Book Review: Waxing On - The Karate Kid and Me

The Karate Kid played a pivotal part in my childhood growing up. There wasn't a single family holiday in which me and my brothers wouldn't watch the movies one after the other in our grandparents caravan on the coast of Norfolk. I have to admit at an early age I never really loved Karate Kid as much as my brothers did. I appreciated the honest and endearing story it told but at that point in my life I was far more engrossed in cartoons than live action stuff. One thing I've noticed though as I've reached my mid-20's is that I've grown far more attached to the franchise as I've aged. I think the reason for this attachment may be down to nostalgia? The movies themselves are all great in their own regard but what I love about the franchise is how it allowed me and my family to come together and bond over one central story. Whenever I think of The Karate Kid I always think of sitting in that rickety old caravan by the sea, huddling around that small Panasonic TV and eating cereal with my brothers as we watched Daniel LaRusso learn the art of Karate from the kind Mr Miyagi. Knowing how much these movies and characters meant to me during my current life, I felt a desire to read about how the franchise affected the Karate Kid himself; which is why I picked up Ralph Macchio's debut autobiography called Waxing On: The Karate Kid and Me.

Written by the man himself, this book outlines Ralph's perspective on how The Karate Kid influenced all of his current life. Starting from the pre-production end and leading right into his present day work on the Cobra Kai Netflix TV series, the book does a very commendable job in detailing how much of his life really was impacted by this series. His writing style allows for him to be very open and reflective all throughout and it was a nice opportunity to learn how humble and modest Ralph really seems to be as a person in the wake of the legacy this series has bestowed upon him.

I really enjoyed my time with all of the content of this book. The way Ralph goes into detail explaining a lot of behind the scenes aspects to do with the franchise was really fun to learn about. I'm a big sucker for any production info so getting to learn about stuff like the audition process, filming sequences and post-release impact was all insightful stuff for me to read about. The way Ralph breaks a lot of it down too is really well presented. Usually in personal accounts you tend to risk seeing these moments blurred by the personal bias or emotions of the person recounting them but Ralph does a fantastic job in coming off as fully transparent as he breaks down a lot of positives but also a fair few negatives during his time with the films. He never does it in a way that feels too much either, he's got a very nice way of delivering his thoughts in a way you can truly empathise and understand.

I never truly understood the extent of how much this film franchise impacted Ralph's life both during and after his time with them either. It's a very honest and respectful breakdown of his life leading well past the glory days of the 80's. He gives some really cool insights into his personal life and all of the little aspects a lot of Karate Kid fans probably wanted to know about as they spent time with the series. One particular aspects of the book that really resonated with me was his chapter on Pat Morita. Not many books have the ability to bring a strong emotional reaction out of me, but the way Ralph recounts his time with Pat and all the love and respect he pays to him truly got to me by the end of it.

I'd highly recommend this book for any Karate Kid fan. Ralph Macchio is such a stand-out person who has given a very generous perspective on his life growing up with the Karate Kid. His accounts are all kinds of honest and introspective and it's made me all the more appreciative of the legacy he helped create and continues to support to this very day.