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 In
the 80s, The Karate Kid did for martial arts what Flash Dance did for leg
warmers. Girls loved the movie for heartthrob Ralph Maccio and guys loved
it because - well because it was the ultimate kid meets bully, kid gets
beat by bully, kid beats the you-know-what out of bully in the end. It all starts when Daniel LaRusso, the Karate Kid (played by Ralph Maccio)
moves to California, where he quickly makes some enemies. Unfortunately,
Daniel is somewhat of a wimp and the enemies are all somewhat-disturbed
karate students. Needless to say, a few old-fashioned beatings ensue. |
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So what's a guy
to do when in California without a friend in the world and a bunch of
butt-kicking enemies? Turn to a local maintenance man for help, of
course. A karate master, Mr. Miyagi, takes Daniel under his wing. As
Daniel does odd jobs for Mr. Miyagi, he also learns the fundamentals of
martial arts. Needless to say, "wax on, wax off" became the mantra of
teenage boys everywhere and everyone wanted to use chopsticks to catch a
fly.
The
Karate Kid was an instant hit and, like all hits in the 80s, Hollywood
thought it'd be a good idea to run this one into the ground. Karate Kid II
and Karate Kid III were released, which was fine. Both starred Ralph
Maccio as Daniel and both featured our dear Mr. Miyagi. Unfortunately,
they didn't stop at III.
Eventually they
tried to make a Karate Kid IV and it was oh, so sad. Since Maccio was a
bit too old to star as a "karate kid" they decided to recruit a young
Hillary Swank to play the part. It just wasn't the same. The movie tanked
and the Karate Kid series was another set of films that went out with a
fizzle instead of a bang.
Become Daniel
LaRusso with our Karate Kid costume
how-to.
