Read Li Jing’s compelling interview from the May 2005 issue of Inside Kung Fu Magazine.

From Beijing With Love
(Inside Kung Fu Magazine – May 2005)

With so many wushu masters flooding America’s shores, it’s often difficult to tell the great from the awfully good. To U.S. wushu athletes, everyone looks good. That’s what 15 years of concentrated training will do for you. Seems everywhere you look there’s a local champion. But what separates the national treasures from the national contenders are what champions do against other champions.

And it’s here where Li Jing separates herself from the rest. Working her way up from a Beijing Wushu Team alternate, Li won national long fist championships in 1991, 1994 and 1997. Under the guidance of famed wushu guru Wu Bin, Li became a team leader and one of the team’s greatest competitors.

Now teaching privately in Los Angeles and pursuing an action career, Li Jing recounts how surviving the tough early days has made her a better teacher and person.

Inside Kung Fu: When you moved to this country two years ago, what were your goals?
Li Jing: I hoped to learn about a different culture and a different language. Before I moved over here, every year the (Beijing Wushu) team would come over to train. I came in contact with many American students. I feel there are so many things I haven’t seen yet. So after the 8th China Games I really made an effort to make America my new home.

IKF: It must have been hard because you knew little English.
LJ: Even though I had gone to international language school to study English, all I basically knew were my ABC’s. I thought I knew a lot because I studied in high school for two years but it didn’t count. I had a tough time just asking where a restroom was.

IKF: Ho much of a role did your martial arts background play when you arrived here?
LJ: Martial arts were second on my list of priorities. I had done it for so long in China, I was looking for something different. But the thing is, martial arts was already in my blood. People asked me to teach, especially at UC Berkeley. At first I didn’t want to teach because I didn’t think I’d be a good coach. But once I did it I couldn’t stop.

IKF: You found Chinese martial arts was in your blood?
LJ: I didn’t realize how much I loved wushu and how much I knew about it until I started teaching. I was able to use my skill to help people.

IKF: What’s the hardest aspect of teaching?
LJ: At the beginning it’s communication.  Even though we can show people how to move one way or stop another way, the secret is in getting them to feel deep inside the meaning beneath the movement. That’s the most difficult part.

IKF: Your training in China was both cruel and rewarding at the same time. Did you bring any of that approach with you to America?
LJ: I found out very quickly that students over here are different than students in China. Over here, they have to go to school or work and then use their extra time to train. I began to appreciate the student’s desire a lot more here. When I was training, even though we had a better environment and a professional coach, we didn’t appreciate what we had. All I did was complain. And now I never complain, because I know what people here have to go through to learn wushu. They put extra time and love into their training.

IKF: Of course, you have to lower your expectations.
LJ: Definitely. Even though the best athlete here cannot compare to the best athlete in China, the important thing is that they love training just as much as those in China.

IKF: With so many great former wushu athletes coming to America, how do you tell the cream of the crop?
LJ: Before in China, each team had its own specialty. Like, the Beijing team is known for its overall excellence. But other teams are also good at something. Other teams are known for their sparring sets, or their animal forms or weapons, tai chi or mantis. They’re known for that and they’re good at it because they practice it.  That’s how we see champions back in China, but here people don’t know.  Regardless of the competition, people who finish in the top six or the top ten are pretty close. The judges will consider the power, rhythm, form and speed to determine the small difference between each performer. So they are close, even though to people who don’t know they are the same.

IKF: What makes someone one-hundredth of a point better?
LJ: It’s really the movements you make on the carpet at that moment. Everyone at that level has the same energy, the same dedication, the same love to their career. But in national competition, there’s a lot of pressure. You never know how that pressure will affect someone.  Even though you may train 1,000 times on the same form, you may perform it a slightly different way on the carpet. The judges also sit at different locations, so one judge might not see what another judge sees.  Sometimes your rhythm, your energy is just a little better than the next person.

IKF: How do you deal with the pressure of always having to be on?
LJ: For our team, we held a practice tournament before a major competition. We would invite different instructors from the outside to judge our performances. That would happen at least three times before a national competition.  Local competitions are also different than the international events. I remember that I was the first person to walk onto the carpet for the whole Beijing Wushu Team during the 8th China Games.  The coach was counting on me not to make a mistake so that was a lot of pressure. Normally during a competition, I warm up with stretching and running and then calm down before doing my form.  This time, when I felt my heart, I couldn’t count because it was beating so fast.  I felt I was going to die.  I didn’t know how I’d make it. Suddenly everything was quiet. And from the very first movement, I was calm and I knew I could do it. My body was ready.

IKF: What was the greatest piece of advice Wu Bin ever gave to you?
LJ: It’s not what he told me but what he showed me. I don’t think he liked me in the beginning. Every time he talked to me it felt like he was pushing me down. But after spending years and years with him and watching how he talked to others, first I learned how to be a good person. Even when we had team meetings, he always talked to us about being good people.  I was scared of him at the beginning. And I hated him because he was so tough.  Because he’s so tough, you have to be good. After several years of time together, I found out he was a really nice guy. He was just pretending to be tough or people wouldn’t train hard. You need one person to look up to, to push you harder. And that’s his way. Overall he taught me that in order to be a good person I have to train myself.  Always ask yourself: am I good? Where do I have to improve? How do I train with my teammates? How do I train with my coach?  How do I train with my parents? He taught you everything, just from the wushu part. He didn’t talk to us that much, but from every word he tells us I know he loves us.

IKF: Did you ever consider quitting?
LJ: There were times when I wanted to quit, because it was just so hard. One time I approached Wu Bin and told him I wanted to quit. I told him it wasn’t the training so much as the mental part of it. I was scared. He told me to go to America with him for two months and train.  We came here in 1995 and we all lived together.  Everyday we had two people to do the housework. And funny thing, I was always his partner. To make sure he didn’t have to work hard, I would wake up a half hour early and start breakfast. One day we were in the kitchen and he said, “Let me see your toe. Let me see your muscles.” He wasn’t talking to me like a coach; he was talking to me like a granpa. I felt closer to him and during training time he began paying more attention to me. When we came back I felt like a real member of the team. The only pressure then was pressure from myself.

IKF: You trained so hard so often. Do you ever experience times of injury?
LJ: Yes, every class there was a chance of injury. I think that’s how I learned how to train people over here not to get injured. The best advice I can give anyone is to warm up. You may think you can go right from the car to the training floor, but your body thinks something else.  The Beijing Wushu Team trained three times a day – from 6-7:30 a.m., 10-11:30 a.m. and 2-4 p.m. Three times a day and we still needed to warm up each time. I trained at Berkeley for three years and we never had any major injuries. The first thing we did was run around the gym for 15 minutes non-stop.

IKF: Starting so early. Did you ever worry about burnout?
LJ:  That was the case before, with athletes retiring at 21 or 22. But now, they’re not retiring until 28. The training system has changed in the past few years. Right now, even though kids still start at four or five years of age, there’s a lot more attention paid to their health and flexibility. That’s why the first coach is so important.  It’s easy to learn new things, but hard to change old habits.

IKF: I know you competed in several weapons events, but you also list tai chi among your passions. What do you like more?
LJ: I actually like straight sword and spear, because it has more flavor. I competed at broadsword and staff and became a champion, but because our team needed  more straight sword and spear I had to switch. I had to train every day, flower, and flower a 1,000 times until my hand began to shake. But then I discovered there was mopre flavor to these weapons. The body movements have to become part of the body. Tai chi helped heal some of my knee problems. I always suffered from sore knees, but after two months of tai chi my thighs became very strong and my knees stopped hurting. I encourage anyone doing weapons to also do tai chi.

IKF: What are you doing now?
LJ: I’m trying to make it in the movie industry. When I was 18 I had a chance to make movies in Hong Kong. But I was under contract with the Beijing Wushu Team. When I moved to Los Angeles, I met a lot of wushu people who are now in the movie industry. I spent time doubling for the stars in “Twin Effect”. That came from Donnie Yen. I’ll give it two years. There’s a lot of work, but people already have their spots. I have to make my own way. I did a commercial for Microsoft Intel’s new chip, which should be playing by the time this article comes out.

IKF: You recently completed a video series for Century Vision. How did that come about?
LJ: Century decided to do a Chinese martial arts series and they contacted me. I’m always embarrassed to see myself on screen. I think it’s simple and very detailed. It’s good for beginners just starting out. If these sell well, I can do an advanced series.

IKF: Where do you see yourself ten years from now?
LJ: If I can make it in the movie industry, that would be my ultimate goal. But I really enjoy teaching. In fact, even if I make it in Hollywood, I think I would still teach. I teach now, but just privately. To tell you the truth, I feel so happy when I’m around wushu people. It will always be part of my life.