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Karate come from China, sixteenth century, called te, "hand." Hundred year later,
Miyagi ancestor bring to Okinawa, call *kara*-te, "empty hand."
Teenager Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) moves with his mother (Randee Heller) from Newark, New
Jersey to Reseda, a neighborhood in the
San Fernando
Valley region of Los
Angeles, California. Their
new apartment's handyman is an eccentric but kindly and humble Okinawan immigrant
named Mr. Miyagi (Pat Morita).
Daniel meets a potential girlfriend, Ali Mills (Elisabeth Shue), but while doing so, earns the
enmity of her ex-boyfriend, Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka), a karate student. Johnny is the best student at the Cobra
Kai karate dojo, where he is taught an
unethical, vicious form of martial arts. Daniel knows some karate from books
and the YMCA in New Jersey, but he is the target of repeated severe
beatings from the much more experienced Johnny and his friends.
When Mr. Miyagi witnesses one of the beatings, he intervenes and, in a
surprising display of karate skill, defeats all five Cobra Kai with ease. Awed,
Daniel asks Mr. Miyagi to be his teacher. Mr. Miyagi initially refuses, but
agrees to go with Daniel to the Cobra Kai dojo and attempt to resolve the
conflict. They confront the sensei of the Cobra Kai dojo, John Kreese (Martin Kove), to stop the
harassment. However, Kreese, an ex-Special Forces Vietnam
Veteran, sneers at the concepts of mercy and restraint. Kreese suggests a
new match between Johnny and Daniel, which Miyagi deflects by announcing that
the match should take place in two months' time at the “All Valley Karate
Tournament”, where Cobra Kai students can fight Daniel on equal terms. Mr.
Miyagi also requests that the bullying stop while the boy trains. Kreese orders
his students to leave Daniel alone, but threatens that if Daniel does not show
up for the tournament, the harassment will resume and Miyagi will also become a
target.
Mr. Miyagi becomes Daniel's teacher and, slowly, a surrogate father figure.
He begins Daniel's training by having him perform laborious chores such as
waxing many cars, sanding a wooden floor, and painting a fence. Each chore is
accompanied with a specific movement, such as clockwise/counter-clockwise hand
motions, "Wax on, wax off". Eventually, Daniel becomes frustrated, believing
that he has learned nothing of karate, whereupon Mr. Miyagi reveals that Daniel
has unknowingly been learning defensive blocks, through muscle memory learned by performing the
chores.
Daniel then learns that Mr. Miyagi lost his wife and son in childbirth at Manzanar internment camp while he was
serving overseas with the U.S. Army during World War II. The loss of his family and Daniel's
loss of his father further strengthens the father-son surrogacy. Daniel also
discovers that the outwardly peaceful and serene Mr. Miyagi was a recipient of
the Medal of Honor for
heroism against German forces in Europe, presumably while serving with the 442nd Infantry Regiment.
Through the teaching, Daniel learns not only karate, but also important life
lessons, such as the importance of balance, reflected by the belief that martial
arts training is as much about training the spirit as the body. Daniel applies
the life lessons that Mr. Miyagi has taught him to strengthen his relationship
with Ali.
At the tournament, Daniel surprises everyone by reaching the semifinals.
Johnny advances to the finals, scoring three unanswered points against a highly
skilled opponent. After this, Kreese instructs Bobby Brown, one of his more
compassionate students and the lesser of Daniel's tormentors, to disable Daniel
with an illegal attack to the knee. Bobby reluctantly does so, initially
successful with Kreese's intended goal. With Daniel injured and unable to
continue, Mr. Miyagi assures him he has already proven himself. Despondent,
Daniel believes that if he does not continue, his tormentors will have gotten
the best of him. He therefore persuades Mr. Miyagi to use his special pain
suppression technique to allow him to finish the tournament. As Johnny is about
to be declared the winner by default, Daniel hobbles into the ring, much to
Kreese's amazement and fury.
Kreese directs Johnny to repeat unethical moves to achieve victory, including
the maneuver followed by Kreese's famous order to "sweep the leg". Despite the
moves, and how many times that Daniel is knocked down, he gets up again each
time.
In the final scene, Daniel and Johnny are tied, both one point away from
victory. Daniel, barely able to stand, assumes the "Crane Kick" stance, and delivers a blow squarely to
Johnny's chin, winning the tournament. Johnny, having gained newfound respect
for his adversary, takes Daniel's trophy from the Master of
Ceremonies and presents it to Daniel himself.
 Copyright(C) 2007
- 2020. All rights reserved
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