Wax on Wax Off

Posted On: 06-01-2021

There are great movies out there that highlight great effort, unyielding determination and intense fortitude in spite of extreme hurdles.  From Rocky to Rudy, Hoosiers to Bad News Bears all are excellent feel-good movies.  One though that keeps coming up and one I enjoy watching over and over is The Karate Kid from 1984.   While Mr. Miyagi, (Pat Morita) died in 2005, he and Ralph Macchio (Daniel-san) left behind one of the best teaching tools for youth shooters during one particular scene.  We all know it!

Here is the script:

Miyagi: First, wash all car. Then wax. Wax on…

Daniel: Hey, why do I have to…?

Miyagi: Ah ah! Remember deal! No questions!

Daniel: Yeah, but…

Miyagi: Hai!

[makes circular gestures with each hand] 

Miyagi: Wax on, right hand. Wax off, left hand. Wax on, wax off. Breathe in through nose, out the mouth. Wax on, wax off. Don’t forget to breathe, very important.

[walks away, still making circular motions with hands] 

Miyagi: Wax on, wax off. Wax on, wax off.

Such a simple statement to convey a simple message: Practice makes perfect.  Too may times we fail to take this metaphor to heart simply because we might think shooting sports can only be practiced at the range.  To rebuff this, think about other sports.  I don’t have to be on baseball field to practice my swing, nor on a golf course to practice my chipping, or at a lake river or stream to practice my fly casting.  Unfortunately, many never lay eyes on their shotgun except at the range. 

For Wax on Wax Off to be useful, it has to be implemented often.  Daniel-san learned to understand that waxing the car, painting the fence, or sanding the floor were repetitions designed to translate to the arena.  Over and over, practice hour after hour, the lessons begin to stick.  So how does a youth shooter “wax the car?”

Practice at home includes getting your gun out (with parental approval) and doing gun mounts to start.  Do 50 a day until it becomes a natural routine, follow the corners of the ceiling and walls, back and forth, make a line on the floor and walk up to it as if it was one of the five stations and repeat your pre-shot routine and finally just go outside and work your eyes.  Follow birds, and pick one out of a flock, watch cars going by and think what the lead would be with your eyes only, exercise your eyes by looking at a variety of puzzles and try to pick out the objects or numbers.  There are a ton of ways to practice off the range and while you are at it wax a car, paint a fence or sand a floor. 

David R. Vaught, Ph.D.

Executive Director