The Karate Kid

We recently introduced our kids to the 1980s classic, The Karate Kid.  Such a good movie!  As a child in the 1980s I watched this movie several times but it has been several years, if not more than a decade, since I last saw it.  My 6 year old has just started dabbling in martial arts, taking her first lessons this spring so she was particularly interested in seeing the movie.  It's a movie, so yes, it's portrayal of karate is almost certainly way off base, but it's still a good movie!

As the movie concluded I was surprised at how quickly the movie came to an end.  I'd say a spoiler alert is coming, but this movie came out in 1984, so spoiler alerts don't apply.  :-)  There's the crane kick, and two seconds later credits are rolling!  LOL!  Gotta love the 1980s!

Fun fact one:  Pat Morita, who plays Mr. Miyagi, started his career as a stand up comedian!  If you pay attention this comes out in some of his lines.

Fun fact two:  William Zabka, who plays Johnny, the "bad guy" so to speak, had several cameos in the fantastic TV series How I Met Your Mother, in which he played himself. 

Fun fact three:  For all parents out there wanting to feel older, the 1984 release of The Karate Kid was closer in years to the end of the Korean War than present day is to the release of The Karate Kid.  Have fun with that one!