Fight Path: For ONE Championship 27's Angela Lee, surprise at-home attacks were normal

Angela Lee

When a guest visited the Lee home in Hawaii as the Lee children – including the now-18-year-old Angela Lee – were growing up, it could be a jarring experience.

Lee’s parents owned a martial arts school, so training, learning and teaching were part of all of their lives. Even in the home.

“If you visit my house, you’ll see me sneak up on someone and throw on a submission, or see my brother suplexing someone on the couch,” Lee wrote to MMAjunkie in an email. “That kind of stuff is totally normal for my family.”

Lee is now set to take the natural next step in her family’s passion: becoming a professional MMA fighter. Competing in martial arts since age 6, Lee is set to make her pro debut against Aya Saeid Saber (3-5) at ONE Championship 27 on Friday in Kallang, Singapore.

It will be both a new experience in fighting for Lee and a chance to fight in Singapore, her father’s birth country and a place where she still has plenty of family. But after a lifetime of already competing internationally in pankration and winning multiple titles – including a high school wrestling championship in Hawaii – she won’t have the nerves that other new pros might have.

She also has the support of her family, which now operates United MMA Hawaii and Waipahu. Angela, like father Ken, mother Jewelz and brother Christian, teaches and coaches at the school while also attending the University of Hawaii.

After that unique environment of training and learning, and a career that has already seen her become a national pankration title in Greece, Lee is set to fulfill one of the lifelong dreams: competing in professional MMA. It will continue the story of one of the most well-known fighting families in Hawaii.

“This,” Lee wrote, “is what I’ve been preparing for my entire life.”

Growing up training

Lee’s parents had a strong love for martial arts before she was born, so it was natural that she would begin training at an early age. She was competing by age 6, starting a career that would eventually take her around the world.

There were lessons to learn early.

“Growing up, I witnessed my parents working hard, day in and day out so that me and my siblings could have a better life than they had,” Lee wrote. “This influenced me to take the path that I’m on now because I want to be able to give back to my parents everything they have given me and more. I was blessed with these talents, and blessed with amazing opportunities thanks to my parents, that there’s no way I would put them to waste.”

One of those opportunities was training and competing in pankration, an ancient martial art that was part of the original Olympic games. Lee’s father trains pankration, so Lee learned.

In 2011, Lee won her division at the USA Pankration national championships, and she followed that the next year by winning her division at the World Pangration Athlima Federation world championships in Greece.

Not yet out of high school, Lee had trained and competed in martial arts on a high level. But she was also competing for her high school, and she won a girls state wrestling championship in 2013.

Wrestling was not her love, though. She was just waiting to being competing the in the sport she coveted the most: MMA.

Beginning a career

When she first began her training, Lee worked mostly on self-defense, and she became well-rounded with work in striking, takedowns and grappling, building the foundation for skills needed in an MMA career.

From that young age, it was her main interest.

“Martial arts has been the only thing I’ve known,” she wrote. “It has always been a constant in my life from childhood until now.”

Now she has a chance to fight in a way that honors her heritage. In fighting at the ONE Championship event on Friday, Lee will travel to Singapore, where her father grew up.

Already excited for the event because of her professional debut, she has the added emotion of the family tie.

“There are so many great fighters coming out of Singapore who are making names for themselves in the international scene,” Lee wrote. “I sincerely feel that the success of ONE Championship played a huge role in growing the sport not just in Singapore but in Asia too.”

Now it’s Lee’s turn. She has spent her life building to this point within a family whose martial arts accomplishments drive one another. She started young, and she has competed and won on an international level.

But she has arguably waited with the most anticipation for Friday, to be allowed to compete in MMA on a professional level. It’s the next step in what has already been a decorated martial arts career.

“It’s,” Lee wrote, “a dream come true”

Catching up

Last week, Arlene Blencowe told us about growing up in a small Australian town and then, at age 26, making a drastic change in careers to serve as inspiration for her children. She wanted to show them that it’s never too late to start over, and she’s proving it. After a 2-4 start to her career, Blencowe won her fourth straight last weekend by knocking out Adrienne Jenkins (18-6) in the first round of their fight at Bellator 137. Blencowe is now 6-4.

In March 2014, Darrion Caldwell told us about overcoming a massive shoulder injury in the offseason after he won his NCAA Division I wrestling national championship at North Carolina State in 2009. He rebounded to an MMA career that is continuing without a loss. Caldwell improved to 7-0 last weekend by beating Rafael Silva by unanimous decision at Bellator 137.

In April 2011, Virgil Zwicker told us about growing up on a Native American reservation and building his hard-edged attitude with multiple stints in correctional facilities from the time he was 13 years old. He remained undefeated in 2015 last weekend when he topped Razak Al-Hassan by first-round knockout at Bellator 137. Zwicker is 14-4-1 overall and now 2-0 in 2015.

For more on ONE Championship 27, check out the MMA Rumors section of the site.

Award-winning newspaper reporter Kyle Nagel pens “Fight Path” each week. The column focuses on the circumstances that led fighters to a profession in MMA. Know a fighter with an interesting story? Email us at news [at] mmajunkie [dot] com.