The Karate Kid: An old lesson on commitment
About 40 years ago is when this movie was released. Its life lessons from Mr. Miyagi are that of a sage including a commitment to karate.
Even though I was not born in the 80s I ended up thoroughly enjoying some of the old films like Back To The Future and Star Wars among others. I was exposed to some of the movies from this era at an early age which pop up in my memory from time to time including The Karate Kid.
If you haven't seen the film it focuses on a young man named Daniel Larusso who moves from New Jersey to California with his mother. Upon his arrival in his new life he struggles with bullying and fitting in.
In turn he runs into Mr. Miyagi, a simple apartment handyman that eventually learns more about Daniel and his struggles to which he becomes his mentor. The film takes you through Daniel's high school life as he progresses through half heartedly knowing Karate to becoming more experienced by the teaching of Mr. Miyagi which leads to Daniel facing his ultimate challenge.
Upon revisiting this film I couldn't help but realize how wise some of its lessons were. One that stuck out to me was a lesson about commitment.
"...same with karate. You karate 'yes,' or you karate 'no.' You karate 'guess so,' squish just like grape. Understand?"
In this scene Mr. Miyagi explains to Daniel how he cannot be half hearted in his endeavor to learn Karate and that he must instead be either fully dedicated or not do it at all.
I think this is an important life lesson because it speaks to a broader truth. How often are we only putting forth little effort in our goals to achieve them instead of giving them our best?
I was reminded that in all that what we do we should either be fully committed to that goal or to not do that thing at all. Far too often its easy to get comfortable with just doing something with weak motivations instead of being focused on it which plays a role in whether we finish our goal or not.
If Daniel did not give his full effort he would have never been able to learn the lessons he did in the film and he would never have been able to progress which would have lead to a very different conclusion in his life and the story. But because he chose to give it his best he was able to become a better person.
All in all this is just one of the scenes that is special. I would recommend watching the movie from start to finish as it has a great story, good life lessons, and is just plain nostalgic of the 80s.
