31 Dec Miyagi Wisdom – 3 Powerful Ideas From The Karate Kid Series to Take Into 2021

In order to properly launch into the hit series “Cobra Kai” (season three comes out tomorrow… wooo!), I decided to go back and watch all of the original Karate Kid movies. It took me a few days to get through the series but I thoroughly enjoyed them. 

I gained much inspiration from the late Pat Morita’s Mr. Miyagi character. His sage advice and steadying presence was my favorite element in the entire series. 

So besides wanting to redeem those precious binge watching hours for something beyond the function of leisure, I wanted to dive into one poignant quote from each of the three original movies given to us by Mr. Miyagi himself. 

Remaining true to the voice of the character, I’ll copy the quote as it was originally stated without amending the broken english. Then, I’ll share why each of the quotes resonated with me.

From Karate Kid I: “You remember lesson about balance? Lesson not just karate only. Lesson for whole life. Whole life have a balance. Everything be better. Understand?”

Yes, Mr. Miyagi… I definitely understand… which is why my word for 2021 is “Balance”. The first Karate Kid movie brings this idea of balance back around when it’s main character and Miyagi protege, Daniel LaRusso, is forced to balance on one leg after an injury during the final match. It is this balance that enables Daniel to pull off the now iconic crane kick to win his first All-Valley Karate Championship against Johnny Lawrence and Cobra Kai.

Balance was required for Daniel to be successful in his young karate career. I’m feeling the gravity of the truth that balance is going to be needed in order for me to continue to embrace the life that I want. 

To make this concept even a bit more personal, I’m learning that one of the toughest obstacles to my ability to achieve the balance I want is my ability to use the word “no”. It isn’t saying “no” to the clearly detrimental things that is most difficult, although these detrimental things do present their own challenges. For me, the most difficult application of “no” is saying “no” to the good things in favor of the best things.

In his best-selling book Good To Great, Jim Collins presents us with this idea: 

“Good is the enemy of great. And that is one of the key reasons why we have so little that becomes great. We don’t have great schools, principally because we have good schools. We don’t have great government, principally because we have good government. Few people attain great lives, in large part because it is just so easy to settle for a good life.”

Looking forward to 2021 and beyond, it is my desire to build a life of greatness. In order to do this, I’m challenging myself to use the word “no” to create better balance in my life.

From Karate Kid II: “Never put passion before principle. Even if win, you lose.”

Oh boy… this one’s a doozy! This is my favorite quote of the entire series. This quote encapsulates a huge passion of mine which I would call learning to live a proficient life. The wisdom in this quote is an essential element to living a life of honor.

By definition, the word “passion” is a “strong and barely controllable emotion”. A passion is a feeling. So you could rephrase this quote to say, “Never put feelings before your principles.” 

What are principles? They are the changeless constants that guide us towards what we value most. In the case of Karate Kid II, Mr. Miyagi was explaining why he chose not to fight a man in order to get a woman that he was passionate about. His principles dictated that karate should only be used in defense. Mr. Miyagi was willing to leave his family, village, and the woman that he loved in order to keep the priority of principle in its proper place. 

Now I realize that this is a fictional situation, but on a more practical level, how many times do we put our feelings ahead of our principles? We know that the principle of going to bed at a decent hour leads to the value of better rest and more energy for the forthcoming day. Yet we violate this principle because we feel like staying up later. We all know that eating a balanced (there’s that word again) diet and exercising regularly leads to a healthier relationship with our bodies, which we all value. However, we practice ordering that extra cheeseburger and elect to spend hours on Netflix instead of working out because we feel like it. We know we shouldn’t spend countless hours on social media but we engage it without boundaries because we feel like it. 

The examples are endless and we all violate them from time to time. But what if we could build a reputation around being people that actively practice keeping our principles ahead of our passions/feelings? Those are the people we admire. Those are the greatest among us. Those that serve themselves and others well, even and precisely, when they don’t feel like it.

This quote embodies the person I want to be in such a profound way!

From Karate Kid III: “It’s ok lose to opponent. Must not lose to fear!”

Another gem! In this scene, our man Danny is back in the ring to defend his title at the All-Valley Championship. His opponent has succeeded at intimidating him. Daniel is contemplating giving up and quitting his match when Miyagi drops this quote on him.

When I heard this quote, the first thing I thought of was my response to the jam session environment when I first moved to Los Angeles. There was a natural fear associated with getting up to play my instrument in this hostile, seemingly competitive musical environment in front of a room full of people who don’t know me. I’d be lying if I said that this environment isn’t still nerve racking. After hearing world-renowned keyboardist Cory Henry talk about a similar fear, I feel a bit more confident in facing the reality of its presence in my life. 

This quote reminded me that playing and sounding bad in these environments isn’t the loss. The loss is when I allow fear to keep me from even trying. If we let it, fear robs us of the opportunity to take chances and experience the positive side of risk. When I really examine the way I look at the world, if things go well when I overcome fear then I get encouraged. If things don’t go well then I get a front row seat to learn something valuable. Choosing to run from an opportunity out of fear really is the only way to lose.

Heading into 2021, I’m grateful to take these three ideas from the original Karate Kid trilogy: pursue balance, prioritize principle, and conquer fear.

What are your favorite moments of the Karate Kid series? Are you gonna be binge-watching Cobra Kai season three with me on New Years Day? Do you have any thoughts on these or other quotes from the movies? I want to hear from y’all. Hit me up in the comments, DM, and as always, don’t forget to share, like, and subscribe.