How Bruce Lee and street fighting in Hong Kong helped create MMA

I believe this was one of the most exciting projects I've worked on in recent years. It was a gruelling project with Pablo Robles and Dennis Wong. The story is by the great sports journalist Matthew Scott.

Black and white illustration of a tall, narrow building in Hong Kong with people practicing martial arts, including Wing Chun, Kung Fu, and Hung Kuen, on the balconies and inside. There are signs with Chinese characters, and the street has pedestrians walking by.

Like many of SCMP's graphic projects, it has both a printed version and an online version, which provide much more information.

Print back page

Black and white illustration of a narrow alleyway with old buildings, hanging wires, and laundry lines. Two people are fighting in the alley, with a dog nearby and a person peering out of a window.

The main illustration was used for the online intro version.

A black and white line drawing of a multi-story building with people on the rooftop and in the windows, with some people playing music and socializing. A hand with a stylus is working on the drawing on a digital tablet.

Part of the illustration process.

Black and white drawing of two men boxing inside a ring with an audience in the background.

An illustrated recreation of Bruce Lee fighting Gary Elms