The Karate Kid

Answer: A number of reasons. Ali's friends are rich snobs who look down on Daniel because is an outsider; he and his mother do not have money; they live in a modest apartment; Daniel's mother drives an old car and she has to drive him and Ali for their date, etc.

raywest

Answer: Rolling a joint.

LorgSkyegon

Question: Why did Freddy Fernandez stop being Daniel's friend after Johnny won the fight at the beach? It's not like Freddy Fernandez would have done any better, since he has no knowledge in karate.

Answer: Because any friend of Daniel's is likely to be an enemy of Johnny's. Simple matter of self-preservation.

Phixius

Answer: Freddy's friends made fun of Freddy for befriending a loser like Daniel. After the fight, Freddy's friend says, "You sure pick cool people to be friends with, Freddy. Where did you find this guy?"

Question: Kreese told Bobby to put Daniel out of commission for their semi final match but why didn't he have Johnny put his semi final opponent out of commission?

Answer: Because Kreese has a personal vendetta with Daniel and Mr. Miyagi. He likely wouldn't stoop to that level for a random competitor, but he will to keep Daniel from winning.

Oh, he would definitely stoop against any competitor. He simply had confidence in Johnny's ability to win. However, he did have a personal vendetta and wanted to humiliate Miyagi. Remember that Kreese was a Vietnam veteran, so he had personal animosity towards all Asians. Daniel was barely on his radar, but Kreese despised Miyagi.

Question: How did Bobby beat his second opponent in the tournament? I'm talking about the match that was right before the one between Tommy and Daniel.

THE GAMER NEXT DOOR

Answer: The fight isn't shown in it's entirety but the final point is won when Bobby takes his opponent down and hits him with a back fist across the chest.

BaconIsMyBFF

Chosen answer: The Park is called "Golf 'n' Stuff" (like in the movie) and is located in Norwalk, CA. The slide unfortunately was removed in the early 90s.

Question: How does Daniel go from barely knowing any karate at all to being able to defeat blackbelts and win a tournament in just a few months?

Answer: It's unlikely he could do that in real life, but the movie employs a suspension of disbelief and compresses time in order to tell the story.

raywest

Answer: The win seems implausible, but I think the special training / unique techniques learned from Miyagi were meant to get him a competitive edge or at least quickly bring Daniel to a level of skill that would otherwise have taken years to attain/master. At first, Daniel wasn't even aware the chores Miyagi gave him were designed to give him quick (automatic) reflexes that would enable him to block blows. The final "crane" kick was created for dramatic purposes, but gave an image of an earned victory.

KeyZOid

Answer: He thought that she was getting back together with her ex, and Daniel's chief tormentor, Johnny. (I could be wrong it's been a long time since I've seen the film).

Alan Keddie

Answer: Remember the scene where they had an argument about Ali saying Daniel can't always run away from his problems (meaning the Cobra Kai). Daniel didn't appreciate the lecture, so snapped back at her and then avoided her until the Halloween party, when Miyagi convinced him to make up with her (young bee needs young flower, not old prune).

Answer: She was with her friends and her friends don't like him. So he probably just wasn't in the mood to deal with that. He also had some battle wounds from getting "pushed" down a hill on his bike and wasn't ready to face her yet.

Question: How could Daniel become skilled enough to beat black belts in a karate tournament after just two months of training?

Answer: The Karate Kid series as a whole, which includes the TV show Cobra Kai, implies that Miyagi's teachings are highly effective. Miyagi's unorthodox teaching methods can get a novice up to a high level in a short period of time.

BaconIsMyBFF

Answer: His opponents in the Valley tournament are not all black belts either. Johnny for example is not a black belt.

Question: Tommy mentions something about ace degenerate - what was he talking about?

Answer: Tommy was saying Johnny was the number one, or best in the group, degenerate. Meaning if there was something bad or wrong to do or get into, Johnny would have been the first to do it or lead the way. Tommy offered Johnny a beer and Johnny refused. At this point, they're not even seniors in high school, so they're engaging in illegal underaged drinking (degenerate behavior). Tommy says it in an affectionate/positive way though, like he his proud to be degenerate.

Bishop73

Answer: He's asking for them to make peace and stop arguing.

Answer: One of them was "I thought they broke up" at the beginning of the film on the beach. Tommy replied "she did, he didn't." I don't recall the other line.

Answer: It didn't look like him. It appears to be a random student and not part of Johnny's group of friends seen throughout the film.

Well in that case, I heard Jimmy has two lines throughout the film and I figured they were both of the "yes sensei's." What are Jimmy's two lines then?

Question: Why are Ali's friends with Johnny, Dutch, and Tommy at Golf and stuff? Surely they'd stay away from them out of respect for Ali?

THE GAMER NEXT DOOR

Answer: Ali and Daniel are really the only ones that seem to have a problem with Johnny and his friends. Other than that, Johnny is well liked and popular. Even Ali's parents are fond of Johnny. Also, to be fair Johnny does seem to be genuine when he invites Ali to come along with the group and even invites Daniel along as well, though he does make a rude comment about Daniel while doing so. The Cobras have stopped harassing Daniel and only Daniel and Ali know the real reason why. Johnny and his group are still friendly with Ali's friends so they see no reason not to hang out with him. Ali's friends also unfairly dislike Daniel from the beginning because he lives in Reseda, so they are not the best judges of character to begin with.

BaconIsMyBFF

Answer: They are in the same friend group and Johnny and Ali's break up doesn't really affect any of them. In the Cobra Kai series, Johnny said that they got into a fight before his senior year and figured things would blow over. So it sounds like them fighting was a regular thing and their friends were probably used to it.

Question: This is in regards to the tournament in this movie and in part 3. Is it compatible to tournaments in real life? In real life, are they physically hitting each other or do they pull back on their punches? What do they do in the tournaments in both movies that is not allowed in a real life tournament?

SAZOO1975

Chosen answer: Without knowing the exact style of karate, it is impossible to answer. I perform in martial arts tournaments but we wear various protective gear and are prohibited to strike at targets like knees (as in the movie) but are also prohibited from "excessive" contact on legal targets. My brother-in-law, though, does another style - and he won a match by kicking a person so hard he broke ribs and the other participant couldn't continue - so my brother-in-law won the match. Different styles differ. Back in the 70's and 80's "Point sparring" was very popular. This is where the contestants pull their punches only making light contact. This was considered a good skill to have as it taught one control their punches and to learn distance. It was very boring to watch and with the development of safer protective gear point sparring pretty much went away.

Zwn Annwn

Question: What was the liquid Mr. Miyagi soaked the cloth in and told Daniel: "Smell bad, heal good?"

Answer: Since it's not stated within the movie, it's presumed to be an herb/plant with a foul smell (it's been steeped/brewed so Myagi wrings out the cloth), which has potent healing properties.

Super Grover

Question: At the dance, who is the actor in the yellow shirt that stands near Ali after Johnny and the others trip over themselves while chasing Daniel? He looks so familiar.

Answer: I believe that was the "Chicken Boy" who threw the eggs earlier in the scene. He now took his head covering off. He was played by Todd Lookinland - brother of Mike Lookinland (Bobby Brady of "The Brady Bunch). They somewhat resemble each other.

Question: Did Daniel really mean it when he said he hated his bike, or was it just out of anger?

Answer: It was just out of anger. He's frustrated that he has to ride a bicycle around while his bullies ride around on expensive dirt bikes.

BaconIsMyBFF

Question: Why wasn't Johnny joining in when Dutch was making fun of Daniel? He hates Daniel more than the rest put together. He also wasn't even laughing.

THE GAMER NEXT DOOR

Answer: This scene was intended to show that Dutch was actually the worst of all of them-cold, calculating, and cruel. Johnny was a spoiled rich kid punk, but not a bad person (as seen in Cobra Kai). He doesn't want to sweep the leg, thinks Kreese is crazy for ordering Bobby to put him out of commission, and even congratulates Daniel at the end. Dutch was legitimately a dangerous, possibly psychopathic, kid. He relishes in Daniel's pain and even urges Johnny on in the alley fight. Johnny was pissed, rightfully so, but it was Dutch who was the 'devil on his shoulder.' Also note in Part II when Johnny is being choked out by Kreese - Dutch is the only one who turns his back and ignores it. He doesn't help his 'friend' like the others.

Answer: He was being a good soldier standing at attention while his D.I. was doing all the talking.

Answer: Ali and her family are very well off and are from a nicer part of town. Reseda is a lower income area. It's a typical "wrong side of the tracks" situation. Ali's parents would be happier if their daughter dated someone more well off. The theme of "never judge a book by the cover" permeates throughout the film and this is one of several examples. Daniel is a kind, caring, honorable young man and where he lives has nothing at all to do with his character. Johnny, who Ali's parents are more approving of because of his social status, is controlling, manipulative, petulant, and violent.

BaconIsMyBFF

Answer: Ali's family is well off living in an affluent neighborhood, while Reseda is a lower income level section of town. Her parents are judging Daniel based on where he lives, and don't want their daughter going out with a person they feel is socially "under them."

jimba

Answer: It is important to note that the video in question was obviously facetious in tone. However specifically regarding the fight on the beach, Daniel's fight with Bobby on the soccer field, and Daniel hosing Johnny down in the bathroom it could certainly be argued that Daniel either escalated the situation or directly instigated violent contact. Also of important note, the series Cobra Kai essentially lends credence to these arguments and paints Daniel as a much less honorable hero and Johnny as a much more sympathetic villain.

BaconIsMyBFF

Answer: Like someone mentioned, that video was pretty much a joke. Daniel was never the bully and like others have mentioned in these q/as Johnny wasn't full bully either. Daniel did however have a temper and exacerbated the situations while Johnny let himself be egged on by Dutch and Kreese. In the Cobra Kai show, Johnny did also exaggerate to Miguel and the other Cobra's and even himself that Daniel was the bully, but he was just deluding himself. And you can see by his expressions that he knew he was lying. If you go back to the beach scene you will see Johnny was being an abusive d**k to Ali and Daniel was the only one that stood up for her. Johnny ripped her stereo out of her hands, broke it and got in her face. Yeah she got right back in his face, but this is when he, as the wrong party should have backed down. He did not so Daniel stepped in. If No One stepped in to help her, they would have been all disgraceful in my eyes. The show and movie are pretty nuanced and quite deep.

Answer: It appears that way at certain times throughout the film, Daniel tends to instigate fights such as getting involved between Johnny and Ali's fight on the beach, and spraying Johnny with the hose in the bathroom. Of course Johnny summed it up when he said to Daniel "You couldn't leave well enough alone."

Revealing mistake: When Daniel is running from Johnny and his gang after the bathroom incident at the dance, there's a lot of fog outside. If you look at one of the trees in the background, you can see that all the fog is being puffed out from behind the tree - obviously a fog machine.

More mistakes in The Karate Kid

Miyagi: Wax on... Wax off. Wax on... Wax off.

More quotes from The Karate Kid

Trivia: Daniel's Apartment is called "The South Seas," located in Reseda, CA.

More trivia for The Karate Kid

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