Mr. Miyagi vs. Yoda
I was a kid during the original Star Wars trilogy. I remember being on the elementary school playground debating things like ‘what would happen if you dropped a lightsaber’, ‘was Darth Vader really Luke’s father?’, and of course the classic, “Why does Luke talk about shooting swamp rats when he lives on a desert planet?”. These things are part of my core psyche… so as episodes 1–3 and later 7–9 came out, I was there for all of it.
Like most everyone my age (a kid for the original trilogy, late 20’s / early 30’s for episodes 1–3), I found the prequels… wanting. But I remember one particular moment when the theatre was going nuts for a Yoda fight scene which I found particularly disappointing. Let me explain…
While not as big a deal as Star Wars, the Karate Kid movies were certainly a big deal in this Gen-Xer’s formative years. The parallels between Yoda and Mr. Miyagi were not lost on me… Both are examples of the Sage archetype.
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For your consideration in the point I’m about to make, I present this scene from Karate Kid III.
Notice the choreography for Mr. Miyagi. His fighting is… subdued but powerful. He waits for others to attack, then uses their momentum against them. He never strikes first, but waits in anticipation, ready for their aggression. You can almost believe this old guy can win in a 3-against-1 fight involving much younger people. (I was shocked to find out Pat Morita was only 57 when that scene was filmed. It is really strange being the same age as old people).
Now consider this scene from Star Wars Episode 2: Attack of the Clones.
Do you see it? When the lightsabers flare, I was expecting Yoda to fight like Mr. Miyagi. He should use Count Dooku’s own momentum against him. He should redirect the “force” Dooku uses right back in his face. Instead, he throws down his cane and starts doing back flips and summersaults off the walls… WTF? The audience may have cheered, but I was disappointed. I wanted to see the character I had loved my whole life embody the wisdom he taught Luke on Dagobah… things like ““To answer power with power, the Jedi way this is not”, and ““Control, control, you must learn control!”, and “You will know (the good from the bad) when you are calm, at peace. Passive. A Jedi uses the Force for knowledge and defense, never for attack.”. Mr. Miyagi embodied more of Yoda’s philosophy than Yoda himself did when the chips were down.
I’m going to use this as a metaphor in a few upcoming posts about software engineering and project management. I hope you’ll join me.
