I Think About “The Karate Kid” A Lot

I think about the movie The Karate Kid, a lot. Not the remake with Jaden Smith, and not the YouTube Red reboot Cobra Kai, but the original, from 1984, starring Ralph Macchio, Pat Morita and Elisabeth Shue.

You may ask, of course, why I think of this movie so much, and frankly what I’m about to say probably won’t surprise you. The Karate Kid is a rather simple story, but its themes are still relevant today.

In the movie, Daniel LaRusso moves with his single parent mom from Newark, NJ to the San Fernando Valley, in LA. While trying to integrate into a new neighborhood, new school, new life, he runs afoul of some kids who proceed to bully him.

One night, while the bullies beat him up, Pat Morita’s character, the now-iconic Mr. Miyagi, comes to his rescue. He does some karate and dispels with the bullies, who when they’re not kicking Daniel’s ass, also train karate at the Cobra Kai dojo.

The next day, Daniel asks Mr. Miyagi if he can help teach him karate; Miyagi demurs, and instead brings Daniel down to Cobra Kai, hoping to squash things. But John Cleese, the sensei, isn’t hearing it. Before long they reach a compromise— Daniel and his main bully, Johnny, will face off at the All Valley Karate Championships, where they’ll be on equal footing. Until then, no more bullying. Cleese agrees and they part ways.