Hall of Fame: Mr. Miyagi
Inducting new members to the Bulletproof Action Hall of Fame is a December tradition that started back in 2014, just a few months after the site had launched. Five years later, that tradition continues and the first inductee into the Class of 2019 is Mr. Miyagi from The Karate Kid.
Mr. Miyagi can be described as a cross between Mickey from the Rocky movies and the masters/teachers from classic kung fu cinema… which is perfect because when you think about it 1984’s The Karate Kid had a definite Rocky vibe (thanks John Avildsen) and in many ways was an Americanized version of the Hong Kong produced kung fu films featuring rival martial arts schools.
The Mr. Miyagi character became Pat Morita’s most notable role and his most beloved. Audiences could not get enough of the heartwarming teacher/student (or was it father/son?) relationship between Morita’s Mr. Miyagi and Ralph Macchio’s Daniel LaRusso. Hollywood realized this was a winning formula and Mr. Miyagi and Danial San were brought back for The Karate Kid Part II and The Karate Kid Part III. And once even Hollywood couldn’t justify having an over 30 Macchio play a “kid”, they still brought the Miyagi character back for 1994’s The Next Karate Kid starring Morita and Hilary Swank.
When other movies like 1987’s Karate Warrior or 1993’s Showdown or tried to capitalize on the success of The Karate Kid having a Mr. Miyagi like character in their films was imperative. One could argue that you can see the Miyagi influence in movies that weren’t trying to be Karate Kid clones, like 1989’s Kickboxer and Dennis Chan’s Xian Chow character.
If you ask someone who has never seen a Karate Kid movie to tell you something about the film… they are going to hit you up with “wax on, wax off” or possibly demonstrate the “crane technique” …both part of Mr. Miyagi’s curriculum and proof of Miyagi’s impact on pop culture. Speaking of pop culture, Morita even spoofed the Miyagi character in Alien Ant Farm’s “Movies” music video.
If Pat Morita were alive today, I have no doubt that he would be a part of YouTube’s Cobra Kai series… still the Mr. Miyagi character lives on in the series thanks to numerous references and in the second season of the show Daniel turned Miyagi’s home (just like we remember it from the movies) into a martial arts school named after his mentor and friend.
It is with great respect that I bow to the newest member of the Bulletproof Action Hall of Fame… Mr. Miyagi.
