While Cobra Kai star Ralph Macchio does not have a black belt in karate in real life, the quote above shows that he still attempts to do his own stunts for both the hit Netflix series and the franchise as a whole.
Stunt doubles can only be used in scenes where audiences can't get a clear view of the characters. For this reason, each actor whose character participates in the action must perform most of their own fighting scenes.
Does Ralph Macchio, the actor from The Karate Kid, actually have any karate training in real life? Not by a long shot; though it should be noted that neither were cast to be great martial artists, and instead were hired to be amazing actors.
Not very. The martial arts require endless hours of instruction, sparring, drilling, exercising, etc. It requires years to become good in any form, a lifetime to become a master. Yet Cobra Kai depicts adolescents and 20-somethings becoming expert fighters in what appears to be a very short time.
Macchio told us that his martial arts experience is more one as a servant to the martial arts. In other words, while he never entered karate's formal belt system, he's its greatest living ambassador (our declaration, not his).
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Is Billy Zabka a black belt?
He was not at all experienced in martial arts prior to the filming of The Karate Kid (1984). He was actually an accomplished wrestler. However, in the years since, he has earned a black belt in Tang Soo Do.
Zabka didn't know any karate before his role in The Karate Kid. He learned the skills on set through the film's trainer, Pat Johnson. According to The Wrap, "Zabka stuck with the martial art form and made it all the way to a second-degree green belt (about midway to black belt)."
Well, wonder no longer, because the ageless Macchio has the answer. In an appearance on The Late Show on Tuesday, the Cobra Kai star told host Stephen Colbert that the vintage automobile (aka the “wax on, wax off car”) was gifted to him after Karate Kid Part III wrapped.
Zabka played Johnny Lawrence, the main antagonist to the title character and protagonist played by Ralph Macchio. Zabka had no training in karate at the time but was an accomplished wrestler. Participating in the film inspired Zabka to learn the martial art of Tang Soo Do and he later earned a second–degree green belt.
Though the duo have only spoken highly of each other in the press, their friendship didn't kindle until years later — 2005, to be exact — when they reunited for the first time ever at Pat Morita (a.k.a. Mr. Miyagi)'s, funeral. “He caught my eye,” Ralph said in his memoir about the meeting.
Cobra Kai Karate is it's own style derived from Shotokan and Tang Soo Do. It uses lot's of side kicks, knee kicks, round house kicks, and Sweeps in combination with straight punches, backfists, and chops. Cobra Kai is a derivative of American Tang Soo Do, popularized by Karate Champion Chuck Norris.
Ralph's voice is just way different today. He was in his 20's back then when making the Karate Kid movies, so you'd think he would still sound like that today. In the 80's he had more of a Jersey accent too, but his voice just sounded different than it does today overall. It's softer now that it was back then.
Not before being cast as Mr. Miyagi, no. He did train with a reputable black belt for the films, a Tang Soo Do black belt/stuntman named Pat Johnson who befriended Chuck Norris at a tournament and would go on to study karate directly under Chuck Norris and teach at several of his gyms.
"For Billy and I, the depth and level of our friendship and our history together has just gone beyond, just like this show has," Macchio tells PEOPLE of working on Cobra Kai with Zabka.
Miyagi was born on June 9, 1925, in Tomi Village Okinawa, Japan. He had a job working for his best friend Sato's father, who was the richest man in the village. In addition, he learned karate and fishing from his father Miyagi Chōjun, a fisherman.
However, when Kreese rejects Terry's offer to create a Cobra Kai franchise, the latter coldly betrays him. 76-year-old Martin Kove reprises his role as John Kreese, who's around 73 in the show.
Snipes has been training in martial arts since age twelve, earning a high ranking 5th dan black belt in Shotokan Karate. He has also trained as a student of Capoeira under Mestre Jelon Vieira and in a number of other disciplines including various styles of kung fu and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.
Unlike the biggest actors in the martial arts genre, Lee never had a black belt and only spent a very short period as a student in a martial arts school. Despite that, Bruce Lee is still renowned as a kung-fu legend and one of film's greatest martial arts actors.
In the All-Valley Tournament, it was Daniel LaRusso who famously won by beating Johnny Lawrence. However, that wasn't the only competition that Daniel won. In The Karate Kid III, he went up against Mike Barnes in the All-Valley Tournament and took first place trophy home once more.
The crane kick is a fictionalized version of the Mae tobi geri (Japanese: 前飛蹴). The move was created by Daryll Vidal for the classic film The Karate Kid (1984). The move is taught by the character Mr. Miyagi to Daniel LaRusso and eventually used in the final scene with his arch rival Johnny Lawrence.
Summary. The Karate Kid theory suggests Daniel may be the real villain, not Johnny, due to his actions in the film. Johnny is portrayed as a flawed hero in the film, with Daniel instigating conflicts that escalate the rivalry.
