Is it possible to catch a fly with Chopsticks?

Back in August 1984, the movie Karate kid was released that changed the face of martial arts forever. No, that isn’t an overestimation…it literally thrust Karate into the mainstream and to this very day, TV shows like Cobra Kai prove its relevance. As for Karate dojos, let’s just say a lot of people got wealthy thanks to the success of the film.

Anyway, in one particular scene, Mr Miyagi successfully catches a fly with chopsticks. This is obviously no easy feat, even though he makes it look simple. He then says a line to Daniel Larusso that got people talking, saying “Man who catch fly with chopstick, accomplish anything.”

This was one of many lessons that Miyagi would teach Larusso and in short, it was a metaphor for life. Basically, he was trying to teach Larusso that if you work hard enough at something, then you can achieve it. Fast forward to the end of the movie and this saying remains true. Without spoiling it, Larusso’s success in Karate is down to his work ethic and Miyagi was right.

Can you really catch a fly with chopsticks?

The reality of this is no, it’s not really possible to be able to catch a fly with chopsticks, although it’s technically not impossible either. Really, Karate doesn’t teach people to use chopsticks, nor does it teach micro-movements with your fingers. For that matter, no martial art out there does either. Simply put, this may be impressive at a dinner party, but it has no real-life applications when it comes to combat. As most fighting involves much bigger, stronger limbs, training your fingers like this would be a waste of time.

That’s not to say that it couldn’t be done, but it may be more down to luck than anything. Potentially, if the fly was injured and very slow, it would be possible. Having said this, catching a fly between chopsticks would still be very unlikely. This means the act would be a fluke more than anything, and it is not something that is taught, Hollywood aside. To this day, there is not a single video recording of someone catching a fly with chopsticks.

Can Jackie Chan catch a fly with chopsticks?

According to his co-star Jason Isaacs, Jackie Chan caught a fly with his bare hands on the set of the 2002 movie, The Tuxedo. Chan actually catches a fly with chopsticks in the remake of the Karate Kid featuring Jaden Smith. However, this is far more difficult than catching one with your hands. Returning to the example of an injured or wounded fly, their speed is decreased dramatically. If ever you’ve had an infestation, you may have caught fly’s in your hands to stop them pestering you. This means, Isaacs may have been telling the truth. However, this act is far easier than catching a fly with chopsticks which requires far more skill.