Karate Kid Week: Disqualify Daniel Larusso

I’ve watched Daniel-san’s final, dramatic Crane Kick over and over, and I’m convinced that any decent karate judge would have kicked him out of the tournament for it.

[Today we begin Karate Kid Week, an extended consideration of the seminal work of 1980s cinema. –Ed.]

It pained me to type that title. Really, it did, because I love that scrappy kid. He moved to a new town, got the girl, and wore one of the greatest Halloween costumes in history. But I’ve watched his final, dramatic Crane Kick over and over, and I’m convinced that any decent karate judge would have kicked him out of the tournament for it.

We don’t learn much about the rules of the All Valley Karate Tournament. About 30 seconds before Daniel’s first fight, his now-sort-of-girlfriend Ali briefs him on the rules:

Everything above your waist is a point. You can hit the head, sternum, kidneys, ribs.

Fair enough. So a kick to the head should be fair game.

HOWEVER. I have consulted the USANKF Sport Karate Rules, and they make it very clear that in a tournament, you do not have a license to strike someone as hard as you can. Allow me to quote from Article 8: “Prohibited Behavior.”

Traditional Karate techniques delivered full-power can cause extremely serious injury, even death. Karate competition is a sport, and for that reason some of the most dangerous techniques are banned and all techniques must be controlled.

Now watch Daniel’s Crane Kick again, slower now. And tell me: does it look “controlled?”

It looks to ME like he’s kicking the guy in the face as hard as he possibly can. Daniel could have easily broken Johnny’s nose, or even snapped his neck.

Of course, I’m not an expert. Terry Bryan, on the other hand, is. Terry amassed over 300 karate tournament victories, and served as General Secretary for the USA National Karate-Do Federation. I emailed Terry and asked him to watch Daniel’s Crane Kick. He emailed me back and confirmed my worst fears:

Depending on the rules of that specific tournament but in most, yes he would have been disqualified.

Now I suppose he does allow us a little wiggle room – we don’t know what crazy rules could have been in play at the All Valley Tournament. Maybe kicking a guy in the face with all the force you can muster is a perfectly legal technique, thanks to the aggressive lobbying of the Cobra Kai.

But just watch the kick a final time, now slowed down and magnified to show the impact.

Does that seem safe? I’m sorry, but Daniel Larusso must be disqualified. He’s lucky Johnny didn’t press charges.

And now, just for fun, here’s the kick at 1% speed:

92 Comments on “Karate Kid Week: Disqualify Daniel Larusso”

  1. Eric #

    This is all hypothetical anyway. The Cobra guy would have been disqualified or possibly arrested after the first two rounds for cheating like a bastard, so if the tournaments had any rules at all it wouldn’t have gotten to this point anyway.

    Reply

    • Joseph #

      I can’t comment on something I’m not certified in Karate, but have taken karate in the past. Had Daniel’s crane kick was an issue, I’m sure they would have disqualified him then and there, but they didn’t. Was this the problem leading to Karate kid’s ending, too bad. At least he has a good legal appeal on the other guy. LOL

      Reply

      • Jaren #

        Im qualified as an instructor, 3rd degree, and a judge. Larusso would of won by default after the knee injury. that is not allowed by even black belts with no tolerance.

        Reply

        • Sholva #

          As an instructor you should know that Daniel shouldn’t have been in the tournament in the first place as it was under 18’s and Daniel had turned 18 a few weeks before it.

          Reply

  2. fenzel #

    Yes, but Daniel Larusso is always held up as different from the antagonists in some key way – different from the Cobra Kai because he believes in responsibility, training and tradition rather than violence and thug mentality, and different from the Okinawan antagonists in Karate Kid II because he believes in mercy and forgiveness.

    We may have to confront the unfortunate reality that Karate Kid I is, ideologically, a lot more like Karate Kid III than we’d like to think.

    Reply

  3. Wayne #

    In a tournament today, he would most like be disqualified for excessive contact. HOWEVER… We’re talking about 1984 – 24 years ago.

    Also consider that nobody in the tournament is wearing any protective gear – no hand or foot pads and no head gear. Sweeps are allowed as well as striking the head once an opponent is down.

    I know that my instructors have told stories of their late 70’s tournaments where it wasn’t exactly Bloodsport, but it was fairly full contact.. if you didn’t want to get kicked in the face, you should learn how to block.

    Reply

    • Joseph #

      Everyone, this isn’t my take, but the other guy, Daniel takes his girlfriend away, and remember, the guy was gonna kill him or put him away for good, so defensively, can’t argue that.

      Reply

    • Jaren #

      Sweeps are not allowed, in the instructors division we use to not wear headgear or gloves but required closed toe and mouth and cup guards and certain leg hawks allowed but when our franchise broke up even the instructors nowadays require headgear and gloves, any direct contact to the knees or spine are not allowed and of course eye gouging, or direct groin shots. take down and hip throws above purple belt only and only direct face contact after black.

      Reply

  4. fenzel #

    Here’s a question – if Daniel Larusso is disqualified for putting too much force into his crane kick to the face, how does this change _The Karate Kid_? What happens, and what’s the moral of the story?

    Reply

    • Jacob #

      this sound’s to me like the people are say that someone like Daniel should just take being bullied over and over again and never do anything to defend yourself if this were the case Daniel defending himself from an attacker on the street it would be deemed justifiable self defense and what I saw was a kid thinking back to the beatings that he took from the bully aka Johnny Lawrence and he finally justice for all the relentless beatings from Johnny and his punk friends so hell yes it was justified

      Reply

      • Tacos #

        Johnny and his “punk friends” only put a beating on Daniel once in KK1. Even then it was instigated by Daniel directly antagonizing Johnny at the halloween dance by soaking him while he (Johnny) was minding his own business.

        They (Johnny and his buds) may have gotten excessive at the beating by the motel but Daniel was 100% responsible for bringing it down on him. Had he left well enough alone at the dance it is very possible things would have turned out very differently

        Reply

        • HiperactivoDG #

          You’re right, every beating Danielle took, was well deserved, he meddles into a dumb argument between Sally and ex boyfriend Johnny, hell, even Johnny goes to offer him help getting up and Danielle just sucker punched him. Hell, what does Danielle-San does after he knows the Cobra Kai guys are forbidden to touch him? He starts taunting them.

          Reply

        • The bee #

          So you think it’s alright for a group of people who are obviously high on various illegal drugs to gang stalk daniel and seriously assault him and then proceeded to try to kill daniel – the last kick would have been the end of the movie had the myagi ( war criminal )hadn’t intervened – war criminal or not the creature was well within the parameters of the law to take action ; however, it was an excessive takedown.
          I say, ali, liked the conflict and liked johnny and daniel fighting over her
          Ali is a liar and snob – who actually likes liars – I know I don’t

          Reply

          • Ryan #

            Uh Miyagi fought for the US army not the Japanese Army. He’s not a war criminal

        • Que #

          So much angst and debate over a fictional kick and then bring in the ultimate defense, Daniel brought the beatings on himself. In 2020, we are still blaming the victim.

          Reply

  5. Matthew Belinkie OTI Staff #

    It depends, Pete. I see two scenarios:

    1. Johnny is seriously injured by the hard kick to the head. Suddenly, Daniel comes off as the bad guy – the whole sweeping the leg thing is forgotten as paramedics rush Johnny to the hospital. He may never walk again. Everyone boos Daniel. The tournament is widely criticized for allowing him to compete, since he clearly has no formal training. Mr. Miyagi is sued for falsely vouching for his experience level. But more importantly, Daniel has become what he most hates – he’s used karate in anger, for vengeance. This would be particularly interesting in light of the earlier locker room scene, after his injury. Miyagi tried to convince Daniel he doesn’t need to fight anymore. He’d already proven himself. But Daniel insisted on continuing. If he then severely injures or kills Johnny, with a technique he’s never even tried before, then he’s come full circle and betrayed everything Miyagi tried to teach him.

    2. Let’s say Johnny isn’t injured, but the ref steps in and disqualifies Daniel anyway. I think the plot becomes about the ref being in league with the Cobra Kai. There’s a fine tradition of sports stories where the administrators try and throw up obstacles to squash the underdog outsider. (One of my sister’s favorite movies, Stick It, is entirely about female gymnasts rebelling against the tyranny of biased and unfair judging.) Anyway, in THAT Karate Kid, maybe there’s another 30 minutes of movie. Daniel appeals his disqualification, gives a big speech in front of the Karate Review Board. They grant him a rematch against Johnny, to be held at the Karate Federation’s national tournament in Orlando, Florida. Before the match, Sensei Kreese tries to convince Johnny to cheat again. Johnny refuses. He wants to fight with honor for once, and find out who’s REALLY the best. Before the match, he apologizes to Daniel for bullying him. They have a good, clean match, and Daniel wins. “Are you happy now?” demands Kreese furiously to his star pupil. “Actually,” says Johnny, “I’m happier than I’ve been in a while.” The entire Cobra Kai defects to study with Mr. Miyagi. The final scene is Daniel supervising the construction of a brand new karate studio. The ex-Cobra Kai are happily painting and sanding under Miyagi’s supervision. Daniel thanks Miyagi for everything, jumps in his convertible, and drives off to have sex with Elisabeth Shue.

    Reply

  6. mlawski OTI Staff #

    A little off-topic, but Belinkie is getting at a point that struck me as I watched Karate Kid last week: the movie just ended. No denouement. Just crane stance kick, freeze frame, credits. Instead of having such a drawn out first act, the movie should have kept going for at least a few minutes after the final fight so the audience could soak in whatever lessons we’re supposed to learn, whether that is “Daniel Larusso fought fairly and is awesome” or “Daniel Larusso fought unfairly and became that which he hates.”

    This is all to say that Matt Belinkie should have written The Karate Kid.

    Reply

    • JBB #

      I think you may have seen an edited version.
      There’s definitely footage I’ve seen of Eizabeth Shue running onto the stage to congratulate Danny, and him hefting the trophy (pushed into his hands by Jonny, saying something like “You deserve this”), and also Kreese attempting to punch Myagi outside and putting his hand through a car window (although that last one might be from KK2, it’s been a while!).

      Reply

      • Dave #

        Definitely karate kid 1, watched him punch the car window last night

        Reply

  7. Matthew Belinkie OTI Staff #

    Shana-
    The thing is, I feel like it’s not uncommon at all for sports movies to end really quickly at the moment of victory, no denouement. Rocky, for example. Not saying I love it, just saying it’s sort of the style.
    – Matt

    Reply

  8. Matthew Belinkie OTI Staff #

    By the way, does everyone know that the same guy directed Rocky and The Karate Kid? That always surprises me, everytime I remember it.

    Reply

  9. Gab #

    There isn’t an extended version with scenes from after the tournament? You know, like _Author! Author!_ and the stuff about him getting dragged out of bed by the kids? I think a longer ending to _The Karate Kid_ would have done the same thing the longer version of _Author! Author!_ is argued to have done: kill the mood. Viewers are going to be less satisfied with a movie that leaves them feeling down after such a high.

    I thought of Daniel’s insistence on fighting as a matter of pride, of vanity- not out-right revenge. Either way, he’s still using karate for the wrong reason. Maybe there would be a flash-forward to ten years later and Daniel-san goes ballistic when he walks in on Miagi having tea with Julie-san or some jazz, at which point Miagi tells Daniel-san that he’s a has-been because he fucked up, time move on, be tree in wind and sway with it instead of being rock and refuse move, get many things smashed against self, not good.

    Reply

  10. Don #

    I have to agree with Wayne. The context of the time must be taken into account. At a USAKF (the organization from which the USANKF split off) tournament in Chicago in the 80’s they ended up using every available ambulance in the area due to injuries.

    As with most things where one tries to analyze the past, you must first understand the context.

    Reply

  11. fenzel #

    So does this mean in order to see Daniel Larusso as the hero of _The Karate Kid_, you need to vindicate Christopher Columbus?

    Reply

  12. fenzel #

    Also, this from Darryl Vidal, who appears in the semifinals of the tournament and is beaten by Johnny – and who also dressed up in a fat suit and bald wig to stunt double for Pat Morita in the beach scene –

    “But his biggest secret is the one that must leave his student’s eyes wide with awe:-

    “…the crane technique, as depicted in the movie, isn’t a real move in any karate or kung-fu. Pat Johnson told me what he wanted, and I basically said, “you mean something like this?” It is widely recognized, and I still hesistate when I tell my karate students that I made it up. But as you might have guessed, there is very little practical application to the technique.”

    Here’s more info on him:

    http://www.fast-rewind.com/kkid/index.html

    And here’s what he’s been up to lately – this news story ran only a couple of months ago:

    http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2008/10/07/news/californian/murrieta/z0eb73785b8d7ee50882574b4007e9a8c.txt

    Reply

  13. Jason #

    If we’re being technical, I’ve gotta disagree here. The kick looks perfectly safe, as it passes a safe distance of 6-8 inches to the right of Daniel’s opponent’s head with no contact at all.

    Really, one might better question Johnny’s motive in taking a dive when missed.

    Reply

  14. Dave #

    I’ve always wondered how the Cobra guy survived this kick. In self defense courses it is said that you can kill an attacker buy delivering an upward hit to their nose with the palm of your hand. The force of the hit will drive the nasal bone up into the brain thus causing death. With the upward impact on the nose and the force of this kick – Johnny most certainly would have been the one in need of the body bag.

    Reply

  15. Eddie #

    @Dave:

    Actually, I was surprised to learn that is (mostly) a falsehood. The force of the blow required to drive that nasal bone into the brain through the skull is actually more than the bone itself can withstand before breaking. The force would have to be delivered with pinpoint precision at the exact point where the bone is strongest to even have a chance, and it isn’t all that great then, either.

    Moral of the story? If you want to kill someone, the eye socket and the windpipe are much more fatal targets.

    And that The Karate Kid is amazing.

    Reply

    • Amanda Harker #

      I agree, anatomically you’d have to strike the right place at the right angle using the right force. Even then the chances of doing enough damage to the brain is near impossible. The brain actually has multi-level protective tissue so you’d have to get though a webbing and then the blood brain barrier before getting to the actual brain.
      However if you catch the right person shattering a bone and sending tiny shards into the blood stream could be deadly. I have a small hole in between the two ventrical chambers of my heart and if a bone shard was to get into that hole it coulf cause a blood infection or cardiac arrest, if I was super unlucky. But again the chances of that happening are pratically non-existant.

      Reply

  16. Arjewtino #

    This is all great and all but let me ask you this: why was it OK for Daniel to kick Johnny but when Dutch kicks Daniel he doesn’t get a point for it?

    Reply

    • Ceri Cat #

      Various reasons can be applied, it could be the judges didn’t call the contact for some reason (poor angle to call a hit), the technique was not valid… different organisations have dramatically different rules on what strikes are allowed, ie a strike to the side of the head might be called a point but to the face is a foul or vice versa.
      And yep this is what I’ll be doing this Sunday, trying to avoid getting my head beaten in and hopefully scoring points on actual contact instead of losing to a kick over a foot over my head because I evaded.

      Reply

    • Pyronaut #

      I’m pretty sure he does get a point. If you listen closely, you can hear the ref saying he gets a point.

      Reply

  17. hEY #

    Are u crazy – he controlled it ` and r u da director..?
    You do ur own show
    With a crane kick
    and
    disqualified!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Reply

  18. lakawak #

    It wasn’t Daniel’s fault. Johnny ran right into it.

    Reply

  19. lakawak #

    Besides, give me a break…Johnny would have been disqualified first for the blatant attack on the knee.

    Reply

    • Ceri Cat #

      Agreed, I don’t know about the 80s but these days in my own association I compete under strikes below belt height aren’t scored or are ruled fouls depending on the specific circumstances, black belts can agree to allow THIGH contact, but strikes to the knee are always illegal.

      Reply

  20. Matt #

    Under most tournament rules I know of from back then, contact to the face is restricted for all belt levels UNDER black. Black belts are allowed to strike the face as they are considered to have mastered the basics of their style and are able to compete similarly.

    Therefore, in 1984, I do not believe that Larusso’s Crane Kick was illegal and he won legitimately.

    Reply

  21. Lance #

    Daniel just caught Johnny coming in and that is why it had as much force as it did. Johnny ran right into it. Can’t blame Danielson for that.

    Reply

  22. Amanda Harker #

    Ignoring the hypothetical nature of this conversation, I think you should also keep in mind that it’s very hard to use your full strength with an injured knee.
    Even if you account for the adrenaline of a competition and the riki healing Mr Miagi used on his leg there’s no way someone other than a shaolin monk would be able to ignore that much pain. So you could argue that even trying his very hardest the worst Daniel could have done is break his nose.
    Plus as others have said, the rules used in the 80s are most likely quite different to now.

    Reply

  23. Random #

    Punches to the head are illegal, but kicks are not. If kicks to the head were illegal, Johnny would have been disqualified prior to the final match because he is shown kicking Darryl Vidal in the face (while holding his arm… savage!) in a previous round of the tournament.

    Reply

  24. Kimberly #

    Did you look at rules from the TIME THE FILM WAS MADE…because from what I know, the rules were changed about a decade
    after the movie came out because so many idiots were trying to mimic the moves…I’m just curious as to which rules you consulted…

    Reply

  25. Bill #

    1) The author of the article made a big deal about the kick not “looking” controlled. I think the point of the movie is that by this point, he’s achieved a point of balance in his training. That was the whole point of “wax on/wax off” and “paint the fence, up/down”. Clearly by the time of the tournament, Daniel could’ve been capable of being in complete control.
    2) This is a movie people. Quit over-analyzing.

    Reply

  26. AC #

    I believe we have successfully overthought this

    Reply

  27. David Badyrka #

    This was not a documentary Johnny was never really hurt neither was Daniel. What would have happened in a real tournament is irrelevant to the movie. Unless somewhere there is a list of rules for the All Valley Championship. There is no argument to have Daniel disqualified as I am sure The Cobra Kai and Sensei John Kreese would have been complaining about the rule violations

    Reply

  28. Shez Shafiq #

    Daniels crane kick was perfectly legal. The kick is consistent with other kicks to the face in the rest of the tournament where points were given. I’ve never seen a problem with it, neither did the judges.

    Reply

    • Pyronaut #

      I would tend to agree with you.

      Reply

  29. Scott Sandars #

    Given that immediately after the match is declared, the crowd rushes in to congratulate Daniel and then as the ref starts to hand him the trophy, Johnny steps in, completely without facial cuts or bruises, and looking no worse for wear than the look of remorse, we can safely say that the impact of the blow was not major, ie a kick to the face delivered with a controlled amount of force despite Johnny charging fully into it.
    Johnny was unhurt, Face/head kicks were legal, Daniel wins.

    Reply

  30. John #

    The general rule for this type of tourney is no “full-contact”, which is somewhat at the discresion of the judge(s). There’s some gray area there in terms of “medium contact”, but what exonerates Daniel here is that he excecutes the move from not only a stationary, but also a somewhat apparently defensless (such is the design of the Crane Technique) position. Daniel’s stance baits Johnny into becoming the aggressor and he rushes forward for the easy point, only to be met with a foot in his face. It sounds like a smart-assed assesment, but technically Johnny ran face first into a foot that was already there. The physics of that would of course cause him to be basically closthlined onto the mat, thereby giving the contact made by Daniel the appearance of something more brutal than it actually was. Kicks to the face are legal, and the force of the contact made is up to the judge’s discretion. Therefore this would be, in my experience, a legal kick. Winner LaRusso.

    Reply

  31. Ken #

    I competed in Tae Kwon Do in the mid 80’s. Our events were often held at the same venues as karate tournaments. We frequently made fun of the karate guys because of their contact rules (Tae Kwon Do competitors go into the match wearing full pads and a helmet and full contact isn’t just allowed it was required). I definitely saw people DQ’ed for sweeps and for strikes to joints. I never saw anyone DQ’ed for a strike to the face but I’m pretty sure that’s because I never saw one. It has always seemed to me that the screenwriter of Karate Kid had never been to such a tournament. These things are not that well attended or that poorly officiated.

    Reply

  32. Chris #

    I was a tournament, Tae Kwon Do fighter throughout the 1980’s.
    Kicking to the head is strongly encouraged, and the highest awarded points. Most tournaments allow “medium contact”…and it is very difficult to say whether or not someone “kicked as hard as they could”. Also, if you notice on the video clip, Johnny “leaned into” the kick (fully-committed), as well. It did not look like Daniel kicked very hard at all. It was just timed correctly, enhancing its effect.

    Reply

  33. papa #

    looks like Johnny walked into the kick,Daniel was going to kick him in the chest–DOWN GOES FRAZIER!! I MEAN -DOWN GOES JOHNNY!! Keep the trophy Danny Boy–tell the grandkids about!!

    Reply

  34. frank #

    So lets start by saying why are we debating a controversial kick to face. If you want to talk disqualifying cobra kai would have been done for prior to the kick any ways. But since we want to say how bad the kick looks you can clearly see when Johnny’s head flips back prior to the kick hitting the target, if you look really close you see the Daniel does not make contact with the face it clearly is to the back side missing completely and Johnny flops to the floor looking for a call in his favor lol.

    Reply

  35. brian #

    He kicked him on the side of the head not the face at all.

    Reply

  36. Jimmy #

    It was legal, so you ask why? Because it was a fiction movie where everything is legal.

    Reply

  37. Snook987 #

    When I fought full contact Karate/Kung Fu in the early 80s, A hit to the face was legal. We had hand pads, foot pads and most things were allowed except spinning back fists. Technically, this whole tournament should have been banned….

    Reply

  38. Snook987 #

    But since his aunt in the movie was from my home town of Parsippany, N.J. He can do whatever the hell he wants. If you listen to him, he actually says it….

    Reply

  39. Jesse #

    Too funny Johnny’s head snaps back before he is even touched. Maybe the judge gave Daniel the win because Johnny was flopping.

    Reply

    • Seb #

      LOL….I don’t think he was flopping, but he was probably reacting to the kick and trying to dodge it. It does suggest that the contact was not quite as hard as it may have appeared. Besides, was there really anything realistic about that “under 18” karate tournament? It was damn near full contact with no head gear. The only thing that earned a disqualification was Bobby’s flying kick to the leg. Even Johnny’s elbow to the knee only drew a warning.

      Reply

  40. Zack #

    I do not know whether it’s just me or if perhaps everyone else encountering issues
    with your blog. It looks like some of the text on your content
    are running off the screen. Can somebody else please
    comment and let me know if this is happening to them as well?
    This may be a problem with my internet browser because I’ve had this happen previously.

    Cheers

    Reply

  41. Marcus #

    So I’m overthinking this link everyone here after watching Cobra Kai. So I rewatched Karate Kid.

    In the final match with Johnny Lawrence, Larusso scores the first two points. Sensei Kreese tells Johnny to “sweep the leg”, which Johnny does, and quickly scores his first point – with a kick to the face!

    If LaRusso were to be disqualified for a kick to the face, Lawrence would’ve been already disqualified because in the same match he score his first point with a kick to the face. I use this to conclude, in the under 18 All Valley Karate Tournament, face kicks get you a point.

    Reply

    • Pyronaut #

      Exactly! He also kicks a guy in the face earlier in the tournament when holding his arm, and Dutch also gets a point for kicking Daniel in the face.

      Reply

  42. Celio Jonck #

    I disagree… Daniel San kick the AIR as hard as he could… Lawrence shoud be disqualified for been a fucking idiot who runs against a kick would never hit anything otherwise…

    Reply

  43. nick bethea #

    Thanks Matthew now me and my kids hate you

    Reply

  44. Pyronaut #

    Clearly the author is either trolling us or he didn’t watch the movie very closely. There are at least 3 kicks to the face in different matches earlier in the tournament (including 2 to Daniel’s face), and they all get points.

    Reply

  45. The bee #

    How can anyone think to justify the beating , daniel, took just after he attempted to scale the fence – in legal terms those are very serious charges.
    If the cobrai kai were caught by law enforcement they would have been charged with gang stalking, assault and battery with the intent of causing grevious bodily harm and attempted murder and if the brutal cruel mistreatment myagi hadn’t intervened murder. Myagi ( the stalker and dirtbag war criminal thug ) was well within the parameters of the law to take action; however, it was an excessive takedown, nevertheless, still permitted by law to protect, danny, from further harm and look more closely – the psycho ( myagi ) has the keys to the padlock on the chain on the gate leading me to believe that, myagi ( or whatever the creatures real name was in the fillm ) the owner of the land and likely the owner of the Golden apartments

    Reply

  46. The bee #

    As for the crane kick, daniel , struck, johnny with – it was perfectly and legally justified – it was a kill or be killed situation – to me – it looked as if johnny was going in to headbutt, daniel – giving, daniel, the legal right to defend himself and the end – nice try though

    Reply

  47. The bee #

    I would also like to add : the tournament was rigged and the evil war criminal ( myagi ) liked to watch fights and likely got off on seeing, johhny, get kicked in the face.
    Still need convincing – kreese is working for, myagi and so are the referees – they are all ex soldiers from the Vietnam War and are now mercenaries and still don’t believe it – myagi getting in between the opponents and coaching daniel = tournament violation and that’s that

    Reply

  48. The bee #

    Moving on to the movie, the karate kid 2 – kk2 made, mister myagi a scam artist.
    At the okawani airport – can see, myagi, indicates a wink – this clearly shows mistreatment myagi declaring this is the bloke to pick on and in the car can observe, myagi, asking if everything is in place for his scam and even encouraged, chozen, to directly victimize, daniel.
    He gets to the village and there they meets a witch and his daughter – surprise , surprise – look closely in the original kk and will notice , the voodoo witch is actually none other than the woman in the picture while , myagi, was drugged and drunk – it’s the same creature.
    Myagi wanted to fix a fridge that’s out on the curb ready for the dump ( sure right )
    Mister myagi and his voodoo witch friend ( whoever his witch friend actually is ) becomes scum in my books
    Myagi ( the stalker ) wanted to see, daniel, hurt his hand while breaking the ice .
    The storm – myagi wanted to see the girl come in from the storm – not daniel
    Fast forward to the end : threshold is an arena purposely built for fighting and drums for each spectator and that’s supposed to be the secret to myagi’s family’s karate – sure right – more like the drum was a kids toy
    Conclusion : myagi is a liar, thief, war criminal spook – among other things though, it’s actually good all the karate kid films are only staged acting scenarios.

    Reply

  49. chuck lee chan #

    its bs a movie and like karate not real world dependent.

    Reply

  50. Paul #

    I’m buying into the conspiracy that Johnny faked getting kicked in the face and just laid down for Larusso. Like any good Italian from Newark, Larusso had his connected family come in and have a little “talk” with Johnny before the tournament and told him, “Lay down. Make it look good, but lay down. If you don’t, you’ll find pieces of Ali in your garbage for weeks. Now…who’s hungry?”

    Reply

  51. The bee #

    The way i saw the movie – johnny was likely attempting to ground and pound daniel mma style like danny preformed on just likel daniel defended himself on the soccer game at the tournaments last match but, I suspect johnny was charging danny .
    As for the comment – myagi was a world 2 veteran – If connect the dots – if myagi had actually had served in world War 2 – given the time frame , myagi would have been in 80’s when he was in the film – which would make him roughly 40 years old if he had fought in world War 2 – the army only allows folks who are in the 18 to 37 years age bracket to go into battles – which then makes, mister myagi ( or whatever his real name was supposed to be ) a scam artist – he’s no war hero – full stop

    Reply

  52. The bee #

    Yeah – you may be correct – I’ve got a good article for you to read online
    Just type in a search engine ( preferably Google ) – were the larussos in witness protection program and you will notice a convincing article titled, the real story behind the karate kid by, lift – run – bang; however, I suspect it’s a forgery; though, I still think it makes a lot of sense – daniel is described as a gangly bastard and he picked the fight at the beach and daniel kicking the gate was reckless assault.
    There’s another story others might be interested – type into the search engine : the mistunderstood johnny Lawrence.
    What I saw in the movie was something totally different – I saw, mister myagi, snake eyes, daniel San and that’s when his problems started to get worse.
    As for the Halloween fight – there was fog everywhere and what that usually means is there’s rain on it’s way.
    Myagi was there putting out the carved pumpkins – that’s why myagi got there so fast and as for daniel thinking, myagi, was spiderman – if the viewer looks carefully – there’s 2 blokes dressed in spiderman costumes – 1 just coming into the shower room and one outside

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  53. The bee #

    There’s even a youtube video titled, daniel is the real bully in the karate kid though, it has multiple flaws which a high majority of the flaws have already been detailed

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  54. The bee #

    I came across another youtube video, the untold story of the karate kid.
    The folks on it claimed danny wanted be johnny and that danny boy brand, ali, to directly to the karate tournament so he can make, johnny, lose his concentration so I suppose daniel should have been disqualified for the crane kick; however, the criminal offences committed against danny were pretty serious – attempted murder twice plus they threatened him implying danny go back to new Jersey causing , danny, to directly avoid aki and the cobra kai gang so I say let danny keep the trophy besides, the crane kick is basically a drop kick and like the other posts have declared, johnny, run right into it

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  55. The bee #

    Within the youtube video, the untold story of the karate kid – the pair claimed that ,mistreatment myagi, placed illegal drugs and / or, steroids, into, danny boy so yeah – I suppose, daniel San, .should have been disqualified .
    Daniel isn’t clever though, so I suppose – danny, deserved the trophy win

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  56. JB #

    Guys, guys, guys. It’s no problem. The 1% video makes it clear. Daniel wouldn’t have been disqualified – because he missed. I’m thinking that Mr. Miaygi payed Johnny to take a dive. Probably gave him one of those sweet vintage cars.

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  57. The bee #

    After watching a bit more of the karate kid : I noticed, danny scared from, myagi when he was practicing karate kicks from the book in his apartment so, myagi likely ebrasion eyed him yet again
    Myagi was bad news within all the Karate kid films

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  58. Kris #

    If a crane kick to the head was full power, he would be seriously injured. He wasn’t. Therefore control was exhibited.

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  59. The bee #

    Mistreatment myagi was actually the one who taught danny the ridiculously stupid kick in the first place besides, as if that last running kick johnny used after bobby pleaded for them to stop the viciousness of the Halloween evening beating
    Johnny getting kicked in the face with that powerful unnecessary use of force sure beat dutch and johnny spending lengthy time in prison if last running kick had landed to an already unconcious larusso – that’s for sure

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  60. Vinnie #

    Ever heard of full contact karate. Head kicks full force is the name of the game.

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  61. JZ #

    The kick appears legal but, had the ref seen full contact, he would have given only a warning at most. But it was a judgment call, and I don’t clearly see enough to overturn it. Point and match to LaRusso.

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  62. Don #

    I want to know who did the tournament seeding. Daniel with no experience should have been paired up with either Johnny or Darryl in the first or second round, as those were the two best competitors.

    Darryl and Johnny should have received the #1 and #2 seeds. Daniel would have been an “at-large” entry.

    Also, what kind of tournament requires a black belt only, but has no verification process?

    Ali deserved Johnny after the way she ruined Daniel’s car and then dumped him for a college boy. What a bitch.

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  63. Joe #

    So let’s be clear here: Did Johnny die from the kick? No. Did Johnny require immediate medical attention following the kick? No. Did Johnny suffer a concussion from the kick? No. Did Johnny even bleed after the kick? No. Was his face even bruised? No. After the kick to the face he crawled away and immediately got up. It was clear that this contact to the face, which is legal as the head is a valid target, was not delivered with force designed to “cause harm” which is the only way one could actually argue it was an invalid move. Johnny even took the trophy and gave ti to Daniel and told him “You’re alright LaRusso” which was clearly him acknowledging the kick as clean contact and that the victory was Daniel’s. This isn’t hypothetical and conjecture is just beside the point. The call was correct according to the rules and the outcome was fair.

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