Dre Parker finds himself in China after his mother's latest career move. He and classmate Mei Ying immediately fall for each other, but cultural differences make this friendship impossible. Even worse, his feelings make an enemy of class bully, Cheng who is quite adept at kung fu. Dre turns to maintenance man Mr. Han, who is secretly a kung fu master and learns that kung fu is not about punches and parries, but maturity and calm. However, Dre realizes...

Daniel, a fatherless teenager, arrives in Los Angeles from the East and faces the difficult task of making friends. He becomes the object of bullying by a gang of karate students when he strikes up a relationship with Ali, the gang leader's ex-girlfriend. Daniel asks Miyagi, a master of martial arts, to help him learn karate. Daniel then prepares himself both mentally and physically for the fight of his life.