How Long Daniel LaRusso Actually Trained With Mr. Miyagi In The Karate Kid

Whereas everybody who’s seen The Karate Kid will bear in mind Daniel LaRusso’s epic victory at the 1984 All Valley Under 18 Karate Tournament, they could be shocked to be taught simply how little he educated with Mr. Miyagi earlier than reaching this excellent feat. As a 17-year-old who moved from New Jersey to Reseda, California, together with his mother, it was not lengthy earlier than LaRusso discovered himself participating in a real combating competitors. With the clever Mr. Miyagi as his mentor, Daniel shortly took on Miyagi-Do’s “wax-on, wax-off” philosophy.

Though the timeline of occasions in The Karate Child was much less clear within the unique movie, the sequel sequence Cobra Kai supplied new perception into precisely how lengthy LaRusso educated beneath Mr. Miyagi earlier than going through off towards his rival, Johnny Lawrence. Regardless of Mr. Miyagi’s tragic backstory, he nonetheless took the time to take Daniel beneath his wing and supply his distinctive coaching strategies to permit him to beat his bullies. As one among the greatest underdog stories ever instructed on movie, The Karate Child was a defining film for numerous younger martial arts lovers of the Nineteen Eighties.

Daniel LaRusso Solely Skilled With Mr. Miyagi For Round Six Weeks In The Karate Child

Mr. Miyagi Entered Daniel In The All-Valley Event Earlier than Their Coaching Even Started

When Daniel first got here to Reseda, he had no martial arts expertise and was only a bright-eyed child hoping to make some new mates in an unfamiliar city. Though Daniel shortly befriends the highschool cheerleader Ali Mills, this quickly catches the eye of her boastful ex-boyfriend and Cobra Kai black belt fighter Johnny Lawrence. After Johnny and his gang brutally beat Daniel on Halloween evening, it was the unassuming handyman Mr. Miyagi who got here to the rescue and confirmed off his unimaginable martial arts expertise as he defeated the bullies.

Whereas Mr. Miyagi was initially reluctant to coach Daniel, it was solely after seeing how the ex-Particular Forces Vietnam veteran and Cobra Kai sensei, John Kreese, handled him that he not solely agreed to turn out to be his mentor but additionally proposed that he participate within the All Valley match. With out a lot time to coach, Mr. Miyagi had Daniel waxing automobiles, sanding flooring, and portray fences, all duties that unknowingly gave him the talents he wanted to be an ideal fighter. With an uncommon coaching technique, Mr. Miyagi taught the worth of a defense-based combating philosophy.

“However he solely educated for six weeks. I ought to’ve destroyed him. I used to be too hell-bent on revenge for all of the sh*t he’d pulled. And though I pulled a number of sh*t on him too, he did not combat for revenge. He fought to honor all the pieces he’d discovered. To point out guys like me that we could not get the very best of him.”

– Johnny to Miguel in Cobra Kai season 6, episode 14, “Strike Final.”

How Daniel Beat Johnny Lawrence With Hardly Any Karate Coaching

Miyagi-Do’s Preventing Philosophy Supplied Classes That Cobra Kai By no means May

With only a few brief weeks of coaching to his identify and barely any real combating expertise, the truth that Daniel managed to defeat Johnny was a very unimaginable show of talent. Nevertheless, Mr. Miyagi’s seemingly easy chores had a a lot deeper sense of goal than was initially obvious, as Daniel was secretly being taught the basic blocking strategies utilized in karate. Having gained muscle reminiscence and innate reflexes with out even realizing it, Mr. Miyagi shortly gifted Daniel with the talents some fighters spent years growing.

Whereas Johnny’s aggressive combating strategies got here from the ruthless “strike first, strike laborious, no mercy” philosophy of Cobra Kai, even after receiving an unethical sweep kick to his injured leg, Daniel was in a position to preserve the composure wanted to return out on high. By assuming the identical “crane” stance method he had beforehand watched Mr. Miyagi carry out, Daniel delivered an unimaginable entrance kick to Johnny’s face and scored the ultimate level he wanted to emerge victorious. With out a lot coaching behind him, Daniel proved that honor, valor, and willpower had been generally sufficient to defeat a extra skilled fighter like Johnny.

How Lengthy Daniel LaRusso Trains With Mr. Miyagi After The Karate Child

Daniel and Mr. Miyagi’s Coaching Continued Lengthy After The Karate Child

Mr. Miyagi educated Daniel to victory over the course of simply six weeks in The Karate Child, however his mentorship didn’t finish there. Because the franchise continued by means of The Karate Child Half II, Daniel accompanied Miyagi on a visit to his homeland of Okinawa and confronted off towards the nephew of Miyagi’s outdated friend-turned-rival Sato, Chozen Toguchi. The Karate Child Half III noticed Daniel going through new threats from inside Cobra Kai, because the deranged sensei Terry Silver sought to show Daniel towards Miyagi and embrace his dojo’s extra ruthless and aggressive standpoint.

Whereas Daniel and Mr. Miyagi had ups and downs, the reality was that Miyagi mentored him his total life and was virtually a member of the household as Daniel received married to his spouse, Amanda, and had his two youngsters, Samantha and Anthony. Sadly, Mr. Miyagi died on November 15, 2011, however had mentored Daniel since 1984, and your entire historical past of their time coaching collectively spanned 27 years. Though Mr. Miyagi had already handed away by the point The Karate Child sequel sequence Cobra Kai premiered, his legacy looms giant over each facet of the present.

The Karate Kid

Created by

Robert Mark Kamen

Forged

Ralph Macchio, Noriyuki “Pat” Morita, Martin Kove, William Zabka, Randee Heller, Ron Thomas, Elisabeth Shue, Xolo Mariduena, Mary Mouser, Jaden Smith, Wenwen Han, Taraji P. Henson, Jackie Chan