Li Junfeng - Wushu Coaching Career

Wushu Coaching Career

After graduation in 1965 he became a wushu coach at Beijing's Shichahai Sports School. In 1973 the Chinese Central Documentary Film House produced the documentary Beijing Sports School Wushu Team that includes footage of Li Junfeng coaching a young Jet Li. After the school won the national competition in 1974, Beijing accepted Wu Bin’s and his proposal to establish the Beijing Wushu Team, a professional team consisting of students mostly from the Shichahai Sports School.

From 1974 to 1988 Li Junfeng was a head coach of the Beijing Wushu Team. During this time the team won the national championship in the group category for 12 straight years (Udo 1998, p. 68) and his students won 56 individual gold medals. In 1984 his students won 10 of the 16 gold medals at the National Wushu Competition in Shanghai, setting the record for the most number of gold medals won by a coach’s students. Li Junfeng also traveled internationally as a national team coach and at the first Asian Wushu Championship in 1987 his team won 13 of 16 gold medals and 3 silver medals (Udo 1998, p. 68).

During his career as a wushu coach, Li Junfeng was awarded one Second Medal Certificate and four Third Medal Certificates from the State Physical Culture and Sports Commission. He was also the Deputy Director of the Chinese Wushu Coach Committee (Rao 1986, p. 32); the Commissioner of the China Wushu Association; and Councilor to the China Wushu Society.

The book In the Spirit of the 2008 Olympics: Extraordinary Chinese Martial Artists of the World highlights Li Junfeng as one of eleven prominent wushu pioneers.