It had been a long week. I was still sick with flu. I wasn’t keen to go out. A perfect time to catch up on some “me time”, I thought. So I passed by Mr Video to grab some DVDs to watch. I got there and their “new arrivals” section was full of old movies. How ironic! I’d seen most of them. Yes, I’m a film fanatic.
I wanted to get the Sorcerer’s Apprentice, but they were all out. Usually when I don’t find my first choice, I quit. But lately I’ve been daring myself to do things that I don’t usually do, such as patience, Plan B, and getting out of my comfort zone. Operation Change. So I decided to look around for something else.
It’s Complicated? No, I have it at home.
Jennifer’s Body? ... No thank you. I hadn’t seen it; I’ve seen the trailer and read the reviews. It’s time will come, maybe not. If it was Trey’s Body or something like that I’d definitely give it a try.
Move on.
Karate Kid? Who wants to watch Karate Kid on a Friday night? I wanted something that’s action packed, something graphically appealing to the eye and unapologetically dramatic. I wanted to laugh a bit, cry a bit, get shocked, suspended, and yet entertained.
Fifteen minutes later I got home. Prepared the popcorn, coach, pillows and my favourite blanket – it used to belong to my mom.
Guess what I got?
Karate Kid – starring Jaden Smith as Dre Parker and Jackie Chan as Mr Han. Yep. Now, this, is what I call Plan C.
The movie is about an American boy who moves to China with his mother. She’s transferred to work there. His dad passed away when he was nine. He is now 12. The boy hates it there. To make matters worse, he is bullied and beaten up by a group of Chinese boys. Fed up and determined to “kick their a**es “, he gets himself a trainer – Mr Han.
I’ve seen other versions of Karate Kid when I was younger. I loved karate movies. Maybe it was because I also did karate in my junior years. Pretty predictable stuff, one would think. The good guy always wins at the end, right?
There are aspects that I look for in a film. I scrutinise. I study the whole piece. And did I get impressed by this one? Well, I was moved beyond my limited expectations. There are some important life lessons woven in the action and the dialogue. The movie is more that just an American boy who moves to and learns Karate in China. It’s about adapting, change, standing up to fear and earning respect.
We can all see the same picture but see very different images.
Here is what I took out from Karate Kid:
· No matter how badly life beats you up, you always have a choice to get back up or stay down.
· True friendships survive all.
· People will always find a reason (even the slightest thing) to hate you or make your life miserable, but no matter what, stay true because the real problem here lies with them.
· Don’t take any task for granted, some of the greatest lessons in life are learnt from the things you really hate to do.
· Whatever you do, do it cheerfully, with a smile, attitude matters. You don’t know when the camera is going to snap. You won’t like to see your frowning face on a picture.
· Focus, focus focus.
· Fear is part of human nature. Face it until you don’t feel the fear anymore.
· Everyone has battles of their own. Reach out, go ahead and make someone’s day.
· A certain skill does not belong to people of a certain calibre. You too can own it if you work hard at it.
No matter who you are, where you are or what you do, at one point in life fear creeps in and a phenomenon called change threatens to pull the carpet you’re standing on. A comfort zone suddenly becomes a danger zone. The clock ticks and something has got to give.
Well, I didn’t expect it, but Karate Kid gave me everything I wanted and more. Now that, is what I call a movie with “a moral of the story”.
What pains me is that I don’t need coaching. I know what I’m passionate about. I know what I’m supposed to be doing. I know what I want to do. I already know what I like and enjoy doing. I know what it is that I’d like to do every morning when I wake up. I know what it is, that thing, that I would not mind waking up at 4am for. I don’t need to do a test to know what my strong points are. I don’t need to do a survey via a link on some career coaching website to know what I’m good at. I already know. But still, I do nothing about it. 
I know what tickles my fancy. I know the flavour of my favourite cup ‘o tea. I know what my cherry on top would be. I know the path I want to take. I know where I want to go. I know where the bus station is, how much the bus costs. But still, I stand motionless.
