Ive done years of taekwondo, but want to swap to karate because taekwondo is a bit unbalanced.
-too much legs and flying kicks.

karate is more 50/50 legs and hands

in the second movie miyagi has a photo of an ancester on the family dojo wall. he comments on.

in real life ,goju ryu karate was founded by
a guy called chogin miyagi and the people who first used goju ryu were fishermen.

so I sort of suspect goju was the style pf karate being taught. but dont really know .

so if anyone knows for sure which style miyagi is teaching daniel in the movies I
would be grateful for a reply.
thanks cam.

I'm not absolutely sure which style of karate is being taught in the Karate Kid films - in fact, as only a couple of people in the movie had ever done karate before, I doubt they had time to learn any particular style of karate at all! Martial Arts techniques which are used in the movies are usually those which look good on film, and not necessarily those which work in real life, so I wouldn't get too hung-up on what style of karate is used in the KK films. Learning a "style" of karate takes many years of dedication - I have been studying Shukokai karate for 12 years now, and I still don't consider myself an expert. Daniel's story of learning karate in a few months made a great film, but really isn't too realistic!

If you are serious about learning karate, I would recommend that you "bite the bullet" and take a look at a few karate schools before joining one. You'll probably find that the more traditional styles of karate offer the best balance of kicking and punching - try to find a Shukokai, Shotokan, Wado-Ryu or Gojo-Ryu club if you can. I'd also recommend that you stay away from "sport karate" clubs if possible, since these often have very weak punching techniques and are often not karate at all (many "sport karate" clubs are run by people with a little experience in several martial arts such as Tae Kwon Do, Kickboxing, Thai Boxing, etc. but no real depth of knowledge in any of them, let alone in karate!).

I hope this helps. If you want any more information, or any help finding a local club, let me know via this site and I'll do my best.

I look at a lot of schools, but most seem like bull sh*t to me. That was one of the reasons I quit Karate at 11, because the shool just seemed like BS. The instructor never taught us anything, he was just there to make some cash. I never really learned anything I could use in the real world. It wasn't like the movies.

Plus, lots of these schools seem over run with kids, little kids and teengaers. I am sure they have adult programs for those over 18 or over 20, but I am hestitant to join.