Catching Flies

Watch this scene from the original "Karate Kid":

Ok, in the scene you Mr. Miyagi attempting to catch flies with a pair of chopsticks. Enter Daniel-san, who inquires as to why Mr. Miyagi is doing instead of using a fly-swatter. Mr. Miyagi succinctly replies (as is his way) that "Man who catch fly with chopsticks accomplish anything." Daniel-san then proceeds to attempt this lofty task and is successful in a fairly quick manner. Whenever I watch this scene I always get the feeling that this is something that Mr. Miyagi has been working at for many years, as he tersely tells Daniel-san, "You beginner luck." Of course, this is part of the story to maybe imply that Daniel-san has some sort of innate ability that will help him to quickly become skilled enough in Karate to win a good-sized tournament filled with seasoned black belts, or maybe that he's just "lucky."

However, I have always felt that this plot device takes away from the true lesson of catching a fly with chopsticks. You can interpret the lesson in two ways: That in order to catch a fly with a pair of chopsticks you need uncanny hand-eye coordination, super-human like reflexes, and an impeccable sense of timing, and that these skills combined what enable you to accomplish anything; or that to sit there and take a few moments of each day to attempt this nearly impossible feat would instill discipline, determination, and patience. Remember how I said that it is implied that Mr. Miyagi has been at this for many years, and still has not succeeded? How long do you think it would take for most people to get frustrated and give up entirely? I feel that this is the true lesson of catching flies with chopsticks: that the discipline, determination, and patience instilled in onself in accomplishing this would provide the neccessary mindset to accomplish anything.