Posted on 06/15/2025 1:30:38 PM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum
The first Karate Kid movie was released in June 1984, and presently, the story lives on with the new release of Karate Kid: Legends. I recently re-watched The Karate Kid and The Karate Kid Part II with my own kids, and these films were just as good as I remembered. When I was growing up in the ’80s, these films instilled lessons that still resonate. So, in light of the Legends release, I thought it would be fun to pay homage to some classic takes from the originals and point out that Mister Miyagi’s lessons stand the test of time.
In the first Karate Kid, Daniel LaRusso, aka Daniel-san, played by Ralph Macchio, became an unlikely hero empowered by the wit and wisdom of Mister Miyagi, played by the late Pat Morita. A teenager who has recently moved to a new and seemingly unwelcoming neighborhood, Daniel realizes he needs to get stronger both in body and in spirit. Mister Miyagi, after some convincing, agrees to train Daniel in the art of Karate with the very clear message that Karate is for defense only.
Throughout the training process, Mister Miyagi shows Daniel that building strength and finding balance takes time: “First learn stand. Then learn fly.” Daniel discovers that skill development can occur in unexpected ways. One of my favorite scenes shows Daniel, fed up after completing a myriad of chores for Mister Miyagi, arguing that Miyagi is taking advantage of his labor rather than training him. Miyagi calmly replies that “not everything as it seems” and asks Daniel to show him the moves he had been performing (sanding the floor, painting the fence and the house, waxing the car), and it becomes clear that he had developed powerful skills that...
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Trees don’t attack.
Too early. Check back later.
Y’all know what’s coming.
Sweep the leg?
Wax on, wax off.
Wax on, wax off. Paint the fence. Sand the floor. Sounds like a to do list given to an illegal alien by his compassionate Leftist employer.
Mister Miyagi to Daniel-san: “Never trust a Democrat.” What a great line!
Or maybe that didn’t happen. My memory isn’t what it used to be.
🙂
Been years since I’ve thought about The Karate Kid. It really was a goodhearted movie with a solid message about perseverance and courage. It reflects well on the American culture of the 1980s that a movie like that was produced and was so popular.
That’s all I remember.
“Trust the picture”
Never saw the movie. Did that line have to do with Brazilian waxing?
It is a famous line from the movie. A short clip should be on YouTube. Basically, an older gentleman cons a young man into waxing his car.
No, it had to do with waxing mr miyagi’s cars, he had several of them.
“Sweep the leg!”
In the movie you apply the wax to the car with one hand and remove the wax with the other. This trains your muscles how to move together automatically. It is an exercise you can do at a gym.... or you can do it with a can of car wax and a couple of rags and not only train but have something you have accomplished at the end. Something you can be proud of. A nice shiny car. That later on you will use to take the pretty girl to a party.
Major crush for me in the 80s.
Brazilian waxing?
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