Wax On, Wax Off

Wax on, right hand. Wax off, left hand. Wax on, wax off. Breathe in through nose, out the mouth. Wax on, wax off. Don’t forget to breathe, very important. - Mr. Miyagi

One of the most famous scenes in the Karate kid is the wax on, wax off scene. Here, Mr. Miyagi instructs Daniel LaRusso to clean his car. Wax on, wax off. Daniel protests, What does this have to do with my training?” He later realizes that these are the fundamental karate movements.

So often, we want to rush and learn the sexy stuff. The punches, the kicks, the combos. But to get to the sexy stuff, we have to learn the fundamentals first, which are often not sexy.

This is relevant when learning anything whether it be physics, programming, or writing. Focus on the fundamentals first. Wax on, wax off.

February 16, 2022


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