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The Karate Kid will Learn… Kung Fu?

I mentioned in my previous post that I will be writing a series of articles regarding the movie remakes to be released this year. Well, here I am with my second movie in the list—our new karate kid on the block!

The Karate Kid

Who would forget Mr. Miyagi (played by Pat Morita), the old eccentric Japanese man who trained the “karate kid” Daniel LaRusso (played by Ralph Macchio) and taught him the true discipline of martial arts with his “Wax on, wax off” exercise. Or who would forget the famous “crane kick pose”?

Well, most of us will definitely remember Daniel, who had struggled to “fit in” in a new town, and who found a beautiful, kind, and young local whom he immediately fell in love with, but whom happened to have an ex-boyfriend dubbed to be the best karate student of the Cobra Kai Karate Dojo. Such was his struggle, more so as Johnny Lawrence – the ex – made Daniel his punching bag. Until Mr. Miyagi – the apartment handy man –decided to step in to help Daniel in his predicaments. So started Daniel’s training in karate, eventually learning something deeper than just fighting, including life lessons such as the importance of balance, which means the martial arts training is not only about training the body but the spirit as well. Finally, Daniel joined a karate tournament, wherein he faced Johnny at the finals—much to the surprise of many. In the end, Daniel, barely able to stand due to Johnny's dirty tactics, delivered the crane kick to Johnny, thereby breaking the tie and eventually winning the tournament.

Released in 1984, The Karate Kid was a staggering success and has become a true inspiration to those who found themselves in the same dilemma as Daniel. The film was directed by John Avildsen, the same director that gave us the hit movie Rocky. Morita was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in this movie, which also launched Macchio’s career to become one of the most famous teen idols of the late 1980’s.