The Karate Kid (1984)

The American martial arts drama film, The Karate Kid (1984), follows the story of 17-year-old Daniel LaRusso and his mother Lucille as they move from Newark, New Jersey to Reseda, Los Angeles. Their apartment’s handyman is a humble Okinawan immigrant named Mr. Miyagi, who quickly becomes a friend to Daniel. At a beach party the next day, Daniel befriends Ali Mills, a high school cheerleader. However, Ali’s ex-boyfriend and top student at the Cobra Kai dojo, Johnny Lawrence, becomes jealous and repeatedly bullies Daniel with the help of his gang members Bobby Brown, Tommy, Jimmy, and Dutch. On Halloween night after a retaliation from Daniel involving water sprayed on Johnny with a hose, Miyagi steps in and easily defeats Johnny and his gang. With amazement, Daniel implores Miyagi to teach him karate.

Despite Miyagi’s initial refusal, he ultimately agrees to accompany Daniel to Cobra Kai in order to resolve the conflict. There, they are met by John Kreese, a Vietnam veteran and the sensei of the dojo, who coldly rejects their peace offering. In response, Miyagi suggests that Daniel enter the upcoming Under 18 All-Valley Karate Championship to compete against Kreese’s students on an even playing field. He also requests that the bullying cease while Daniel trains. After some negotiation, Kreese reluctantly agrees but warns that if Daniel fails to show up for the tournament, both he and Miyagi will continue to face harassment. As part of his training, Miyagi assigns Daniel menial tasks that seem like nothing more than servitude. However, when Daniel grows frustrated with these seemingly pointless chores, Miyagi reveals that repetition has allowed him to learn defensive blocks through muscle memory.