Though he was never a student of karate, he learned all that was required for the films.

Was Pat Morita a real martial artist?

You may not know it, but Morita’s iconic character was, in fact, based on a real-life martial arts guru named Fumio Demura.

What martial arts did Pat Morita know?

When The Karate Kid began production, Ralph Macchio (Daniel), William Zabka (Johnny), and Pat Morita (Mr. Miyagi) didn’t know any martial arts. Zabka had some background in wrestling but that was it.