Perhaps one of the most iconic aspects of The Karate Kid‘s story is Mr. Miyagi’s unconventional training methods of Daniel LaRusso. 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 into the story of Cobra Kai season 6, the final installment in the spin-off TV series of The Karate Kid.
As the biggest questions of 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 any improvement, though, was Daniel putting into practice the unusual training methods of Mr. Miyagi that, 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.
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 titular character beginning his journey as The Karate Kid.
