The Karate Kid Part II

The Karate Kid Part II is an American film from 1986. It was directed by John G. Avildsen, who also made the first film, and the screenplay was written by Robert Mark Kamen. It is the second film in the series after The Karate Kid from 1984. The sequel The Karate Kid Part III followed in 1989. Mr. Miyagi receives a letter saying that his father is dying, and he returns to his home village on Okinawa. He is accompanied by his student Daniel. On Okinawa, Miyagi is caught up by an old feud with his former friend Sato, who has become a wealthy industrialist. His trawlers have ruined the villagers. Sato's nephew Chozen also enters the tension between the two men. According to Wikipedia, the film presents Okinawan Goju-ryu karate. The character of Mr. Miyagi bears the name of Chojun Miyagi, the founder of this style, as confirmed by screenwriter Kamen, who himself studied karate under a Japanese instructor. He also named the karate practitioner Fumio Demura as one of the inspirations for the character. Chozen is played by Yuji Okumoto. At the time of filming he was 27 years old and held a brown belt in karate, but in the Chito-ryu style, not in Goju-ryu, which the film presents. He also studied judo and the basics of taekwondo. The chief referee of the tournament is played by Pat E. Johnson, a holder of the 9th dan in Tang Soo Do and a student of Chuck Norris. He was the stunt coordinator on the first film, and in 1968 he drew up the scoring system of tournament karate.

Martial arts in this work

Origin

Okinawa was filmed in Hawaii. Principal photography ran from 23 September to 20 December 1985 on the windward northeastern side of the island of Oahu. According to Wikipedia, the modern Okinawan landscape has been transformed by military bases, so the filmmakers built the village from scratch on private land: seven replicas of Okinawan houses and over three acres of fields with crops were created. Fifty residents of Hawaii born on Okinawa were cast as extras.

Fact and fiction

The core of Miyagi's teaching in the film is the so-called drum technique. Miyagi shows Daniel the secret of his family karate on the den-den daiko, a hand-turned drum whose beads swing back and forth as it turns. The drum's movement illustrates a counterstrike karate movement that Daniel begins to learn. The technique belongs to film fiction. It was invented by the screenwriter, and we did not find in the sources any evidence that it is a traditional karate technique, whether in Goju-ryu, which the film presents, or in another style.

People and martial arts

• John G. AvildsenDirector
• Yuji OkumotoActor — as Chozen Toguchi· Goju-ryu (portrays the art on screen)
• Pat E. JohnsonActor — as hlavní rozhodčí turnaje· Tang Soo Do (real practitioner)
• Pat MoritaActor — as Mr. Miyagi· Goju-ryu (portrays the art on screen)
• Ralph MacchioActor — as Daniel LaRusso· Karate (portrays the art on screen)

Series