Wax-On

	Daniel turned and walked over to Mr. Miyagi, facing him, towering over him, defying him.

	"Show me how wax on, wax off."

	Daniel stood still.

	"Show!"

	"I'm too tired. I can't lift my arms."

	Mr. Miyagi rubbed his hands together in circles, faster and faster, until they seemed to be smoking. He walked behind Daniel and began to rub the muscles and sinews in his shoulders. Suddenly, Daniel felt sharp pressure on his tired muscles and, then, relief. It was amazing.

	"Now show," said Mr. Miyagi. "On, off."

	Slowly, Daniel lifted his arm and began to demonstrate the technique. Mr. Miyagi corrected the angle of his elbow.

	"Show left, right. Left, right. Left, right."

	Daniel felt the rhythm of the command and obediently mimicked the movements he knew so well, making perfect half-circles in the air.

	Suddenly, Mr. Miyagi threw a chest punch at him. Before Daniel realized it, one of his circling hands intercepted the punch and deflected it, effortlessly. He looked at Mr. Miyagi, astonished and delighted. Mr. Miyagi's face revealed nothing.

	"Sand floor," he ordered.

	Obediently, Daniel showed the circles of the sanding motion. Mr. Miyagi made a slight correction to Daniel's gestures and then shot a kick to Daniel's stomach. Smoothly, Daniel deflected the kick with his sanding motion.

	"Paint fence."

	Up down. Up down. Up. Daniel's bent wrist caught Mr. Miyagi's head punch. On his downstroke, he parried a stomach punch.

	Daniel could hardly contain his growing excitement as the full realization hit him. While he had been performing those perfectly ordinary chores for Mr. Miyagi, he'd also been gaining some extraordinary skills. Who would have thought — well, who did think ? He'd been so busy building up resentment that he'd never stopped to think about what was going on. He was brought from his thoughts by Mr. Miyagi's voice.

	"Wax on."

	Mr. Miyagi fired a chest punch, which Daniel deflected easily, naturally.

	"Wax off."

	Again, the block was there.

	"Paint up."

	Daniel's snapping block was there to meet the attack.

	"Down."

	The heel of Daniel's palm caught the impact of Mr. Miyagi's fist.

	"Side."

	Daniel blocked again.

	As Mr. Miyagi continued to fire commands, Daniel responded with errorless, effortless, blocking techniques, evading and deflecting all the punches and kicks Mr. Miyagi aimed at him with increasing speed.

	"Side! — Sand! — On! — Off!"

	Suddenly, at the height of the exercise, Mr. Miyagi stopped. Daniel, breathing hard and elated, waited for more.

	Finally, Mr. Miyagi picked up his fish.

	"Come tomorrow," he said, and disappeared into the house, slamming the door behind him.

- The Karate Kid (1984) Chapter 18