The Karate Kid Movie, is that type of training real or made up?

Question

If that type of teaching worked why don't they have those types of schools everywhere?

Answer 1

Let me guess, you just watched this movie. The movie is NOT based on a true story.

However, this type of training is real and very old school.

If you were to go to study Kung Fu in China for example, even today, your training would resemble Mr. Miagi's style more than the schools you see in the US. His style was Okinawan Karate, and I can not say first hand if there are any non-commercial schools left on Okinawa. I intend to find out next year. I have studied in China though.

You would live at the school and your master would be like a parent. You would have chores to do in between training sessions although those chores would probably not transfer as well as "wax on, wax off". The chores are more in line with work, sometimes making the souvenirs to sell to foreigners.

I think that work could be designed as training like in the Karate Kid movie, but I haven't seen it.

The school master does decide when you wake up, what you eat, what you wear, and everything else you do 24/7 while you are at the school. This explains why they call him "master". Because in every way, he is the master on those school grounds.

I spent a month at this type of school and did not enjoy all of it, but it was not that bad. Most of the students hoped to be chosen to work in one of the traveling exhibition shows. The children also took their academic classes at the school as they basically did not ever leave the grounds.

You can still pay to go to one of the old schools and one of your chores will be to teach English as a second language, which is a very marketable skill for someone who enjoys traveling. TESL teachers were not free at this school, but we did get a discount.

There are a few old fashioned schools in the states, but its not quite the same. You don't see this type of school a lot in the states because a lot of Western youngsters rule their parents instead of the other way around. They would not last a day in a school with no TV, telephone, Internet, or video games. Also, if you want hot water, you need to boil it, and there is no toilet tissue.

Westerners generally want all the comforts of home wherever they go, and they don't venture too far from those comforts when they do venture out. Those who do, are thought to be a little odd, but these are the sort of people I call friends.

Answer 2

Karate Kid Training

Answer 3

Many things in the karate kid movies are real, and many made up for cinematic purposes. Many of the old Karate masters of the last century said that karate training occurs in every situation, not just in a dojo... (Both Funakoshi in his book, and Chojun Miyagi commented on this at one time or another) So, in every day life, no matter what you're doing, whether washing cars, or painting a fence, or fishing, you can do it in a way that is karate training.
So, while the specifics of this training is made up, the theory of it is the lifeblood of Karate.

Answer 4

There are a thousand different training methods. Some people can only criticize things they don't understand. If you learn to accept this then please fill me in on how you did it.

The movements in that movie that I recall could easily be transferred to a real situation. Everything that Captain B wrote is correct according to my knowledge.

I also remember the dojo being full to the brim after that movie came out. All I can say is "thanks for the students".

Of course I am just a 67 year old man who has been studying martial arts since before most of these answer people's parents were born, but I guess they are the experts because they read a magazine.

I also enjoyed the movie so don't let anyone get you down. Most of these boys probably don't know their head from their foot anyway. Just picture one of them running down a dark alley afraid of his own shadow. That should get a smile out of you.

This is a very good question.

Answer 5

The wax and paint hand movements can be found in Tie Chi .
It would work as a why to train someone on repatition of the move but I doubt anyone does it.

Answer 6

Just think of it as the asian version of cross training. Since most asians in those days, unlike their western counterparts usually don't have the money to pay for lessons, they earn them by doing chores for their teacher, usually by taking care of his household chores. Of course, some of the more resourceful ones, to make good use of their time, try to incorporate their training with their chores so as to kill two birds with one stone. This is most especially true of chinese martial arts, I remember my grandfather telling me the difference between northern and southern styles of Kung Fu. It wasn't called Wushu(martial arts) back then but Kung Fu(specialized skill), precisely because they were special skills learned in conjunction with the practitioner's trade. Northern Kung Fu was characterized by powerful kicks and long range techniques due to the fact that people who lived there were used to climbing mountains, usually doing chores like carrying firewood and buckets of water up and down hills and developing strong legs. Southern Kung Fu on the other hand was characterized by strong hand techniques and close quarter combat, since most people from the south worked as boatmen along the yangtze river and all that rowing developed strong arms, while balancing on a swaying boat made for good stance training. So it would be logical that if any of these masters were to take on a student, he would be expected to help out with chores and develop skills under the same type of training his teacher had. Of course since most students today can afford to pay for lessons, there is no more need to do chores for the teacher except in some traditional style schools which basically consider the ritual passed down for generations as part of their training traditions. More often than not, these chores have more to do with teaching students humility than on improving their skills. Besides, the western concept of martial arts school which prevails now bears no resemblance to the old asian schools in the past. In asia, especially China and Japan, the students join the school and become part of the teacher's household, basically like indentured servants who earn their food, lodging and lessons by serving their master, his household and whatever business he engages in. Any money they earn is turned over to the master who buys what the school and household needs. Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao were part of such a school, although it was an opera school, the set up was basically the same.

Answer 7

You mean the sand on sand off thing wax on wax off thing.As strange as some of the hand movements in martial arts may appear to non participants they are actually based on natural everyday movements and over the centuries many have noticed the movements in their everyday occupations can be incorporated into their art.

So is the wax on wax off by actually waxing something normal training ?NO MIYAGI was merely making the observation and pointing out to the student that everyday natural movements are better than complicated involved movements in a fight.
Training is everywhere at all times.

The name MIYAGI is quite famous in martial arts he was the founder of GOJU RYU but that is not the person PAT MORITA was portraying.


http://komatsubushi.proboards76.com/index.cgi?board=founders

Answer 8

yeah, it's real, fo sho. i started doing it right after i saw the movie and its helped me become a 4th degree blackbelt and also a master ninja. thank God for that movie!!!!! i owe my life to it.

Answer 9

Are you serious? How many people do you know that learned martial arts by painting and sanding sh*t?

Answer 10

yea go paint a fence and sand a deck, then go get yourself in a fight. oh and dont forget the crane kick. it will destroy your opponent.