which movie coined the phrase “wax on wax off”?
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The Karate Kid
The Karate Kid is a 1984 American martial arts drama film written by Robert Mark Kamen and directed by John G. Avildsen. It is the first installment in the Karate Kid franchise, and stars Ralph Macchio, Pat Morita, Elisabeth Shue and William Zabka. The Karate Kid follows Daniel LaRusso (Macchio), a teenager taught karate by Mr. Miyagi (Morita) to help defend himself and compete in a tournament against his bullies, one of whom is Johnny Lawrence (Zabka), the ex-boyfriend of his love interest Ali Mills (Shue).
Kamen was approached by Columbia Pictures to compose a film similar to Avildsen’s previous success Rocky (1976), after signing the director. Kamen drew inspiration from his own life when writing the film. As a result, he maintained strong opinions regarding cast, and petitioned heavily for Morita’s inclusion.
1983
Preparations for the film began immediately after the final edit of the script was complete, and casting took place between April and June 1983. Principal photography began on October 31, 1983, in Los Angeles, and completed by December 16, 1983. The film was Macchio’s second major film role following The Outsiders (1983).
The Karate Kid was theatrically released in the United States on June 22, 1984. The film received mostly positive reviews from critics, many of whom praised the action sequences, writing, storyline, acting performances, and music. The film was also a commercial success, grossing over $91 million worldwide, making it one of the highest-grossing films of 1984 and Hollywood’s biggest sleeper hit of the year.
Academy Award
The film revitalized the acting career of Morita, who was previously known mostly for comedic roles, and earned him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. The film subsequently launched a media franchise and is credited for popularizing karate in the United States.
Plot
In 1984, 17-year-old Daniel LaRusso and his mother Lucille move from Newark, New Jersey, to Reseda, Los Angeles, California. Their apartment’s handyman is an eccentric, but kind and humble Okinawan immigrant named Mr. Miyagi.
Daniel befriends Ali Mills, a high school cheerleader, which draws the attention of her arrogant ex-boyfriend Johnny Lawrence, a black belt and the top student from the Cobra Kai dojo, where he studies a vicious form of karate. Johnny and his Cobra Kai gang continually bully Daniel. On Halloween, after Daniel sprays water on Johnny with a hose as payback, he and his gang pursue Daniel down the street and brutally beat him, until Mr.
Miyagi intervenes and single-handedly defeats them with ease. Amazed, Daniel asks Mr. Miyagi to teach him karate. Miyagi declines but agrees to bring Daniel to Cobra Kai to resolve the conflict. They meet the sensei, John Kreese, an ex-Special Forces Vietnam veteran who callously dismisses the peace offering.
All-Valley Karate Championships
Miyagi then proposes that Daniel enter the All-Valley Karate Championships, where he can compete against Kreese’s students on equal terms, and requests that the bullying cease while Daniel trains. Kreese agrees to the terms but warns that if Daniel does not show up for the tournament, the harassment will continue for both Daniel and Miyagi.
Daniel’s training starts with days of menial chores that he believes only serve to make him Miyagi’s slave. When he becomes frustrated, Miyagi demonstrates that repetition of these chores have helped him to learn defensive blocks through muscle memory.
Their bond develops, and Miyagi opens up to Daniel about his life that includes the dual loss of his wife and son in childbirth at the Manzanar internment camp while he was serving with the 442nd Infantry Regiment during World War II in Europe, where he received the Medal of Honor. Through Mr. Miyagi’s teaching, Daniel learns not only karate but also important life lessons such as the importance of personal balance, reflected in the principle that martial arts training is as much about training the spirit as the body.
Miyagi
Daniel applies the life lessons that Miyagi has taught him to strengthen his relationship with Ali. On Daniel’s 18th birthday, Miyagi presents him with a Karate gi for the tournament and one of his own cars as birthday gifts.
At the tournament, Daniel surprises everyone by reaching the semi-finals. Johnny advances to the finals, scoring three unanswered points against Darryl Vidal. Kreese instructs his second-best student, Bobby Brown, one of his more compassionate students and the least vicious of Daniel’s tormentors, to disable Daniel with an illegal attack to the knee. Bobby reluctantly does so, severely injuring Daniel and getting himself disqualified in the process. Daniel is taken to the locker room, where the physician determines that he cannot continue.
However, Daniel believes that if he quits, his tormentors will have gotten the best of him. He convinces Miyagi to use a pain suppression technique to allow him to continue. As Johnny is about to be declared the winner by default, Daniel returns to fight. The match is a seesaw battle, with neither able to break through the other’s defense.
Crane
The match is halted when Daniel uses a scissor-leg technique to trip Johnny, delivering a blow to the back of his head and giving Johnny a nosebleed. Kreese directs Johnny to sweep Daniel’s injured leg – an unethical move. Johnny looks horrified at the order, but reluctantly agrees. As the match resumes and the score is tied 2–2, Johnny seizes Daniel’s leg and deals a vicious elbow, doing further damage.
Daniel, standing with difficulty, assumes the “Crane” stance, a technique he observed Mr. Miyagi performing on a beach. Johnny lunges toward Daniel, who jumps and executes a front kick to Johnny’s face, scoring the tournament-winning point. Johnny, having gained newfound respect for his nemesis, presents the trophy to Daniel himself, as Daniel is carried off by an enthusiastic crowd while Miyagi looks on proudly.
What does the quote “Wax on Wax off” mean?
It’s from the movie “The Karate Kid” starring Ralph Macchio and Pat Morita. Pat Morita was supposed to be teaching Mr. Macchio karate, but all summer the karate master had the kid just painting stuff and waxing his car. However, the painting and waxing techniques were secretly teaching his muscles karate moves, and when the karate lessons actually began, he found it relatively easy to learn. “Wax on, wax off” was one of the stern instructions repeated at the beginning of the lessons.
What does Mr Miyagi teach Daniel?
Miyagi taught Daniel through hard work and repetition. Though it appeared to Daniel he was being used as cheap labor – waxing Miyagi’s old cars – he actually was learning basic karate blocking techniques. Social media is similar in that the best way to improve is through practice and hard work.
Did Will Smith produce Cobra Kai?
Will Smith is attached to ‘Cobra Kai’ Jaden’s father, Will Smith, serves as an executive producer on Cobra Kai. He retained the rights to the Karate Kid franchise through his production company Overbrook Entertainment, under which he released Jaden’s 2010 film, The Karate Kid.
Is Chris Brown in Cobra Kai?
Mary Mouser as Samantha LaRusso – Daniel’s daughter and first karate student, Sam is drawn into Miyagi-Do’s eternal war with Cobra Kai. Cobra Kai is Brown’s first acting role.
Can Jaden Smith really do karate?
Jaden Smith was not just acting in The Karate Kid, he does actually know Kung Fu. For the film, Jaden Smith’s father, Will Smith, wanted Jaden to do his own stunts. Thus, before filming, Jaden and his family moved to Shanghai, China so he could learn Kung Fu.
Does Jaden Smith has a girlfriend?
Jaden Smith brings girlfriend Sarah Snyder to Kanye West fashion show. The 17-year-old son of Will Smith brought his girlfriend Sarah Snyder on Thursday to the Kanye West extravaganza at New York Fashion Week.
How long have Jaden and Odessa been dating?
The young artist had been in a relationship with Odessa Adlon for over one year but judging by reports about what went down at Coachella, she appears to be out of the picture.
Are Odessa azion and Jaden Smith dating?
Jaden Smith is currently dating Nashville actress Odessa Adlon (daughter of Better Things creator and star Pamela Adlon), but has previously been linked to actress Amandla Stenberg and Sarah Snyder, the young model who made headlines when she was accused of allegedly pilfering a $15,995 Hermès bag.
Is Odessa Adlon single?
Odessa Adlon is currently single.
What is the purpose behind ” wax on, wax off ” in Karate Kid?
What is the purpose behind “wax on, wax off” in Karate Kid? In The Karate Kid, his first lesson is cleaning and waxing his masters car. His master tells him to “wax on, wax off”. Is the purpose of this simply to teach him the value of hard work?
How long does it take Paw wax to wear off?
While it’s true that the application of a paw wax in cold temperatures does form a temporary barrier that offers protection from the formation of ice balls and cold, that’s not the whole story. Unlike boots, the wax will wear off. How fast that wax wears of depends entirely on snow conditions and the ingredients in the wax.
Why does Daniel keep doing wax on wax off?
After many days of mindless “wax on, wax off,” Daniel finds that he’s mastered the basic moves of Karate—all because of those endless hours of repetition. But is mindless repetition really the best way to practice?
Are you serious? This is a movie. We don’t train like that at all. The wax on wax off method does not give the required muscle memory to aid in your art. Besides the required fitness conditioning a good instructor will adopt the following program or something similar to it….
a) Kihon – Basics
b) Kata – Forms
c) Bunkai – applications
d) Impact training – e.g use of Heavy Bag, Pads, Tameshiwara, Wing Chun dummy etc
e) Body Conditioning – learning to take hits (eg using a medicine ball, kicking one another’s body etc)
f) Kumite – Sparring
Except for maybe (b) depending on the type (eg Muay Thai, Boxing, etc) most martial arts follow a similar program to the above.
Throwback
Wax on Wax off does not feature in the training regime at all. Muscle memory is best gained through frequent bag work (impact training) and sparring especially for those who values the combative aspect vs the artistic (eg katas) of a martial art.
“Wax on, wax off.” That phrase, coined from the 80’s movie “Karate Kid,” is a constant classic even in society today. Every week in this series “Throwback” we have used classic 80’s movies as a launching pad into the Bible. This week at Venture we talk about the “wax on, wax offs” of Christianity, spiritual disciplines. Like any time in life discipline is tough.
Whether giving it, receiving it, or disciplining yourself it takes time, effort and a truck load of patience. Good thing we have a God who loves unconditionally and is full of grace. Tune in to this week’s message for a great approach to starting or keeping the gears turning towards Jesus Christ.
Thank you for staying with this post “which movie coined the phrase “wax on wax off”?” until the end.
