Wax On, Wax Off

To say I’m as giddy as a schoolgirl is an understatement. Finally, a Karate Kid reunion has taken place! No...I’m not talking about the sorry excuse for a remake they did in 2010. I’m talking about the classic 1984 version.

Daniel Larusso vs Johnny Lawrence. Wax on, wax off. Paint the fence. Paint the house. Mr. Miyagi. Cobra Kai. The crane kick. So many memories and lessons!

Spoiler alert! Don’t say I didn’t warn you!

The new reboot, Cobra Kai, picks up on Daniel and Johnny some 35 years after the big karate tournament showdown. Yes, I actually cried while watching the series. Nostalgia...and dust in my eyes. Daniel has become a very successful car dealer. Johnny has become an alcoholic who can’t hold down a job.

After an encounter with some punks at a convenience store, and saving the skin of an innocent high school boy, Johnny decides to resurrect the Cobra Kai dojo. His first student: Miguel, the boy he saved.

Miguel, and other social outcasts, is desperate to learn a way to get back at the bullies. The people who use their social and economic status to rule the school and make the lives of those beneath them a living hell. Pranks, social exclusion, public humiliation, social media torment. All the things that happen in schools all over the country right now!

Before long, the Cobra Kai dojo is thriving with hoards of students who are tired of being bullied, sick of being tormented, and desperate to end their life of misery and just gain some respect from their peers. As many victims think, sometimes it’s better to be an unnoticed nobody than to have loads of negative attention.

Leaving out the mental and emotional battles that Johnny fights throughout the series, there is an overwhelming theme that is repeated over and over. The motto of the Cobra Kai. Strike ​ first. Strike hard. No mercy.

Strike first. The way of the fist. If someone confronts you, they are the enemy. Everywhere ​ you go, you are in competition. Life is a competition. If someone isn’t with you, they are against you. So, get them before they can get you.

Strike hard. Take them out right away. Make them respect you. Aim for the face and delicate ​ ​ ​ areas. Make it hurt. Make them afraid of you. The best defense is more offense.

No mercy. Win at all costs. In real life, there are no rules. Whatever it takes. Mercy is for the ​ weak. Don’t be weak. Do not stop until they are not able to function anymore. The students embrace this motto and begin to exert their dominance to retake the school...at the expense of their bullies.

While this is an overarching theme throughout the show, there is one message that is subtle, but is incredibly loud. Mr. Miyagi’s first rule of karate: Karate is for defense only. Only use it ​ ​ if you have to, after all other options have been thoroughly exhausted. Don’t go looking for a fight. It’s not the way to solve your problems.

Before working with a local martial arts school in Fort Worth, TX for a bullying rally, I made sure they embraced the proper principles. Fortunately, they do. De-escalate the conflict using words. Do not be the first to attack. Understand that not everyone is going to be nice. Be ​ ​ resilient.

I love The Karate Kid. I can recite the entire movie, word for word, beginning to end. I am quite thrilled with the new Cobra Kai series. It’s a great reunion and a trip down memory lane. The storyline is great, and full of twists and turns. But, as tends to happen, be careful not to let media influence your decisions and choices.

I’m not telling you to enroll your children in martial arts. I’m not saying that martial arts is the answer. It can be beneficial. Many martial arts students learn and grow in areas of self-confidence, resilience, discipline, and physical fitness. My advice, if you choose to do so, is to carefully choose a program that teaches these things and emphasize the fact that martial arts is for defense only; not seeking revenge.

An ancient Jewish proverb says, “A gentle answer turns away wrath.” Resilience protects the heart. The Golden Rule allows everyone to save face and still extinguish a conflict peacefully.