# The Real Mister Miyagi?



## Darrencowan (Feb 2, 2017)

I'm not sure if Mr. Miyagi from the karate kid was truly inspired by this dude, but Miyagi of real life Goju Ryu was a legend.  For one, he was not a stranger to hard ship.  He knew terrible hardships, but he never gave in and always kept his focus of balancing hard with soft.  I discovered him through Black Belt magazine a long time ago.  The article said he could launch is toe through a steel coffe can.  Dang.

Grandmaster Chojun Miyagi | Family Karate Center


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## JR 137 (Feb 2, 2017)

I could pick any of the old-school masters/founders, I think I'd train under Chojun Miyagi.  Not any particular reason why, but I think I've read more from his students training under him than anyone else.

As an FYI, the Mr. Miyagi character was inspired by Fumio Demura.  Pat Morita spent some time with him before and during filming.  Miyagi was used as a tribute to Chojun Miyagi; the writer (I think, maybe producer?) was a Goju student.


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## Darrencowan (Feb 2, 2017)

thank you for the insight


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## JR 137 (Feb 2, 2017)

Here's an interview with one of Miyagi's students...

Meitoku Yagi


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## RTKDCMB (Feb 3, 2017)

Darrencowan said:


> The article said he could launch is toe through a steel coffe can.


That's a strange way to drink your morning coffee.


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## ShortBridge (Feb 3, 2017)

Elisabeth Shue...I'm just saying.


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## Darrencowan (Feb 3, 2017)

ShortBridge said:


> Elisabeth Shue...I'm just saying.



just sayin what, lol


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## ShortBridge (Feb 3, 2017)

You're clearly not a child of the 80s, or it would not require an explanation. For men of a certain age, "Elisabeth Shue" is a complete, declarative statement and the appropriate response is a nod of agreement.


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## Darrencowan (Feb 3, 2017)

ShortBridge said:


> You're clearly not a child of the 80s, or it would require not explanation. For men of a certain age, "Elisabeth Shue" is a complete, declarative statement and the appropriate response is a nod of agreement.



hahahahah, hilarious. Nope, I am from the '80s and I prefer the first Weird Science chick.  The one that Steven Segal beat up, his wife, she is also on Futurama and Married with Hormones.


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## ShortBridge (Feb 3, 2017)

Kelly LeBrock...tough to argue with that logic.

That gets you a sideways head tilt and a knowing look of respect.


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## punisher73 (Feb 10, 2017)

There is a very good documentary on Netflix called "The Real Mr. Miyagi" about Fumio Demura.  It is very good and talks about the Karate Kid connection.

I'm not sure who I would pick over Shue or LeBrock at their peaks.  

Uechi-Ryu still practices the "toe kick" and conditions their toes to kick with as a striking weapon.  The majority of the styles switched to using the ball of the foot for their kicks exclusively even though it used to be common in all of the okinawan styles of karate.


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## hoshin1600 (Feb 10, 2017)

Kelly VS Elisabeth is comparing apples and oranges. Kelly is like super model status "she's out of my league ".  the thing about Elisabeth was that she had a aura of attainable, like yeah I could date her.  The problem is that as we age (the movie is over thirty years ago) it gets kinda creepy to be thinking about a 16 year old karate kid Elisabeth Shue.


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## KabutoKouji (Feb 10, 2017)

I believe the guy who wrote the original script practiced Goju-Ryu so I would say the choice of name is not accidental


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## ShortBridge (Feb 10, 2017)

hoshin1600 said:


> Kelly VS Elisabeth is comparing apples and oranges. Kelly is like super model status "she's out of my league ".  the thing about Elisabeth was that she had a aura of attainable, like yeah I could date her.  The problem is that as we age (the movie is over thirty years ago) it gets kinda creepy to be thinking about a 16 year old karate kid Elisabeth Shue.



I'm so glad we're working through this. 

The thing is that Ms. Shue has aged beautifully and stayed adorable to this day, as far as I know. 

Weird Science, on the other hand, was a movie about computer magic and pedophilia to begin with...and fast forwarding 30 years doesn't really help all that much.


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## punisher73 (Feb 10, 2017)

hoshin1600 said:


> Kelly VS Elisabeth is comparing apples and oranges. Kelly is like super model status "she's out of my league ".  the thing about Elisabeth was that she had a aura of attainable, like yeah I could date her.  The problem is that as we age (the movie is over thirty years ago) it gets kinda creepy to be thinking about a 16 year old karate kid Elisabeth Shue.



Thus my comment about when they were at their best.  It is creeping thinking about a 16 year old Elisabeth Shue.

I always picture here from "The Saint" (age 34)






Kelly LeBrock would have been about 30 in Weird Science.


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## ShortBridge (Feb 10, 2017)

This may be the best conversation I've ever had on MartialTalk. 

If it helps, Ms. Shue was 21 years old when Karate Kid was released, probably 20 when it was filmed. But, to your point, we think of her as 16 when we see that movie. I was 16 in 1984, so if I think of it as a memory of the 80s, I'm clean. Side note, this is what's wrong with 16 year old boys. Our image of 16 year old girls was actually based on 20 year old girls pretending to be 16 year old girls...but I digress.

So I invite you think back about Karate Kid the same way that you think back about you in the 80s (assuming that you are a man of a certain age) and if instead of ending after 90 minutes, Karate Kid had continued and paralleled our lives from there - there is really no point at which either that character Ali or the actress Elisabeth Shue doesn't appeal to me. I contend that she is nothing short of delightful.

(putting aside the fact that they had her crash the fake Mr. Miyagi's car and abandoning Daniel-san to set up KK2)


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## Transk53 (Feb 10, 2017)

For me, weird science was just nerdy. The two films I remember them both as a first memory is Hard To Kill and Cocktail. The latter being a brilliant film. I was 17 when that came out, and Ms Shue was a understated piece of eye candy. Yeah sounds really bad, but I mean that in lovely sense, but real beauty. A cracking bird.


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## JR 137 (Feb 10, 2017)

Transk53 said:


> For me, weird science was just nerdy. The two films I remember them both as a first memory is Hard To Kill and Cocktail. The latter being a brilliant film. I was 17 when that came out, and Ms Shue was a understated piece of eye candy. Yeah sounds really bad, but I mean that in lovely sense, but real beauty. A cracking bird.



My first memory of Kelly LeBrock was The Woman in Red.  Not sure if that came out before Weird Science or not, but I remember seeing Weird Science for the first time and hoping she'd show what she did in The Woman in Red   My brothers and I saw it on HBO when we were too young to watch HBO without parental supervision.  We'd sneak into the living room and watch HBO on the weekends after our parents went to bed.


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## Transk53 (Feb 11, 2017)

JR 137 said:


> My first memory of Kelly LeBrock was The Woman in Red.  Not sure if that came out before Weird Science or not, but I remember seeing Weird Science for the first time and hoping she'd show what she did in The Woman in Red   My brothers and I saw it on HBO when we were too young to watch HBO without parental supervision.  We'd sneak into the living room and watch HBO on the weekends after our parents went to bed.



Ah yes, I remember the song that Chris De Burgh had in the UK charts for ages. Not if it had any connection to the film though as it was Lady in Red. Am I right in thinking that HBO was a cable channel. But yes I used to do the same with UK telly, although I don't remember what I would have watched, but after what we call the watershed for more adult content, I probably saw some racey things lol.


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## JR 137 (Feb 11, 2017)

Transk53 said:


> Ah yes, I remember the song that Chris De Burgh had in the UK charts for ages. Not if it had any connection to the film though as it was Lady in Red. Am I right in thinking that HBO was a cable channel. But yes I used to do the same with UK telly, although I don't remember what I would have watched, but after what we call the watershed for more adult content, I probably saw some racey things lol.



HBO is an additional charge channel.  Not much programming for kids, let alone late night on Friday and Saturday.  It was one of those forbidden things to kids in the US in the early-mid 80s.


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## hoshin1600 (Feb 11, 2017)

Transk53 said:


> d. Am I right in thinking that HBO was a cable channel


How do you not know HBO. It's still around, its the channel the sopranos were on.


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## JR 137 (Feb 11, 2017)

hoshin1600 said:


> How do you not know HBO. It's still around, its the channel the sopranos were on.



He's in the U.K.


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## Transk53 (Feb 11, 2017)

hoshin1600 said:


> How do you not know HBO. It's still around, its the channel the sopranos were on.



Plus I don't have Sky TV, which I think it is part of a package.


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## ShortBridge (Feb 11, 2017)

Gentlemen, gentleman! You're derailing this thread. 

It's not supposed to be about cable TV channels, it's supposed to be about actresses that we liked in the 80s.


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