Welcome to Inkbunny...
Allowed ratings
To view member-only content, create an account. ( Hide )
ZhuXiao

Movie Myths: The Karate Kid

Many people think the kid in the movie learns Kung Fu and not Karate from his master however they are wrong. Okinawan Te Form Karate also known as The Hand Of God has several similarities to Kung Fu including the famous Raised Stance from Crane and circling deflective swipes that resemble the countering grasps of Chinese Wrestling, referred to as Wax On / Wax Off in the movie and often mistaken as being from Wing Chun due to Bruce Lee's use of them in his variant of the style. All of the moves that both the kid and his master do is 100% Karate.

Where the confusion might arise is that American Karate is about 70% Taekwondo and not actual Karate. This is due to influences from martial arts champions in the 60s and 70s such Chuck Norris who used Taekwondo because the highest scoring attack in competitions is a kick to the head and Taekwondo in particular has a very high focus on this.

In fact if you look carefully you might notice that the rival Karate school in the Karate Kid actually teaches Taekwondo and not Karate. As well as certain identifiable unique moves to Taekwondo especially in the tournament fight at the end, the decor of the dojo is Korean, not Japanese and the outfits and belts the teacher and students wear is using the Korean grading system instead of the Japanese. Most likely they found an actual Taekwondo school to help them with the movie and thought nobody could tell the difference.

Mr.Miiaki (Okinawan spelling of the name) himself has a very Okinawan name, which many mistake for the Chinese name Miang. The two names have completely different origins. Miang is a name given to people from the Miang region in China where as Miiaki literally translates as "Old Goat" in Okinawan Japanese which was originally a nickname for a troublesome old man (obviously intentional in this movie) that became a pet name and eventually a family name in the Okinawan region.

Many of the Okinawan people served in wars during the communist period as Miiaki had done and the socialist period as Miiaki's son did at the cost of his life. However the Okinawa region itself was opposed to the wars and was forced to fight for Japan due to conscription. They were never supporters of the Nazi side and really hate it when they are grouped together the rest of Japan in this respect. Okinawa was even responsible for aiding America in taking over Japan during World War 2.

Okinawa and mainland Japan do not see eye to eye. There have been several wars between them. Okinawa still doesn't see itself as being part of Japan at all. In their eyes they are an independent country sat between Japan and China. If you call an Okinawan person Japanese they tend to get all offended and point out that they are Okinawan as Miiaki did in the movie.
Viewed: 43 times
Added: 6 years, 4 months ago
 
JohnSamer98
6 years, 4 months ago
Also Okinawan people don't like you calling it Okinawa. The "wa" part means region. Okinawan people just call it Okina because then it sounds more like the name of a country. Also they might pronounce it Utchinnar because Okina is a mainland slur on the name.

Okinawa is the birthplace of Japanese steel, the katana and ninjas and has a long ancestry with the Anbu, the tribal natives who lived in Japan before it was conquered by the invading Chinese forces during the reign of Emperor Qin Shi Huang. Okinawa is most famous for freeing Japan from their oppressive ruler Nobunaga and his Orochi Warriors whilst under the command of Hanzo Hitori and his Azure Dragons. All of these things have limitless legends about them and have inspired a lot of anime and manga.
ZhuXiao
6 years, 4 months ago
okay but that's more than needed to be said about okinawa
TheCreepingGecko
6 years, 3 months ago
i knew it was karate.
internet are idiots.
TetsujinShi
6 years, 3 months ago
i knew this
RobotSue2
6 years, 3 months ago
yep
Evolve
6 years, 3 months ago
i know about godhand already so
AshJubei
5 years, 11 months ago
wer
DLish
5 years, 11 months ago
Cool
YATF
5 years, 11 months ago
wer
AloeVera
5 years, 11 months ago
you and jay know all about martial arts history.

do you argue over facts?
NuUran
5 years, 11 months ago
jay doesn't know shit
MissBeauFae
5 years, 11 months ago
werku
ChaoWalker
5 years, 11 months ago
i knew these
RENISHKAH
5 years, 11 months ago
uchiha is weird
PapaMumrick
5 years, 11 months ago
wer
Kokonotsu
5 years, 11 months ago
ku
AD0RAHE4RT
5 years, 11 months ago
i'm learning
Kukiimon
5 years, 11 months ago
true
Wellx3
5 years, 11 months ago
wfr
NegaNyx
5 years, 11 months ago
mehwfr
UltimateVersus
5 years, 11 months ago
wfr
RubberJohn
5 years, 11 months ago
any more facts
LockedDoor
5 years, 11 months ago
knew it
PeteyWave
5 years, 11 months ago
whe
BredUndZurbMon
5 years, 11 months ago
ew facts
EdwardScissorwield
5 years, 11 months ago
wer
TheWispyOracle
5 years, 11 months ago
wfr
QuadTails
5 years, 11 months ago
oo
Zorball
5 years, 11 months ago
oh
LatexWaterbed
5 years, 11 months ago
gdtuno
Uir
Uir
5 years, 11 months ago
informative
DavidusSnake
5 years, 11 months ago
ohok
NomyNoms
5 years, 11 months ago
true
ParodyBeik
5 years, 11 months ago
ermok
MisterBalsh
5 years, 11 months ago
k
SmoothCriminal
5 years, 11 months ago
wer
ZolaDole
5 years, 11 months ago
yap
MiaMon
5 years, 11 months ago
yap
ChellEdge
5 years, 10 months ago
uhuh
Tyranid
5 years, 10 months ago
tresy
SemIna
5 years, 10 months ago
ok
New Comment:
Move reply box to top
Log in or create an account to comment.