Angela “Unstoppable” Lee charges with a quick jab and a cross, catching her younger — but much bigger — brother, Christian, in a choke hold as their father nods in approval.
It is crunch time in training camp for the two teens, who are to chase dreams of mixed martial arts (MMA) stardom on the same fight card in Manila tomorrow.
Their parents, who also double as their coaches, are to be outside the steel cage giving last-minute directions and, at the same time, praying they do not suffer career-ending injuries.
Photo: AFP
Two younger Lee siblings, aged 11 and nine, who are also eyeing careers in the uncompromising fighting sport are to be ringside.
“Martial arts keeps our family together. There is synergy in doing things together,” said family matriarch Jewelz Lee, who is of Korean descent, after a sparring session that ends with the Lees locking heads and arms in a huddle.
Unbeaten straw weight Angela, 19, has been dubbed “Unstoppable” on the way to winning her first three professional bouts by submission, one using a rare “twister” lock.
It is a moniker which 17-year-old Christian is to try to live up to when he makes his professional debut as One Championship’s youngest fighter.
“It is amazing, [Christian] making his debut. I am gonna be nervous for him and focusing on my fight at the same time,” said Angela, who is attempting her fourth win in as many fights.
Her father, Ken Lee, who has Singaporean roots, held back tears as he watched his children grant media interviews and pose for photographers at the end of a sparring session. He met Jewelz while at university in Hawaii.
“It is quite an emotional time. This is their dream and they are living their dream at such a young age,” the 43-year-old said.
The Lee siblings are poised to win over fans, especially in Asia, where it is common for whole families to take up martial arts, One Championship chief executive officer Victor Cui said.
“They are extremely talented,” he said.
Born in Canada, raised in Hawaii and now both representing their father’s home nation of Singapore, the Lee siblings learned how to punch and tumble soon after they learned how to walk, said their parents, who run a martial arts gym while working in real estate in Hawaii.
“My parents started me off at a very young age. The more I started training, the more I liked it. MMA was just the next step,” featherweight Christian said.
Growing up, the two loved playing cops and robbers, chasing each other and grappling on mats that were spread around the house.
Ken said his children had the passion to learn martial arts, which their father took up to fight off racist bullies while he grew up in Canada in the 1970s.
“We train, that is our lifestyle. Genetics can get you so far, [but] you have to have the spirit and they do show that,” he said.
The family start their day with mum’s pineapple-and-ginger smoothies before hitting the gym. The day ends with a second round of sparring after work and school.
Christian makes chicken and eggs for much-needed protein during training, while Angela prepares salads using kale, berries and mandarin oranges.
Ken and Jewelz laugh when asked if they settle family arguments in the ring.
“Martial arts is separate. Just because we are physical, does not mean we get physical. We talk a lot,” Ken said. “They are still kids, but they are good kids.”
The children are grounded or get lengthy lectures if they choose going out with friends over their studies or their training, Jewelz said.
Beneath her sweet smile, Angela admitted to being more competitive, treating their sparring sessions as if they were real fights and taking criticism personally.
“Now that we are older and more mature, we try to help each other get better and not beat each other up,” Angela said. “We trade techniques. It is no longer like: ‘I will try to choke you out.’”
Jewelz said she finds it hard to watch her children get hurt in the ring, and keeps herself calm by praying.
“Of course I feel nervous. It is heartbreaking to see your children in pain,” she said.
“You are always a parent first, you cannot make that go away... That is why we train them extra hard, for less chance of injury [and] greater chance of victory,” Ken added.
As their two eldest children kick off their professional careers, the Lees are now preparing to train their two younger children.
At 11 and nine years old respectively, Victoria Lee and Adrian Lee are set to follow in the footsteps of their elder fighting siblings. They are to be ringside with the rest of the family when Angela and Christian take to the cage at Manila’s Mall of Asia Arena tomorrow night.
“It was never our goal to make them all fighters. We just wanted them to learn to defend themselves,” Jewelz said.
Christian is not shy about his big dreams.
“I want to be world champion in as many weight classes as possible. I am extremely focused. I feel like I am preparing for this my whole life,” he said.
His parents could not be more supportive.
“We always tell them, do not follow Mum and Dad. Go beyond, and that is what will make us proud,” Jewelz said.
INJURY TURMOIL: Despite stunning French Open champions Paolini and Errani to advance, Chan was forced to pull out after her partner’s tearful women’s singles defeat Last year’s mixed doubles champions Hsieh Su-wei of Taiwan and Poland’s Jan Zielinski on Monday crashed out of the quarter-finals at Wimbledon, leaving the Taiwanese star focused on pursuing a fifth women’s doubles title in London, while a partner injury forced compatriot Chan Hao-ching to give up on her doubles campaign. Hsieh and Zielinksi, who last year also won the Australia Open title, narrowly lost their opening set 7-6 (9/7), before Britain’s Joe Salisbury and Brazil’s Luisa Stefani stunned the former champions 6-3 at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. The Taiwanese-Polish duo had been dominant in the first two
‘SU-PENKO’: Hsieh and Ostapenko face a rematch against their Australian Open final opponents, the same duo Hsieh played in last year’s Wimbledon semi-finals Taiwanese women’s doubles star Hsieh Su-wei and Latvian partner Jelena Ostapenko on Wednesday survived a near upset to the unseeded duo of Sorana Cirstea of Romania and Russia’s Anna Kalinskaya, setting up a semi-final showdown against last year’s winners. Despite losing a hard-fought opening set 7-6 (7/4) on a tiebreak, the fourth seeds turned up the heat, losing just five games in the final two sets to handily put down Cirstea and Kalinskaya 6-3, 6-2. Nicknamed “Su-Penko,” the pair are next to face top seeds Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic and Taylor Townsend of the US in a reversal of last
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has overturned French Olympic fencer Ysaora Thibus’ four-year suspension for doping, ruling that her positive test for a banned substance was caused by kissing her then-boyfriend, American fencer Race Imboden. Thibus, a silver medalist in team foil at the Tokyo Games, had tested positive for ostarine, a prohibited muscle-building substance, during a competition in Paris in January last year. However, CAS concluded there was no intentional wrongdoing, finding it scientifically plausible that repeated kissing over several days with Olympic medalist Imboden — who was taking ostarine at the time — led to accidental contamination. The court
Switzerland’s Riola Xhemaili on Thursday scored a last-gasp goal to salvage a dramatic 1-1 draw with Finland that sent the joyous hosts through to the quarter-finals at Euro 2025, and heartbroken Finland home. Switzerland, who needed only a draw to advance based on goal-difference, finished second in Group A behind Norway to go through to the knockout round for the first time and are to face the winners of Group B, which would be world champions Spain as things stand. “I think we set ourselves a goal on the pitch, to write history, to go into the knockout stages, which we’ve never
RSS