In The Karate Kid, Mr. Miyagi teaches Daniel LaRusso karate.
Mr. Miyagi is a Japanese-American maintenance worker and martial-arts expert played by Pat Morita. He agrees to train Daniel after seeing him bullied by students from the Cobra Kai dojo. Early lessons disguised as household chores, including waxing cars and painting fences, teach Daniel defensive movements through repetition.
The film presents karate as a discipline involving patience, balance, self-control, and respect rather than simply fighting. Daniel eventually uses what he has learned at the All-Valley Karate Tournament, where he faces Johnny Lawrence in the final match.
The 1984 movie was directed by John G. Avildsen and written by Robert Mark Kamen. A common mix-up is identifying Mr. Miyagi’s teachings as kung fu, but the film explicitly centers on karate, and the tournament is a karate competition.