Shy action star Jet Li says on his Web log the love scenes in his movies are a struggle.

 Li wrote the admission while shooting the Chinese-language martial arts epic "Ci Ma (Piercing Horse)," in which his character becomes romantically involved with the character played by Chinese actress-director Xu Jinglei.

"Every time I start a movie I don't know how to have a conversation with the female lead. I'm rather introverted, so I don't know how to communicate with her," Li said in a blog entry on his website Tuesday.

In this case, Li said he tried to break the ice by asking Xu to help promote his charity fund.

Li recently set up The One Foundation, which focuses on disaster relief.

"The first day I saw Xu Jinglei I asked her to help us promote it [the charity] on her blog," he explained.

"Ci Ma," directed by Hong Kong's Peter Chan, is a remake of famed martial arts director Chang Cheh's 1973 movie "The Blood Brothers."

It is about the breakdown of the friendship among three soldiers during China's Qing dynasty when one kills another to steal his wife, and the third seeks to avenge his friend's death.

The movie also stars veteran Hong Kong actor Andy Lau and Taiwanese-Japanese heartthrob Takeshi Kaneshiro.

Editor: Donald