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In the hustle and bustle of this past holiday weekend (a bit more hustle and less bustle for me), I didn't get a chance to comment on this piece of news. Pat Morita has died. Some of you might remember him as Arnold, the original diner owner on Happy Days before Al took over, but to people my age, he will always be Mr. Miyagi (pronounced "Mee-yah-gee", not "Mee-yah-jee").

The Karate Kid was an important movie in many ways. While it won't cause you to rethink your life or religion or anything like that, it did help change the landscape of martial arts in America. It seems to me that the American public (in general) is really only aware of one martial art at a time. The Karate Kid changed it from the kung-fu craze Bruce Lee started in the 70’s and opened American eyes to martial arts from other parts of Asia. Karate would remain the "cool" martial art until the late 80’s being replaced with Ninjitsu by the Ninja Turtles, then it was Jujitsu and the UFC craze, and now it's back to Kung Fu with Keanu and the Matrix.

But the Karate Kid was important for another reason, and that was Mr. Miyagi. At a time when most people thought of martial arts as presented in the kung fu movies (The-“You killed my master!”-crazy-wirework-fights-to-the-death), Mr. Miyagi returned some of the dignity to the martial arts. By training Daniel, Mr. Miyagi helped him and it seemed like he really cared for the kid. He not only taught him how to fight but how to think. I especially love the scene where Daniel asks Mr. Miyagi what “belt” he has, Miyagi replies “Canvas. JC Penny. Three ninety-eight. You like?” He teaches Daniel that martial arts aren’t about rank or being a bully, or even avenging a master. It should be for self-defense, health, and self-esteem. It’s about positive uses, not negative ones. Even though the film has some unbelievable moments (it’s doubtful that Daniel would have won the tournament at the end of the film without ever actually practicing against an opponent) it has a positive message. At the end of the movie, Daniel is transformed from a scared little kid into a confident young man.

Pat Morita was nominated for a well deserved best supporting actor Oscar for his performance in The Karate Kid. He didn’t win, but while you have to use the internet to find out who did, everyone knows who Mr. Miyagi is. I’ll leave you with this exchange, which sums up the attitude of the movie perfectly:

Daniel: Hey - you ever get into fights when you were a kid?
Miyagi: Huh - plenty.
Daniel: Yeah, but it wasn't like the problem I have, right?
Miyagi: Why? Fighting fighting. Same same.
Daniel: Yeah, but you knew karate.
Miyagi: Someone always know more.
Daniel: You mean there were times when you were scared to fight?
Miyagi: Always scare. Miyagi hate fighting.
Daniel: Yeah, but you like karate.
Miyagi: So?
Daniel: So, karate's fighting. You train to fight.
Miyagi: That what you think?
Daniel: [pondering] No.
Miyagi: Then why train?
Daniel: [thinks] So I won't have to fight.
Miyagi: [laughs] Miyagi have hope for you.

Farewell Pat, and may you be in heaven an hour before the Cobra-Kai know you’re dead.