Mr. Miyagi

In my never ending quest to leave no Karate Kid custom card stone unturned, I present to you Mr. Miyagi's 1984 Donruss style baseball card.

This is the first card I'll have made using the a 1984 Donruss style design.  This card plays up Mr. Miyagi being in full catcher gear while training Daniel-San on the art of the punch in the original Karate Kid movie.  Now that we know Mr. Miyagi's actual first name as "Nariyoshi" -thanks to the Cobra Kai series translating it from Japanese written form in The Karate Kid Part II and then used on Miyagi's headstone in the Cobra Kai series- I was able to incorporate that on this card instead of just his "Mr." moniker. 

Then came the card back.  I did a little research on the Miyagi character so the card bio area of the card got the richness that Mr. Miyagi deserves. 

I'm real happy with how this one turned out and excited to add it to all the other Karate Kid customs I've made.  

Karate Kid Halloween

It's been awhile since I've done a Karate Kid card, so I was kind of jones'n. I've also been thinking all year about doing some limited Halloween themed cards.  The problem with that is that I procrastinated thinking month-by-month that "ahh, I've got plenty of time".  Well, here we are in October.  Oh, well.  Maybe next year.

The Halloween dance scene is a favorite of mine and many Karate Kid fans alike.  Johnny and the Cobra Kai's skeleton costumes are a pretty bad ass look and you've got the clever shower costume engineered by Mr. Miyagi at the last moment.  The part where Johnny and the Cobra Kai catch up to Daniel is really important as it brings Mr. Miyagi into the conflict.

This card is based on the 1984 Topps baseball set with some obvious liberties taken to achieve a more Halloweenish look.  

1984 Topps

The timing of this card is pretty good as well with the trailer for the third season of Cobra Kai have just been released that will surely keep all of us fans buzzing until January when it finally comes out.

This card is a special limited release.  I've dialed the print run back to 31 from the normal 50 and it will be retired at midnight on October 31st.

Ali Mills

In my never ending quest to come up with excuses for making new custom Karate Kid cards, I present to you my latest creation.

This Ali Mills "Heart Breaker" card is a play on the 1984 Topps football "Record Breaker" subset.  The photo is either a behind the scenes shot or a deleted scenes shot, I'm not 100% sure.

I Hate This Stupid Bike!

Ah, yes. Daniels's primary mode of transportation that was ruined when Johnny and co. taught him a lesson in taking a fall. Luckily Mr. Miyagi was able to restore it to factory condition while Daniel and Lucille were busy figuring out the rules together.

While making my Turbo Kid set that was inspired by the 1984 Donruss BMX card set another famous (to me anyways) BMX bike came to mind... Daniel LaRusso's Mongoose Two/Four errr his Miyagi Turbo!

"What kind of bike do you have, Daniel. Honda, Suzuki, what?"

"No, it's a Miyagi Turbo, actually." 

The logo for Miyagi Turbo is just something I threw together with a Asian looking font and used the orange color that Mongoose was using with their text logo at the time.

I think eventually someone is going to suggest that I've made enough custom trading cards in homage to The Karate Kid. I cannot help myself. It's the best around and nothing is ever going to keep it down. I've actually got more in the making ;)

Not That Boy From Reseda

With the YouTube Red original series Cobra Kai being released today I put together these two cards. For all the the times I’ve thrown the word “favorite” around The Karate Kid is the movie that stands alone as my #1 all-time favorite movie.

I got to see the first two episodes of Cobra Kai in the theater on April 25th as a part of a special screening that was followed by the original 1984 masterpiece. That in and of itself was a treat for me having never seen it on the big screen. As for the Cobra Kai episodes... they were better than I even imagined they could be. From a production standpoint, a story standpoint and nostalgic tie-ins, the first two episodes had everything a Karate Kid fan could ask for. I’ve subscribed to YouTube Red and am counting down the moments until I can veg out to the series.

1984 Figurina

I’ve made a number of different Karate Kid themed cards. I’m always trying to think up new Karate Kid card ideas. These two are my latest offerings; Daniel and Ali soccer cards. Soccer is what first brought these two star crossed kids together so why not soccer cards?

I know nothing about soccer cards. I want to say the only soccer cards I ever owned came in a Classic blister pack that highlighted athletes from different sports that competed in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. So, I had to do some research. I wanted to keep it 1984 so I searched for different soccer cards that came out that year. The design I liked best was from the 1984 Figurina Calciatori Forza Goal Series. I liked the shape of the image box and the overall clean design. In looking at different cards from the set I noticed the the soccer ball streak matched the player’s soccer jerseys. For that reason Daniel got the grey and blue to match his gym sweats, and grey and green for the same reason for Ali. In the text above the ball where the player’s team/country was displayed I added Encino and Reseda for Ali and Daniel respectively. I used that to play on the division of class that is a central theme of the movie.

Sensei Kreese Is My BFF

Like I've stated before, I started making these cards to entertain myself, so even if I was the only one who dug them that would be cool with me. They're cards I'd want to own even if it wasn't me making them.  Along the way I've had some really positive feedback from lots of different people about my cards, which is so cool.  I never really bargained on that.  What I really didn't plan on was gaining a celebrity fan along the way, especially if said celebrity had a lead role in my all-time favorite movie!

When I first started making my custom cards I just wanted to send them out in the mail and cross my fingers that they come back signed.  I've had my fair share of successes, but none like the responses from Mr. Kove.

2014

I've actually met Martin Kove twice, both times at the Motor City Comic-Con.  My first time going to a Comic-Con was 2014.  I went with a couple of buddies who were Comic-Con vets, but I still personally did not know what to expect, especially since I'm a tad awkward when meeting new people.  I just knew that being the Karate Kid fan I am, I had to meet Martin Kove and William Zabka.  I was blown away at how personable and gracious they both were.  Mr. Kove told me his son's name was also Jesse and we chatted a bit about old westerns seeing as my dad, the western fan he is, got my name from Jesse James.

Not only did they take a real interest in everyone's item and exactly how they would like it signed but they also chatted nearly everyone up and were happy to take pictures.  There is no doubt that they wanted their fans to leave with a great experience. As I found in subsequent trips to the Comic-Con that that's not always the case.  Some guests merely sign and "next" to the person behind you and are sure to let you know what will cost you extra.  I get the business side of it, but at least make an effort to make that part of it not so overt.  Definitely not the case with Kove and Zabka.  Both of those guys are genuine.  I was so impressed that when they returned the next year (with Ralph Macchio) that I again paid for an autograph and got a chance to make small talk with a couple of my childhood heroes.

My standard practice when I send cards to celebrities in hopes of an autograph is that I always include a copy for them to keep as a token of my gratitude.  When I got my return from Mr. Kove let's just say he appreciated the gesture.  Instead of my 6.75" self addressed stamped envelope I got a legal sized manila envelope chock full of signed and personalized 8x10s and of course my 1984 and 1989 Topps-style Sensei Kreese cards. Most all of the photo's inscriptions had something to do with the cards.  I really couldn't believed that he liked them that much.  He was even requesting more to give to his friends and family.

Each time I would send Mr. Kove more cards I would try to work on a new one of him, and every time he was as complimentary as the first time. Not to mention emailing me the picture above of him signing my cards.

I cannot wait until next year when the Karate Kid sequel - entitled "Cobra Kai" - comes out on YouTube. I'm not 100% sure if it will feature Sensei ...but I sure hope it does.

1984 Topps hockey inspired

I was always and forever be a "Martin Kove guy".  Anyone who takes that much time and is as complimentary as he has been to me automatically has my loyal fanhood.

1989 Topps baseball inspired

1987-88 Fleer basketball inspired

1984 Topps baseball inspired

1975 Topps baseball inspired

Your Karate's A Joke!

I love The Karate Kid 1-3, and probably in that order.  Although, I may have seen 3 the most due to how much it came on cable in the early '90s.  While it's not as good of a story as the original, or has the scenery of the first sequel, it does have it's moments.  Mike Barnes, Terry Silver, and Sensei Kreese make for a formidable antagonist triple threat, and then throw in "Snake" for a good 'just want to punch that guy in the face' factor.

Two things that always bothered me about the movie.  For one, it's the only one where Daniel San doesn't exactly "get the girl".  And secondly, if you follow the timeline I believe it would put Daniel LaRusso over the age of 18, so obviously no longer able to compete in the All Valley Under 18 Karate Tournament.

The card is inspired by the 1989 Topps Baseball set - the year the movie was released.  I didn't really use any mask layers, I just rebuilt the card with vectors and found a script style font that was passable.  The extra "Karate's Bad Boy" sash in the upper left is an additional customization inspired by the 1988 Topps nameplate. I wanted to add that Bad Boy tag line in some way to the card and that's what I came up with. Plus, I think it's the perfect image for that.

I'm really happy about the way this one came out and hoping for a TTM success from Sean Kanan.

For a comparison

Also see: You Keep For Your Collection, I Know You Like It

You Keep For Your Collection, I Know You Like It.

I'm a a HUGE fan of The Karate Kid franchise, well, the first three movies at least.  So, expect to see other Karate Kid customs on here is what I'm saying.

For this one I took inspiration from the 1986 Topps Baseball design as a tie-in to the year The Karate Kid II was released in theaters.  I figured this would not be a complex design to emulate, and by and large, it wasn't.  Except when it came to the font.  I couldn't find a font to match the original cards so I had to recreate the "Okinawa" from a number of different cards to get all of the letter.  As a little bonus I added the symbol that can be found on Chozen's Karate gi where the player position would normally be.

I sent a copy to Yugi Okumoto to be signed, as well as one for him to keep as is my custom - sort of a way of saying "thank you" for the autograph.  With my signed custom I also got a little note thanking me for his copy.   Needless to say that made my day.