Female Role Models Made Angela Lee A Strong Women’s World Champ

“Unstoppable” Angela Lee is an inspiration to people around the world – particularly young women – because of her phenomenal success in the world of martial arts.

The ONE Women’s Atomweight World Champion has taken on some huge challenges in the Circle since she was a teenager, and triumphed through emotional and physical struggles, and she says the influence of the strong women in her life has been crucial.

The Singaporean is set to defend her belt against “The Panda” Xiong Jing Nan at ONE: CENTURY PART I on 13 October, and throughout her training and in the Circle, she will have those role models in her corner to help push her toward victory.

The influence of her mother, Jewelz – a black belt in multiple martial arts disciplines – is obvious, but Lee explains that someone else in the family deserves a lot of credit for the way she was raised, too.

“My mom is such a strong person for our family. She really does everything for our family, but my grandmother was also a huge role model in my life,” the 23-year-old explains.

“She helped to raise me, she helped to take care of me, and I saw the love that she had for me and her family. She’s always been so incredibly supportive of all of her grandchildren. Since I became World Champion, her and my grandpa are my number one supporters.”

Lee and her brother – ONE Lightweight World Champion Christian “The Warrior” Lee – started their training soon after they started to walk under the tutelage of their parents.

While her father, Ken, acts as their head coach, “Unstoppable’s” evolution into a well-rounded martial artist and human being would not have been possible without the guidance only the matriarchs of the family can offer a girl, or a young woman.

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“I still seek their guidance and advice to this day,” she says.

“They’re very knowledgeable women. They’re very strong women, and I’m very proud that I was lucky enough to have these amazing women in my life growing up.”

Because she has been constantly surrounded by powerful women in her life, Lee has happily started passing along that knowledge to other young girls around the world but her family is never more than a phone call away when she might need some help herself.

“Through the good times and the bad, whenever I’m going through stuff, I have them to lean on. I have them to advise me and tell me what they went through.

“It’s really helped to shape me, to teach me how to deal with things and not back down. It taught me to face my problems and find a solution. With their help and their guidance, I’ve managed to navigate through life.”

The way Lee was supported and nurtured rubbed off on her, and made her a natural role model for her three younger siblings.

She has always helped to take care of them, and as the first of the Lee children to experience martial arts success on the global stage, she is always there to offer advice in the gym.

“Being a good example and being a good role model was something that I was raised to do,” she adds.

“It kind of comes naturally to me. It’s something I enjoy doing. It’s the kind of person I am.”

In turn, the same traits have passed on to her younger sister, Victoria, who despite being a teenager, has also emerged as one of the World Champion’s main inspirations and motivators – just like the other women in the family.

“It’s funny, but now my younger sister is a huge motivation for me as well. She is just 15 years old, but she is just so incredible,” she says.

“She’s smart, she’s so athletic and catches onto things so quickly. She’s a huge inspiration for my life as well.”

Read more: Top 10 Submissions From The Stars Of ONE: CENTURY PART I

ONE: CENTURY is the biggest World Championship martial arts event in history with 28 World Champions featured across various martial arts. No organization has ever promoted two full-scale World Championship events on the same day.

The Home Of Martial Arts will break new ground as it brings multiple World Title bouts, a trio of World Grand Prix Championship Finals, and several World Champion versus World Champion matches to the famous Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo, Japan on 13 October.