The recent documentary, The Real Miyagi, details the life and legacy of Fumio Demura, founder of the Japan Karate-Do Shito-Ryu-Kai school of the martial arts in Santa Ana, California. Demura is a living legend, having come to America in the 1960s to pursue his dreams. In the early 1980s Demura was recommended by Chuck Norris for a role in what would become a career-defining moment for Pat Morita: the role of Mr. Miyagi in The Karate Kid. Demura would subsequently turn down the role in favor of doubling Morita, and he would go on to double him in the four films in the franchise, as well as in the TV series Ohara (1987–1988) for 30 episodes. Demura's school has been standing for 48 years, and now that the city has declared the building unfit for business, he is looking to move on from where it all began. In this interview, conducted in his dojo, Demura explains the history and legacy he helped to create, all within these walls.
djm: There's a lot of history in this building.
FD: This was a regular house. The walls and the mats were laid down by my students. Everything. They put the nail in and put this dojo together. I don't want to lose it, but unfortunately the city domain says we have to move. I got a new building, but it's not enough room, so I'm looking for another place.
djm: You've had so many students over the years, some of whom have gone on to become very famous.
FD: Everybody, including Bruce Lee, came over. Chuck Norris, Pat Morita, and Steven Seagal, a lot of people have been here. I just met with Sho Kosugi this morning. He came here to see me. He was a brown belt when he came over here to train with me every day.
djm: The documentary The Real Miyagi is informing a whole new generation about you and your legacy. How did the movie begin for you?
FD: Kevin, the director, is one of my junior black belts. I was in Florida at a tournament, and there was a little girl there who was one of my students. They asked me for an interview, so I started talking, and they wanted to film me. They were making a film on this girl, and when they interviewed me, they want to make a movie about me. That was a few years ago.
djm: You had a stroke during filming and the movie shifts its narrative into a story about you fighting the illness. How's your health now?
FD: My sickness was everything because of medicine. I had a heart attack, so I took Coumadin, a blood thinner, and somehow it got mixed up and I got a hematoma in the brain. After that, I take the water pill, but it attacked my kidney. That's happening. Now, my kidney does zero work. Now I got about 55% walking.
djm: You're not slowing down! You just got back from Costa Rica.
FD: Next week I go to Canada! I have to figure out how to do it. I can't move, so I study shodo, Japanese writing. I teach it too. Brush writing. I come every day to the dojo. I can't do katas, but I can talk.
djm: You just had a book released called Fumio Demura: Karate Weapons of Self-Defense: The Collector's Edition.
FD: It's on Okinawa weapons. It combines all the weapons I wrote about into one book. Right now, I'm writing my own book. There's still a lot of things I want to do. I want to talk about how I grew up, about my family, my relationships with my friends, about martial arts. My autobiography. With philosophy. I'm about halfway done.
djm: How did you get the job doubling Pat Morita on the first Karate Kid? You doubled him for four films.
FD: On the first one, it was Chuck Norris. He recommended me. Then the company called me, and they wanted me for Miyagi, but it was too many lines. I'm not an actor, but I could do stunts and movement. I try with English language, but I can't do it. Even today, I can't do it. They pick up Pat Morita, but he doesn't understand Karate, so John Avildson, the director, talk to Pat, and then I went over there and did the movements for Pat.
djm: Do you think The Karate Kid changed your life?
FD: No, it doesn't change it. The wax on, wax off, I developed that five years before the movie. A kid came and he washed my car. The movie was an experience. I had people call me after the movie and say, "That's you and me!"
djm: I know you had some movie work before The Karate Kid. You did some stunt work on the 1977 movie, The Island of Dr. Moreau. What do you remember about that job?
FD: That movie I got from my friend, The Great John L, a professional wrestler. The first time I came to America, he took care of me. Every day I ate breakfast with him. He came to the dojo all the time. He said, "You want to go to a movie?" I said, "What movie?" He said, "No, play in a movie. Let's go!" So we went over there and there were a bunch of karate people there. Most of them left after a while. There were maybe 6–7 people at the end. John L stayed and I stayed. They had me sign a paper, and I signed. They said, "You got a job." I said, "What kind of job?" Then I find out that I had to fight with tigers and lions! I said, "Wait a minute!" I went to work with an animal trainer. He said, "Don't worry; I show you!" I said, "Okay, if you can do it, I can do it." They had about five guys, and everybody was 6 feet tall, but I'm a small guy, and the tigers can bite your chin off. If they move this way, I move this way. The first one attacked me because I'm small. The reason they picked martial arts guys is because they are stronger. They knocked me down a couple of times. They said, "Do it," so I do it. Then we filmed in the Virgin Islands. After that was over, I joined SAG. I had a card, so my agent sent me to places, maybe 10–12 jobs, but I didn't get them because my language is zero. Then, after that, I got the call for Karate Kid. I knew Pat Morita from before. We both performed in Las Vegas. I did a lounge show at the Hilton, and he did a lounge show with Red Foxx. Comedy. I knew him. After that, we met again. We became good friends. After Karate Kid, his name went up, but my name did not go up. But he still came to my parties and we stayed friends. We also did the TV show Ohara together. About 30 episodes. We had a good friendship. We are starting to make Pat Morita's life story for a documentary.
djm: Since you've been at the same location for 48 years here, have you seen any students stay for the entire duration?
FD: Yeah. A dozen people have stayed with me for almost 50 years.
djm: What's the one piece of advice you give to young people and new students who come to train under you?
FD: Kids are my life. I have a thousand kids everywhere. Every kid is important to me. To have a successful life. One day, one girl came over to me at the door, and she was drunk. I could smell it. I said, "Hey, I don't teach this way. Come see me when you're not drunk. You hurt me." So many people put on the tattoo. I don't like it. In Japan, tattoo has a little bit of a bad image. Over a hundred years ago, all criminals they put a tattoo on their hand or arm, so when people see them, they back up. After World War II, there were Japanese gangsters called yakuza who put on tattoos. I say, "I don't want you to do that. God give you a nice body, and it's your responsibility to maintain that." That's what I teach. If they do it, that's they're choice. Don't do it. Don't drink it. Don't use drugs. When you're 18 years old, the parents throw the kids out of the house. How do they know how to live? Nobody teach them. That's why I teach here how to live. If you want something, you have to work, you have to learn.
djm: You travel all over the world, and you have children everywhere, but where do you consider home?
FD: Right now, the United States. I've been here more than half my life. I want this country to be good. I don't know how much I can do to help that. That's why I speak. Maybe if someone takes over my philosophy, it will be okay. We have to make a better society. I love this country. I had nothing, but I made it. This country, if you want it, you have to work on it. Other countries you can't do that. Be honest and work hard.
djm: So you don't think you'd have been able to accomplish all this if you'd stayed in Japan?
FD: I'm not sure yet. Not too many leaders in Japan. They teach how to win, win, win. I don't teach that. I teach lose to win. Sometimes you lose. If you lose, you have to work harder. Why did you lose? Work harder.
djm: You brought your knowledge of weapons to the US when no one was really practicing with them.
FD: Weapons come from Okinawan farmer's tools. Every martial arts has weapons. You have to do the stance and the movement. The bo, a long stick, it used to be used for the buckets in the front and the back, and you carry this. The kama was used to cut the grass and cut the papers. The nunchakuwas used as a bit for the horse. Sai was made of steel, and it comes from China. Monks would use it. Its shape is like the human body. It has shoulders and a head and the leg. Monks would use those for protection. Okinawa people adapted that. I still teach this. My students know the katas, and I can move them or adjust them. I don't do kata demonstrations anymore. I twist them and show them. I'm like a Bruce Lee, and I have the muscles, but I'm not fat. People go to the gym, but I never did that. I cut the grass, I pull the weeds. Squats every day and warm up. I would pick up the wood box, lay down, and push it up. That kind of thing.
djm: Is there anything else you'd like to say about The Real Miyagi or your school?
FD: Right now, I'm trying to make a museum. I have a lot of stuff from my history. I want to show everybody. I gave Bruce Lee's nunchucks to a museum, but I have other things. I have things to show everybody. Little things so that people know what happened in the past. A lot of people don't know. When I came to this country to Santa Ana, this part of the world was so nice. I never locked the door. Never locked the car door. But now, you have to double lock the door, everything. Even with the Club on your wheel, they steal your car! That's much different now. I want things to be different.
djm: Your school is a bright light in the neighborhood.
FD: Yeah. I have a cash register here. If students want water, they put a dollar in and take fifty cents out. If people want to steal, you can steal if you want to. I trust everybody. That's what society needs.
