Daniel LaRusso’s Karate Kid learning at the hands of Mr. Miyagi is perhaps one of the most iconic aspects the movie thanks to the unconventional training methods of the sensei. Mr. Miyagi was always a wise and inspiring presence in The Karate Kid franchise, sticking with Daniel through many trials and tribulations. This presence has even continued after Miyagi’s death, as seen in the story of Cobra Kai season 6, the final installment of the spin-off TV series from The Karate Kid.
As the most significant questions about Cobra Kai‘s ending are finally answered, so too are some lingering mysteries left behind by Daniel’s old master. In truth, Cobra Kai and other installments of the franchise, including the upcoming Karate Kid reboot, have only improved the original 1984 film in retrospect. One scene that never needed improvement, though, was Daniel putting into practice the unusual training methods of Mr. Miyagi, which at first seemed like a way to trick the former into doing chores for the latter.
Day One: Waxing Miyagi’s Cars
The Basics Of Karate Self-Defense
The first day of Daniel’s training with Mr. Miyagi involved the waxing of the latter’s cars. The home of Mr. Miyagi has several vehicles, each of which has seen better days. As such, Daniel’s first task is to wax the cars, something he initially perceives as somewhat slave labor. However, it is quickly revealed that Miyagi’s methods are a way of imbuing Daniel with muscle memory that provides him with the basics of self-defense in karate, proving the master to be as wise as his old age suggests.
The waxing of Miyagi’s cars saw Daniel repeatedly move his arms outwardly, something that Miyagi later puts into practice. After Daniel loses his patience, Miyagi tells him to wax the cars. As Daniel does so, Miyagi tries to strike at him. Daniel’s muscle memory kicks in, and the outward motion of waxing the cars allows Daniel to block and redirect the hits. This showcases to Daniel that Miyagi’s teaching was not all for personal gain under the guise of training, but that the forms of karate can be learned through what are seemingly the most menial of tasks.
Day Two: Sanding The Wooden Floors
Daniel’s Second Day Teaches Him About Defending Kicks
After the long first day of waxing cars, Miyagi’s training of Daniel extends into another test for the headstrong student. The second day involves another household chore: the sanding of the wooden floors around Miyagi’s home. This is when Daniel quickly begins to lose his temper with the master, as he does not understand yet how such tasks are helping him. Nevertheless, Daniel listens to Miyagi and spends his second day crawling around the wooden decks, sanding them until they are perfect.
The Karate Kid’s Pat Morita made several appearances as Mr. Miyagi outside of the franchise.
Later in the week when Daniel’s temper gets the better of him, as has shown to be the case in Cobra Kai season 6 amid Miyagi’s absence, the truth of the sanding exercises comes to light. After proving to Daniel that the wax-on wax-off movements taught him self-defense of the upper body, Miyagi showcases how the sanding of the wooden floors had the same effect for protection of the lower body. As Daniel repeats the process of sanding the floors, he begins to block various kicks Miyagi throws in his direction.
Day Three: Painting A Fence
Daniel’s Self-Defense Grows
The third day of Daniel’s training involves, to no surprise, another seemingly meaningless task. This time, Daniel is asked to paint the fence of Mr. Miyagi’s garden in a specific up-and-down motion. Daniel spends another entire day doing so, growing even more tired of Miyagi’s apparent inability to teach him any karate. As Daniel moves his arms up and down endlessly, he is not aware that he is learning another form of self-defense from karate attacks.
Miyagi’s blows are once again blocked by Daniel, who moves his hands up and down in the same motion as his painting, using his wrist and forearm to push the punches out of the way…
This is again proven upon Daniel’s insistence that Miyagi is no karate master after all. Miyagi shows Daniel how waxing the cars and sanding the floors has aided him, before doing the same for painting the fence. Miyagi’s blows are once again blocked by Daniel, who moves his hands up and down in the same motion as his painting, using his wrist and forearm to push the punches out of the way.
Day Four: Painting Miyagi’s House
The Final Step In Daniel’s Karate Origins
The conclusion of Daniel’s training montage begins on day four with the painting of Miyagi’s house. This is shown as the straw that breaks the camel’s back for Daniel, as he views it as yet another labor-like task that will not aid him in any way. Regardless, he decides to trust Miyagi one final time and begins painting the old man’s house, only with a distinct side-to-side motion as opposed to the up-and-down of the fence painting.
Miyagi’s methods of training Daniel were as much about getting the latter to trust the former as they were about learning self-defense.
As alluded to, the four days of chores cause Daniel to finally blow up. He criticizes Miyagi and tries to leave before Miyagi proves how the first three days have helped him obtain the muscle memory needed for karate. Finally, the painting-the-house movements prove to Daniel that they are another way to block and redirect strikes. What began as menial tasks that Daniel did not believe in became the key to the тιтular character beginning his journey as The Karate Kid.
The Best Examples Of Mr. Miyagi’s Training Working
Daniel LaRusso Succeeded Thanks to Defense & Respect
When it came to the iconic “wax on wax off” lesson, Daniel LaRusso didn’t learn what it was all about until his muscle memory allowed him to block and redirect hits, and that is when it all clicked in his head. This paid off years later when Daniel taught the technique to Robby Keene in Cobra Kai. Much like Daniel, Robbie had no idea why he was doing it until he competed against Cobra Kai. Later, Robbie even taught the technique to the Cobra Kai Dojo himself, pᴀssing on Mr. Miyagi’s lesson to a new generation.
As for the sanding floors lesson, Daniel first learns the importance of this when he understands he has built up protection for his upper body, and uses the technique of sanding the floors to block various kicks quickly. Painting the fence and painting the house are also discovered when Daniel blows up at Mr. Miyagi and learns that they are also blocking techniques. These techniques were used to help him overcome Johnny Lawrence’s attacks at the Under-18 All-Valley Karate Championship tournament.
This tournament was also where Daniel learned that Mr. Miyagi’s lessons were necessary, because he initially ignored the defensive teachings and took a beating before finally regaining his composure and winning in the end. The biggest lesson was finishing the training, even though he grew frustrated by doing seemingly just chores. Mr. Miyagi’s most important lesson, which he taught Daniel LaRusso in The Karate Kid, was the importance of showing respect. This is something Daniel carried over to his students on Cobra Kai many years later.
