Daily Dialogue — July 29, 2014
Daniel: I’m being your goddamned slave, is what I’m doing. We had a deal.
Miyagi: So?
Daniel: So, you’re supposed to teach and I’m supposed to learn, remember? It’s four days and I haven’t learned a goddamned thing.
Miyagi: Learn plenty.
Daniel: Yea, how to sand your deck, how to wax your cars, how to paint your house…
Miyagi: Not everything is as looks, you know.
Daniel: Bullshit.
Miyagi: Danielsan.
Daniel stalks off.
Miyagi: Danielsan! Come here.
Daniel grits his teeth, but obeys, returning to stand before the old man, sullen and distant.
Miyagi: Show me wax on, wax off.
Daniel doesn’t move.
Miyagi: Show.
Daniel: I can’t lift my arms.
Miyagi feels around Daniel’s shoulder for a moment. He rubs his hands together back and forth, very fast, then applies them to Daniel’s shoulder, one on either side, pressing hard.
Daniel: Ow.
Miyagi: Now show.
Daniel does as he is told. To his surprise, the pain is gone. Miyagi fixes the angle of his elbow, tucking it in.
Daniel: How’d you do that?
Miyagi: Show. Left right. Left right. Left right.
Daniel catches the rhythm, making perfect half circles. Without warning Miyagi throws a chest punch. Before Daniel realizes it, his half circle intercepts the punch and deflects it effortlessly. His eyes find Miyagi’s. His face lights up. Miyagi remains emotionless.
Miyagi: Sand floor.
Daniel does what he told. Miyagi makes the right corrections so that his hands circle down. The old man shoots a half-speed kick to Daniel’s stomach. Daniel deflects it smoothly.
Miyagi: Paint fence.
Daniel is eager, quick to comply. Miyagi makes a small adjustment, Daniel keeps painting. Miyagi throws a head punch. On the upswing, Daniel’s wrist deflects the punch. Miyagi throws a stomach punch. Daniel’s downstroke deflects it perfectly.
Miyagi: Side side.
Daniel needs no promting. As he draws his hand side to side he deflects two rapid fire punches from the stone faced old man.
Miyagi: Look eyes.
Daniel’s eyes lock onto Miyagi’s.
Miyagi: Wax on.
Miyagi fires a chest punch. Daniel deflects it easily.
Miyagi: Wax off.
Again, the block is there.
Miyagi: Paint up.
Miyagi fires hard for the head. Daniel’s snapping block is there to meet the attack.
Miyagi: Down.
Daniel’s palm heel crashes into Miyagi’s fist.
Miyagi: Side.
He punches. Daniel blocks.
Miyagi: Side.
Daniel’s block snaps into place.
Miyagi: Sand.
Daniel sweeps two kicks out of the way.
Miyagi: On off.
The punches come faster. The blocks are right there. Suddenly, at the height of the exercise, Miyagi stops. Daniel, breathing hard, elated, waits for more. Miyagi picks up his fish.
Miyagi: Come tomorrow.
He turns abruptly and enters the house, slamming the door behind him before Daniel can say another word.
— The Karate Kid (1984), written by Robert Mark Kamen
The Daily Dialogue theme for the week: Teaching. Today’s suggestion by David Proenza.
Trivia: Former screenwriter Dennis Palumbo has said that he was offered the screen writing job for the film but reacted to the offer by saying he’d be “willing to do it if he (the title character, Daniel Larusso) lost the fight in the end.” Palumbo explained his reasoning: “You can’t have Mr. Miyagi tell him, ‘It doesn’t matter if you win or lose,’ for 90 minutes and then have to have him win.” Palumbo went on to say, “But that’s because I was being a moron… Now, they made four sequels to that movie, so obviously I was wrong.” (Palumbo’s remarks appear in Tales from the Script (2009).)
Dialogue On Dialogue: Commentary by David: “The best education are the ones you don’t realize are taught. In one of the greatest scenes ever, Daniel quickly realizes what Miyagi was doing all along. I mean, c’mon, who didn’t want their own Mr. Miyagi in the 80s? He was up there with Gizmo and Doc Brown (and Phoebe Cates).”
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