The Karate Kid - 40 Years

[KarateKen]

It was 40 years ago today (June 22, 1984) that the original Karate Kid movie was released. (Perfectly enough it was also five years ago today that I had my first Karate belt test, but that is for a different post.) When I first saw the movie, it was by accident, I was channel surfing on a lazy Sunday night, and it was on TV. I decided to watch it, having missed the first part, and I loved it so much that as soon as the movie was over, I went to the Blockbuster Video in town and rented the VHS, then went back home and watched the entire film seeing the beach scene and thinking "oh that is why they are fighting." I have never done that before or since.

At that time, I had been wanting to get into martial arts and about two weeks later I enrolled in TKD and spend basically all summer at the Dojang, going to every class I could while obsessively working my forms in the back room at work, when nobody was looking and still on the clock. I was also in college at this time and met several college students who trained there who became friends.

Over that summer I also obsessively watching the entire Kid movie series and began searching out more martial arts films. To that point I had seen very few of them.

I never would have imagined that there would be a Cobra Kai series years later with many of the same actors and characters. All of them were young enough in the 80s to still be able to be alive and working today, other than Morita who passed in 2005. He leaves behind an incredible legacy with the movie series that expands to Cobra Kia, nearly 20 years after his passing.

If you have any fun facts about the movie or stories of how it impacted your life, please share them here. If not thanks for reading, this is one of my longest posts and I tried to keep it short.

[bushido_man96]

Crazy, 40 years. I remember watching it as a kid and always enjoying it. The new series has been a nostalgic trip.

Don't really have any stories to go along with it. My dad was actually my first influence in the Martial Arts, and he would always give interesting tidbits about this art or that art. That's why I'm still doing it to this day.

[Fat Cobra]

The 2 biggest inspirations for me getting into martial arts, movie wise, were Karate Kid and Bloodsport.

Karate no michi!

[KarateKen]

The 2 biggest inspirations for me getting into martial arts, movie wise, were Karate Kid and Bloodsport.

Karate no michi!

Did you enjoy the Kickboxer movies?

[sensei8]

Having that type of follow-up after 40 years in any franchise is quite impressive and can't be scoffed at. KK has valuable gems of wisdom that many just don't have nor do they try to have. The MA in that franchise is as basic as basic can be, but it does get that message through its techniques.

[KarateKen]

Sad to share this news but actor Chad McQueen, who played Dutch, has passed away at the age of 63. 

[bushido_man96]

Man, that's sad to hear.  James Earl Jones passed this week, too.  He was great in everything he ever did, but I loved him in Best of the Best.

[sensei8]

14 hours ago, KarateKen said:

Sad to share this news but actor Chad McQueen, who played Dutch, has passed away at the age of 63. 

 

9 hours ago, bushido_man96 said:

Man, that's sad to hear.  James Earl Jones passed this week, too.  He was great in everything he ever did, but I loved him in Best of the Best.

Very sad in both accounts; both were valuable to their profession.

[KarateKen]

A new Karate Kid movie called "Legends" has been announced and will come out in May of 2025.  The poster and first Trailor have been released.  It will be the aftermath of Cobra Kai, which means the final five episodes of CK will have to be before then.  I did that math on my own! 

[sensei8]

To be honest, I'm surprised that the Karate Kid saga has had this much gas behind it. The Karate Kid is no Star Wars and/or Star Trek sage, but even with them, those sagas need to end before their legacies run the irreputable risk of being tainted forever.