Question: How old is Danny supposed to be? And why in the scene were Daniel is out to eat with his mom after seeing the karate place that Johnny is in, why do they come out point to him laugh and run away?
Bishop73
28th Oct 2014
The Karate Kid (1984)
Answer: There definitely seems to be confusion about his age. Initially he was born in 1968, making him 15 turning 16 just before the tournament. When Mr. Miyagi celebrates Daniel's birthday, you can see the cake has 16 candles. However, in Karate Kid 3, which is meant to be set the following school year, Daniel is in college, so they retconned his birthday to 1966 (December 18, 1966 is his). This of course means Daniel was over 18 when fighting in the All Valley Under-18 Karate Championship.
22nd Jan 2021
The Karate Kid (1984)
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.
26th Sep 2008
The Karate Kid (1984)
Question: In tournament action, is the crane kick an actual legal move to use? How about the stance to start the move?
Chosen answer: There are no rules about how a fighter must stand before throwing a kick, and it's basically just a jumping front kick, which is completely legal.
Answer: It was not the technique that was illegal but where and how he made contact with Johnny that was illegal. I'm not 100% sure how to describe what is wrong with it but it is the spot he made contact with and that he kicked Johnny with intent to hurt him (witch may seem weird but believe it or not point based karate sparring is in fact a non-contact sport somehow).
In the film, there was nothing illegal about the contact he made, nor was it determined he had an intent to harm. Bobby was disqualified for an excessive and deliberate attack, but he also intentionally kicked the leg, which was not a part of the body to earn a point. What you may be trying to describe as illegal was lack of control. The ref even says to watch the control. It could be up for debate about if Daniel had control over his kick, but in the film, the ref found it acceptable.
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Chosen answer: Daniel is 15. He turns 16 just before the tournament. Remember that the cobra kais hate Daniel. So the fact that he had the audacity to show up at their dojo and is then spotted eating with his "mommy" amuses them. They run away because they wanted to be ready on their bikes to get him when he left the restaurant.
Gavin Jackson
No, he was 17, turning 18 in the film (note his line "kid's legal now, huh?") Remember, Karate Kid II is the summer after part 1, where Daniel is going off to college in the Fall (or would have been).
This answer can't be accurate. When Daniel says "Kid's legal now", he meant he can now drive meaning he was 16. Just the same, he was able to fight a year later in the tournament in part 3, in which case he'd be 17. So he couldn't be 17 in part 1 or he would not qualify to enter in part 3 (being 18).