Pat Morita

Also known as

Noriyuki Morita · Noriyuki "Pat" Morita

Description

American actor and comedian, known for Arnold on Happy Days and Oscar-nominated as karate mentor Mr. Miyagi in The Karate Kid (1984) and its sequels. He had no martial arts experience before the films; for the first production he was trained in Goju-ryu karate alongside Ralph Macchio by fight coordinator Pat E. Johnson, while Fumio Demura - one of the inspirations for the Miyagi character - doubled his fight scenes.

Teachers (1)

• 
  Pat E. Johnson

  sports_martial_artsGoju-ryu Probable

  Probable

  Two independent secondary accounts agree that Johnson trained the lead cast in goju-ryu karate for the film, but no firsthand statement from Morita himself was located, so Probable rather than Confirmed.

  The evidence favours the claim and nothing credible contradicts it, but it falls short of establishing it.

  (1984)

  fact_checkassessed by FSMverified

  Frederico Muñoz

  Researcher, Martialis

  2 sources expand_more

  fact_check

  Two independent secondary accounts agree that Johnson trained the lead cast in goju-ryu karate for the film, but no firsthand statement from Morita himself was located, so Probable rather than Confirmed.

  “For The Karate Kid (1984), Johnson told Sports Illustrated in 2018 that he trained actors Pat Morita and Ralph Macchio "separately, really hard.”

  — Barnes, Mike. (2023-11-06). Pat E. Johnson, 'Karate Kid' Choreographer, Trainer and Referee, Dies at 84link history info

  “In those lessons, Pat Morita and Ralph Macchio were taught goju-ryu style, Okinawan classic karate.”

  — Press, Lindsay. (2024-02-18). Did Pat Morita Learn Martial Arts to Play Mr. Miyagi in The Karate Kid?link history info

Honours (1)

• descriptionMartial Arts History Museum Hall of Fame Probable

  Probable

  Reported by English Wikipedia and echoed across aggregator sites; no independent corroboration was found.

  The evidence favours the claim and nothing credible contradicts it, but it falls short of establishing it.

  Other (2015)

  fact_checkassessed by FSMverified

  Frederico Muñoz

  Researcher, Martialis

  1 source expand_more

  fact_check

  Reported by English Wikipedia and echoed across aggregator sites; no independent corroboration was found.

  “In 2015, Morita was inducted into the Martial Arts History Museum Hall of Fame.”

  — Wikipedia contributors. (2026). Pat Morita. Wikipedia (English)link history info

Sources

Identifiers