Born on April 26, 1963 in Beijing, Heibei, Li began studying the art of Wushu (the general Chinese term for martial arts) and was enrolled in the Beijing Amateur Sports School at the age of 8 under the tutelage of Coach Wu Bin. Attending classes during the day, the eight-year-old soon became one of the hardest working and most determined. Leg presses, bending and somersaults were only part of each evening's curriculum, and the young athlete went home tired, yet inspired, every night. Wu Bin became a kind of father figure to Jet Li, who lost his own father when he was only two, and as a wushu coach he certainly saw the potential of a future star, both in natural talent and in perseverance. He designed extra training for Li. Wu Bin was pleased with the speed and agility of his pupil, but found that Li lacked strength for kicking and striking. He visited the Li home and discovered that the family did not eat meat because at one time the grandmother has fallen ill and the doctor advised her to avoid it. The entire family followed in the habit, but Wu Bin told them that Lien Lie needed the protein to develop his strength, and he in fact continued to bring food to the struggling Li household for years. After three years of extensive training, Li won his first national championship for the Beijing Wushu Team. He won the championship from 1974 to 1979 (5 consecutive years) beating competitors as old as 30 yrs old. As part of a world tour in 1974, he had the honor of performing a two-man fight for President Nixon on the White House lawn.

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