All 4 steps of Mr. Miyagi’s training in Karate Kid explained

Perhaps one of the most iconic aspects of The Karate Kids story is Mr. Miyagi’s unconventional training methods by Daniel LaRusso. Mr. Miyagi was always a wise and inspiring presence in The Karate Kid Franchise, sticking with Daniel through many trials and tribulations. This presence even continued after Miyagi’s death in the story of Cobra Kai Season 6, the final installment in the spin-off television series of The Karate Kid.

As the biggest questions of Cobra KaiThe ending is finally answered, as are some lingering mysteries left behind by Daniel’s old master. in truth, Cobra Kai and other installments of the franchise, including the upcoming one Karate Kid reboot, have only improved upon the original 1984 film in retrospect. One scene that never needed improvement, however, was Daniel practicing Mr. Miyagi’s unusual training methods which, at first, seemed like a way to trick the former into doing chores for the latter.

Day one: Waxing Miyagi’s cars

The basics of karate self-defense

The first day of Daniel’s training with Mr. Miyagi involved the waxing of the latest cars. Mr. Miyagi’s home has several vehicles, each of which has seen better days. As such, Daniel’s first job is to grow the cars, something he initially perceives as something slave work. However, it is quickly revealed that Miyagi’s methods are a way of imbuing Daniel with muscle memory that gives him the basics of self-defense in karate, proving the master to be as smart as his age suggests.

The waxing of Miyagi’s cars saw Daniel repeatedly swing his arms outward, something Miyagi later puts into practice. After Daniel loses his temper, Miyagi tells him to wax the cars. As Daniel does this, Miyagi tries to hit him. Daniel’s muscle memory kicks in, and the outward motion of waxing the cars allows Daniel to block and redirect the heat. This showcases to Daniel that the study of Miyagi was not all for personal gain under the guise of training, but that the forms of karate can be learned through what are seemingly the most important tasks.

Day two: Sanding the wooden floors

Daniel’s second day teaches him about defensive kicks

After the long first day of waxing cars, Miyagi’s training of Daniel extends into another test for the headstrong student. The second day involves another household job: sanding the wooden floors around Miyagi’s house. This is when Daniel quickly begins to lose his temper with the master, as he does not yet understand how such tasks help him. Nevertheless, Daniel listens to Miyagi and spends his second day crawling around the wooden decks, sanding them until they are perfect.

Later in the week, when Daniel’s temper got the better of him, as was shown to be the case in Cobra Kai Season 6 Amidst Miyagi’s absence, the truth of the sanding exercises comes to light. After proving to Daniel that the wax-on wax-off movements taught him self-defense of the upper body, Miyagi showcase how the sanding of the wooden floors has the same effect for the protection of the lower body. As Daniel repeats the process of sanding the floors, he begins to block various kicks Miyagi throws in his direction.

Day Three: Painting a fence

Daniel’s self-defense grows

The third day of Daniel’s training involves, to no surprise, another seemingly meaningless task. this time, Daniel is asked to paint the fence of Mr. Miyagi’s garden in a specific up-and-down motion. Daniel spends another whole day doing this, becoming even more tired of Miyagi’s apparent inability to teach him any karate. As Daniel moves his arms endlessly up and down, he is not aware that he is learning another form of self-defense from karate attacks.

This again proves Daniel’s insistence that Miyagi is still no karate master. Miyagi shows Daniel how waxing the cars and sanding the floors has helped him, before doing the same for painting the fence. Miyagi’s blows are again blocked by Daniel, who moves his hands up and down in the same motion as his painting, using his wrist and forearm to push the punches out of the way.

Day four: Painting Miyagi’s house

The last step in Daniel’s karate origins

The conclusion of Daniel’s training montage begins on day four with the painting of Miyagi’s house. This is shown as the straw that breaks the camel’s back for Daniel, as he sees it as yet another job-like job that will not help him in any way. Regardless, He decides to trust Miyagi one last time and begins to paint the old man’s house, only with a distinct side-to-side motion. As opposed to the up-and-down of the fence painting.

As mentioned, the four days of chores cause Daniel to finally blow. He criticizes Miyagi and tries to leave before Miyagi demonstrates how the first three days helped him acquire the muscle memory needed for karate. Finally, the painting-the-house movements prove to Daniel that they are another way to block and redirect strikes. What began as menial tasks that Daniel did not believe in became the key to the titular character beginning his journey as The Karate Kid.