Meet The Master
Master Yao Li is an acclaimed martial artist, champion, and teacher. With his lifelong dedication, dynamic performance style, and big-hearted leadership, Yao is a pioneer in martial arts performance and instruction in America. He continues to share the wellness benefits of martial arts with students around the globe.
Yao was born in Taipei, Taiwan in 1956. At age 14, he immigrated to the United States with his mother. He found a sense of home at the Wah Lum Kung Fu Academy in Boston, Massachusetts. As a disciple of Master Chan Pui, Yao competed successfully in tournaments, highlighted with the gold medal in the AAU National Karate Championship in 1978.
During his early training, Yao met and fell in love with kung fu classmate and fellow disciple, Dorri Li. Together, they founded Yao Li’s Kung Fu Academy in 1985. Yao trained with the Hebei Wushu Team and the Beijing Wushu Team at the Shichahai Sports School. Yao was among the first generation of martial artists to share wushu, a high-powered and enigmatic style, in the United States.
Yao’s groundbreaking performance troupe, a culturally diverse team of elite athletes, showcased Chinese martial arts from the cobblestone streets of Faneuil Hall and Lunar New Year celebrations to NBA half-time shows and Sarah Caldwell’s opera, Turnadot. Yao coached Hollywood stunt performers for Power Rangers, Batman and Robin, and Mortal Kombat, as well as public figures including Robert Parish, Rick Fox, Reggie Lewis, Jonathan Tucker, Steven Tyler, David Mamet, and Gisele Bundchen.
As a founder of the Boston Kung Fu Tai Chi Institute, Yao fostered a vibrant community and provided kung fu, tai chi, fitness, and kickboxing programs to students of all walks of life. BKFTC delivered its services to students worldwide with the home video series Dorri Li’s Kung Fu Step Workout and Tai Chi for Health and Fitness, which were ranked by Shape, Fitness, and Billboard magazines.
Now in his 5th decade of practice, Yao continues to provide excellence in martial arts training. The impact of his career is a testament to the power of martial arts as a pathway for personal development and connection to community. Yao and Dorri currently live in Kansas City, Missouri.
