling in Hawaii and was then sent to the Federated States of Micronesia, an island chain near Papua, New Guinea in the South Pacific where Clark did a lot of island-hopping. In 2012, one of the Micronesians that Clark trained with competed in the Olympics in London.
Wrestling is a combative sport that involves clinch-fighting, throws, takedowns, joint locks and pins, and other types of grappling holds. The goal is to pin an opponent to the wrestling mat, meaning both shoulder blades touching the mat for at least two seconds. Lacking that, the game can be won by cumulative points totaled at the end of the third period.
There are many variations of wrestling – for example: freestyle, judo, sambo and Greco-Roman. The sport is so ancient that wrestling scenes can be seen sketched on the walls of some caves as far back as 15,000 years ago. In ancient Greece, where the Olympic games were founded, wrestling was one of the prime events in those games.
At one time, Clark was an advisor for a couple of seasons to the wrestling program at St. John’s University and moved his instruction programs there for a time. Then he scouted around for a more permanent, ongoing business.
Clark is now the owner/operator of “Wrestle Jitsu,” the Jitsu the last name of “Jiu-Jitsu,” an Oriental martial arts discipline. Located by Quarry Park in Waite Park, Wrestle Jitsu was developed by Clark last July but had to be put on hold due to the pandemic. That gave Clark and colleagues plenty of planning time to get everything just right, and now the business is fully open. There are about 80 participants/students at Wrestle Jitsu, ranging in age from 5 up to 65 (a gentleman who participates in the jiu-jitsu program).
The business offers training not just in wrestling and jiu-jitsu but also boxing, yoga and self-defense techniques for people of all ages. Clark hosts a special program for youth who attend the Clark family’s church of choice, The Waters in Sartell. One of the newest classes for youth ages 5-12 is dubbed NERF Ninjas.
“It teaches balance and body control – all while having fun with our awesome collection of NERF guns,” Clark said.
He met his wife, Jocelyn, who hails from Grand Rapids, in Brainerd a few years ago when he was working at a gym in that city. Now they have a blended family – four children from her previous marriage and two pre-school girls. The children attend school at Sartell’s middle school and high school. Jocelyn is about to embark on a career in real estate. When she was 16 years old, her mother suffered a debilitating stroke, causing Jocelyn to become her caretaker for many years. Her mother is now in a nursing home, but the Clarks hope to have her home again soon. Clark’s own mother is undergoing chemotherapy for cancer.
“I love to provide opportunities for kids,” Clark said. “Wrestling taught me discipline and hard work, and it was about the only sport my mother could afford when I was a kid. Wrestling helped keep our family together – my mom, my brother and me.”
Clark can be reached at 612-868-7157.

Jake Clark displays one of his many championship wrestling belts. The St. Joseph resident is the owner of the new “Wrestle Jitsu” center in Waite Park.

Jake Clark (left) grapples with an opponent at a wrestling tournament.