The Karate Kid (1984)

Interesting fact Ralph Macchio appeared in 19 episodes of the TV show Eight Is Enough as Jeremy Andretti in 1980-1981 before Karate Kid.

OMFG I used to beat my meat every day when i was a teenager to this movie. I would imagine he would fuck me when he was all beaten up and bloodied, he would get my bed all bloodied mmmmmm. Daniel san was the shit back in the day

I think he is one of the most natural actors ever. I think he's very talented. He also looks likes Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer in the animated TV classic.

Randee Heller, the woman who played his mother also played a lesbian on [italic]Soap[/italic].

I wrote "slash" erotica fiction about Daniel and his blonde tormentors, right after this movie came out, way before it was known as slash!

This movie made me want to learn karate and befriend an elderly Japanese man.

I also loved Ralph in "The Outsiders," another classic!

I used to beat my meat to Elizabeth Shue and her big knockers. She was cute in this movie but she looked her hottest in Adventures in Babysitting and Cocktail. Karate Kid is a great underdog story. Love the costume party scene.

R8, are you (GASP) a straight guy??

Yes, R8. I take it I'm more welcome on DL than a frau?

Only if you're young, hot, hung and present your hole.

My parents used to tell me to just ignore bullies in high school - this movie taught me I should kick them in the head instead. It worked like a charm! (Note: I'm not joking, it really did stop them bullying me.)

More gay or ef.feminate or kids who are different should learn martial arts.. not to be some tough macho bad-ass, but really because you just never know when it may come in handy.

This was pretty interesting:

The Karate Kid: Daniel is the REAL Bully

Funny spin on it, R14!

Another gayling here who fell hard for Daniel-san. The 80s were a special time for film making.

Martin Kove...... Man!

Bump

I was probably 3rd grade when the movie came out. Wanted to take karate classes sooo bad, but was not allowed to. I'm appreciative now that I never held a big grudge about that.

My long time rival on the playground, who was at least as athletic at kickball, and with whom I competed for the hearts of girls since we were in the first grade, did sign up for karate and took it for years.

In the first grade he and I both loved the same beautiful girl, and she loved him, not me. I was so jealous that when the girl's older brother told me to punch my rival after school, I gladly did it. I sucker punched him right in the face. Then as my rival cried, the girl's older brother told her that he had told me to do it, so I didn't look like a total dirt bag.

So a couple years later, when my rival started taking karate and I didn't, I was pretty nervous about him eventually kicking my ass.

On the playground his karate really started to make a difference over time. Jumping higher to dodge the kick ball while running the bases, etc, etc.

We never really fought for real over the years, and remained good friends, until in the 8th grade when we both liked the same alpha cool girl, and he ended up as her boyfriend. But she and I maintained a too close friendship, which culminated with me feeling her boob at a party, with her temporary permission.

Well, my rival and friend found out about it, not by her, and he gave me a bit of a sucker punch in the arm, which had me near tears or even closer than near.

He went on to play college football as a strong safety, but not before punching a rival in the face so hard that he broke the kid's jaw and shredded his face skin. I'm lucky he treated me with more mercy back in 8th grade.

The Karate Kid is now considered 80s pop culture fluff, but in re-watching it as an adult, I struck by what a great performance Pat Morita gave as Mr. Miyagi. It actually had a lot of depth to it.

Was even more pleasantly surprised to learn he was actually nominated for oscar for that role back in 1985. Glad he was recognized for it.

Leave boy alone!!

Top movie that I'll still be watching when I'm 99

R3 your Rudolph comment is the funniest thing I've heard all year

Did he have beer gut in the movie yet? Or was that in other movies?

Karate kid is like a chessy 80s movie watching it now, it is one of those movies that was amazing for its time.

Still a guilty pleasure.

Good use of the song "Cruel Summer"

Has anybody ever had Ralph Macchio? Any gay gossip about him, or is he as squeaky-clean as I've heard?

I miss the days when threads about vapid 80s twinks would reach 500...now it's all trannies, Trump and SJWS

I had a Long Island friend who was friend with Ralph's wife Phyllis.. and she claimed that Tony Danza flirted with Ralph and was quite pervy about propositioning him. Now this is 3rd hand information, and dunno if it's true, but I don't know why my friend would have lied about that. This was back in 89, btw.

Any more info, R29??

I always knew Danza was a perv!

I can't imagine Tony Danza going for a babyfaced twink like Ralph!

I thought Danza was into big muscle queens??

Ralph was like Gabrielle Carteris, before Gabrielle Carteris, my older cousins always made a big deal about how he looked 14 but was really in his mid-20s.

Yes dear R32, the difference being that Ralph genuinely looked like a teen boy!

Gabrielle Carteris, or "old leather ass" as my sisters used to call her, looked 40 years old hanging out with 25 years olds trying to play 16 year olds..

What is Ralphie's secret to staying young-looking??

Also, I did not know Danza is gay.

They shot the beach scene at Leo Carrillo State Beach in Malibu, where many films/tv shows/commercials are filmed. Also Point Break, Inception, Sands of Iwo Jima, The Usual Suspects, etc. And porn. Lots and lots of beachy pornography.

Someone must have had Macchio.. whose cock did he slurp to get these roles??

Elisabeth Shue looks too big and mature for Ralph in that whole movie.. Not unlike Kate and Leo in Titanic... I'm afraid Shue would squash poor Ralphie!

EXCUSE ME, I was not fat, I was just curvy! And Ralph was just scrawny!

Here's another question. Why are The Karate Kid movies so-called, when none show the hero performing much Karate-Do/simple combat striking at all?

Is it because real Karate looks too violent & basic for a kid's movie? The form is essentially the Krav Maga of Dark Age hick farmers & fisherman, old Ronin & monks from 16th C. Okinawa...and Chuck Norris. It looks brutal on film, as it comprises of a lot of kicks, jabs and any improve quick & dirty moves you can think of (which funnily enough makes Daniel-san's notorious sucker-punch totally legit). Ralph Macchio doesn't do much more Karate beyond that in any of his 3 movies, though, and even the decisive Crane Kick at the end is a modified Tai-Chi move. The best explanation is that accuracy was never a big deal because American audiences are largely clueless when it comes to distinguishing the martial arts and the title still makes sense from a commercial standpoint because Japanese-named anything was just big in 80's.

Hilary Swank goes on to do little Karate & a lot of Tae Kwan Do in The Next Karate Kid, and the 2010 remake (more appropriately titled The Kung-Fu Dream/Kung-Fu Kid for Asian audiences and some non-U.S. ones) has even less to do with functional but posturing style. Throughout the film we get montages of Jaden not fighting but upping his Chi and learning precepts as if preparing to enter the Shaolin Temple. The remake has more legitimacy than the originals from this standpoint, as Dre is taught not by a sketchy old dude but by vigorous martial arts stylist Jackie Chan. A close eye can tell, however, that while Chan has the flow of a very capable Kung-Fu performer, he is more naturally skilled & intensely trained in Korean Hapkido, Chinese Wu-Shu & Wing Chun (relying heavily on the latter for almost all his movies).

The forms Jaden uses are more pacifistic and kid-friendly than Karate, and look better on film (lots of balletic spins & theatrical poses), but apparently he still had trouble learning them. In press Jackie openly admitted to training Jaden so hard he made the kid cry. It's hard to picture Morita driving Ralph to tears, but this may be to do with the age, size and personality differences between Daniel/Dre & Miyagi/Han more than anything. Even if he was a war Vet, an old Yoda like Miyagi could not realistically bully a tall 16-year-old tough from Reseda, whereas a beefy & powerful prime-of-life Han would easily overpower a teeny-tiny skinny preteen hoodrat like Dre.

Was Andrew Shue an extra in this just he was in big sis' other movies?

I have a feeling some of those Cobra Kai's were self loathing closet cases.

That would figure. Johnny had that feathered blond-twink haircut, and his henchman Dutch was a little -too- eager to get his hands on Daniel.

[quote] Ralph Macchio owns the 1948 gold & blue Ford from The Karate Kid Part 1, that Mr. Miyagi gives Daniel for his birthday. “One day my family and I will take a ride in it,” Macchio said. “Or I’ll sell it to Jay Leno for $200,000.” When asked by an audience member if he felt The Karate Kid would be a hit from the start, Macchio demurred that he had no idea if the movie would be successful but felt “one of those magical connections…what I knew was that we (Morita and Macchio) had something special.”

Slightly OT but there was so much weird sexual tension between Daniel & Terry Silver in Part III. Daniel had his fuck-me eyes on during their training sesh (he was even batting his eyelashes at one point) and Silver was totally getting off on Daniel's yelps of pain. That movie was so dark and fucked-up for a light family dramatic comedy.

The fact that the guy who played the Vietnam vet Silver was 25 at the time to Macchio's 30 is also a massive headfuck.

Mine too. I even like part 2 as well. The rest...not so much.

More Daniel-San & Terry weirdness in the last half of Part III. Amazing this got marketed to children tbh.

Just a little Karate Kid trivia for ya'll: Dutch (in R42) is Steve McQueen's son.

OMG R3, now I can't unsee it!

Wow R47, the resemblance is strong now you point it out...

R27 Macchio played gay in the quirky 1993 film NAKED IN NEW YORK, in which he has the hots for his best friend played by Eric Stoltz, who BTW shows peen. Anyway, there was a scene where Macchio unexpectedly kisses Eric,,,

[quote] (about Naked in New York) Part of the appeal was that [Macchio's] character, an aspiring actor confused about his sexuality, was a departure from his other roles. "I had this wonderful scene with Eric Stoltz, who played the lead, where he's my best friend, and I make a pass at him. I just did it for this scene," he says. "It was a very beautifully written, intimate-yet-awkward scene about two best friends."

"I just did it for the scene," lmao. The question that nobody asked. It's strangely hot seeing the Karate Kid kiss almost-Marty McFly, what could have been...

Ralph's right, this was a fascinating & beautiful scene embedded in a movie that turned out to be neither of those things. This moment and the presence of the indomitable Kathleen Turner were the biggest highlights.

There's a great song playing in the background of this scene, R50. It's a track called 'Enchanted' from the Philly synthpop band Book Of Love, known for opening Depeche Mode tours back in the day and for the topical dance single 'Pretty Boys & Pretty Girls' (said to be about AIDS...) 'Enchanted' has chilly, melancholy 80's stylings about it, perfect for the film.

He got some meat on his bones in the 90's R38, but not enough to be remarkable. Has he no vices whatsoever? He never even smoked afaik. It would be interesting hearing him confess to some sins.

Meh...the remake was much better.

In JUST ONE OF THE GUYS (1985), the Sherilynn Fenn character mentions how Joyce Hyser (incognito cross dressing as a boy) “looks like The Karate Kid”. It's easy to forget how big this movie was at the time.

Part III is sillier and more absurd overall, but the climactic fight in it is still superior to the one in Part II. How could Daniel-san have possibly taken on Chosen and won? It's unbelievable. Chosen was a scarier villain than Karate's Bad-boy Mike Barnes, but he was also more ridiculous and less of an even match. Daniel shouldn't have beaten either of them realistically. Mike Barnes was kind of a hotter, fitter, upgraded Johnny Cobra-Kai, wasn't he?

The worst thing in Part II is the way Danny fucks up what could have been a badass closing line ("live or die, man..") with Miyagi's nose-honk joke. However, it's not all bad, as we do see someone countering the crane kick.

It was so cute when Ralph hugged little Jaden at the premiere for the remake. He made Will crack up , too.

John Avildsen has the most incredible collection of footage on his YouTube channel, showing how the entire film was rehearsed and blocked by the actors and crew (including deleted scenes). It's obvious right away how great the chemistry was and how seamlessly the story worked, even with material cut out.

The best part is Part 10, which includes the lake scene (rehearsed on real water in a real boat), a deleted scene showing Daniel and Johnny getting up in each other's faces at school, and Daniel's birthday. The latter is very touching even in its infancy, and when Miyagi gifts Daniel the car....wow. It's lovely acting.

Johnny intimidating Daniel at school would have been cool to see in the final cut, though. In the cutscenes, Daniel asks Johnny a very pertinent and confronting question about Kreese's methods to which Johnny tellingly has no response but 'watch your mouth'. Johnny literally manhandles Daniel against a wall after that, so maybe it was cut to prevent fan fiction writers of the future losing their shit over it. Kai never die!

Saw part 3 of the Karate Kid recently and i couldn't stop laughing at Terry Silver. How much cocaine did they do when they confronted Daniel at the studio??

Oh man R59, everything about Terry Silver is incredible. The power-pony, the private sauna in his house, his Romanian secretary, his Gi wide open to the navel, that cravat he wears to the All-Valley. It's almost hard to despise someone that awesome, but toxic-waste contamination will do that if nothing else. His voice is sexy too, no wonder Daniel kept going back to the Kai dojo for more.

Then again, Sugar Daddy Miyagi did get Danny a hot vintage car and later a sweet apartment, and they went on a lot of training outings to the beach and the mountains and such. Tough call.

Macchio named his firstborn son 'Daniel', so the role obviously means a lot to him. Either that or he's one of those 'tough love' parents.

Back in the 90's Erica Cho did this great short-film pastiche of TKK from an Asian-American/Queer perspective. It's only 10 minutes and somewhat dated now, but still an interesting & funny watch. It's hard to take the 'Minute Maid' scene seriously again after watching 'We Got Moves'.

[quote] Synopsis: Obsessed with 80's teen heartthrob Ralph Macchio (aka The Karate Kid), a young Korean American faggotdyke takes a journey into Macchio’s pin-up androgyny and Hollywood’s All-American underdog fantasies. 'We Got Moves You Ain't Even Heard Of...'

[Quote] Oh man [R59], everything about Terry Silver is incredible. The power-pony, the private sauna in his house, his Romanian secretary, his Gi wide open to the navel, that cravat he wears to the All-Valley.

Lol true

Sean Kanan who played the young Cobra Kai Mike Barnes in Part III (and A.J. on General Hospital) grew up to be ultra-fine. Shame he's a Donald supporter.

I imagine he had a squeaky clean hole to go along with his squeaky-clean reputation.

It's hard watching the romance subplot of this movie now, because there's no way a young girl nowadays would let an asshole like Daniel interfere in her life and ruin her social life that way.

Of course, she goes back to Johnny Lawrence in Part II, freeing Daniel up to try (and fail) to seduce Japanese maidens.

Mean California blondies picking on that little Jersey boy.

when Ralph did Dancing with the Stars about 5 years ago, his pro partner Karina Smirnoff said he was doing great for a 50 year old and Ralph said in the pre-dance package: "I"m 49!""

Ralph teaching his son, Daniel, how to drive.

Ralph still looks great!

any gay rumors about our beloved Karate Kid?

I find it hard to imagine he was left unperturbed at a time when other heartthrobs (Corey Haim, Feldman, River Phoenix, etc.) were, ahem, experiencing difficulties!

He was probably too old for the molesters at that time. Certainly old enough to consent if he wanted to.

R29 is Phyllis the one who played the girl who picks a fight with Daniel-san at the Arcade when he goes to win Ali back? (the 'Young Hearts' scene?) Ralph had more chemistry with that girl than with Shue, and their little spat at the Arcade made it seem like they were jaded boyfriend/girlfriend of several years.

Not that Ali wasn't cute as a button. Just that the other girl was more...Jersey (which kinda undermines the whole 'Daniel is the lone Islander in the Valley' thing.....)

Ummmm, R73 Phyllis is not a character in THE KARATE KID. She is actually Ralph Macchio's real life wife. They've been married since 1987.

The Cobra-Kai are still tight, gang.

[quote] "The guys that played all the Cobra Kais are some of my best friends," Zabka told USA Today, while catching up for the film's 30th anniversary. "Marty Kove [who played sensei John Kreese] I see all the time. Rob Garrison, [famous for the line "put him in a body bag"] he just came and stayed at my house for a week. Bobby and Jimmy (Ron Thomas and Tony O’Dell) live around the corner from me. I reconnected with Ralph about ten years ago."

wow.. Ralph really looks so young in this film, like a 15 y/o kid. Hard to believe he was 20something in real life!

bump

did Mr Ralph Macchio ever participate in the homo sex?

R78, Ralphie was always so forever boyish and wholesome in my mind, it's hard to picture him ever having sex... He was a cutie, yes. But sex appeal? None.

bump

Ralph is straight as an arrow. He turned down my many sexual advances.

I liked the blond guy better.

Whatever happened to the blonde guy who got typecast as the douchebag villain in half the teen movies in the 80's?

It holds up well. I was 3 when it came out, but watched it constantly in the late 80's/early 90's.

Easy and fun rewatch.

The bad guy in part 2 was so hot. When he took his shirt off I got several holes punched in my gay card.

R83, he still works. He was on How I Met Your Mother a few years back playing himself.

Fun, corny, poignant and ultimately heartbreaking and uplifting.

The inclusiin of "Cruel Summer" only intensifies the ache.

I was 10 years old when The Karate Kid came out and Ralph Macchio was my very first celebrity crush. I thought he was the cutest guy I'd ever seen in my life. I went to see the movie with my parents at a movie theater that doesn't even exist anymore. Even when it's on cable today I watch it and still marvel at how cute he was. This is 1 movie I can watch over and over and never get tired of seeing. It goes without saying that I had tons of pictures of Ralph on my walls and of course the poster from The Karate Kid. lol

Same, R88, except I was 11. I was in love.

I was 3 when thidms came out. I was 8 when I really watched it.

I always wanted Johnny to fuck me.

Jesus. *this ^

Ralph Macchio never speaks of Betty Buckley and that saddens me.

I actually wanted "Cruel Summer" playing while Johnny fucked me...

Who wanted to get bukkaked by the Kobra Kai's?

R85 then I sincerely hope you went on to enjoy the Thomas Ian Griffith goodness in Part III.

R95 So fucking sexy.

The real reason the Kobra Kais were picking on poor Ralph Macchio was because he rejected being the Bottom Boy for their gangbang!

Ralph got married awfully young

Agree R98. After all these years and no scandals I conclude it's a Long Island Italian tradition, but for a long time I was poised for Ralphio to come out as he came across closeted in a handful of his movies (for me most obviously in THE OUTSIDERS, CROSSROADS & MY COUSIN VINNIE) and the short stint he had on Broadway (CUBA & HIS TEDDYBEAR, he had a lot of sexual tension playing opposite Daddy DeNiro).

By the Millennium or around the time he hit his late 30s he stopped pinging, though. There was some chatter about him on Dancing With The Stars, but all I noticed there was that he was hiding a sweet but verboten crush on his female partner/trainer. He likely is that most rare of birds, a faithful straight.

[Quote] He likely is that most rare of birds, a faithful straight.

Also another rarity in that he seems fairly normal.

There's a fun little moment in one of the IDW release JEM & THE HOLOGRAMS comics, where Pizzazz and the Misfits attend a Benson House costume party in Karate Kid-theme. The Misfits naturally dress as the Cobra Kai Hallowe'en Skeletons, while Techrat is garbed the Danny LaRusso Shower Curtain. Being such a young kid, Techrat does not know the significance of this (he expresses confusion and says he doesn't remember the shower in the movie; Pizzazz points out that he only saw the remake).

Guys....

Look up ‘Cobra Kai’ on YT channel search. There’s about to be a new chapter....

[quote] “I lived and breathed death for a long time. It’s the only way to do John Kreese.”

— Martin Kove, on preparing for his KK role by hanging around cemeteries & war vets

Was Daniel LaRusso cut or uncut?

In the original first draft of the script, there was a scene where Daniel was harassed in the school gym showers by the Cobra Kai, who turn the water Daniel is showering in to a freezing temperature so they can laugh at his shrinkage.

If Karate Kid had been a n NC-17 sex comedy a la American Pie and kept that scene, you'd have known R104.

Ralph's face still looks good. It's just the eyes and nose that are having some trouble. There's no reason why he shouldn't get the problem areas corrected.

^can’t decide if that’s a compliment or not.

Nothing wrong with a simple film, OP. Clarity & straightfowardness are virtues in KK.

Where KK excels is character development (not so much the sequels). The motivations for most every character from Miyagi to Lucille to Ali to Johnny all make perfect sense, with the exception perhaps of Freddy the apartment neighbor (and what was the point of him?). The world Advilsen created feels authentic and complete.

Has anyone seen Part 3? Any good?

DYK Pat Morita embroidered his own Gi in this movie? He should have honorary posthumous DL-membership.

Macchio sanding that deck was always weirdly sexy as a scene. What was Avildsen going for there?

I saw it when I was a child but many years after it came out. How can you not love this movie?My entire family used to watch it it was one of those cults like the Goonies that every year was shown on tv. Also the sequels were kinda nice. I liked Larusso but I was in love with the Cobra Kai blond guy.

R112 you need to see COBRA KAI if you haven't already. It's a tv series continuation of the KK movies, but based on/from the POV of Johnny Lawrence ('Cobra Kai blond guy'!) instead of Danny LaRusso. It's seriously good.

Nothing more all-American than THE KARATE KID.

Happy 4th July, Muriel-sama!

It was no 3 NINJAS.

R113 Yeah thanks. I read so much about this and it seems like everybody loves it, but I'm reluctant as I don't want to see them so old lol. But I think I def will because when I first heard about the series I thought it was going to be super trashy and I was so shocked when the reviews were in. 100% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes or something like that,just surreal.

Fun fact: In Japanese this movie is known as "The Best Kid (za besuto kiddo)."

Is there anywhere to watch the Japanese dub? I bet it's a total mindscrew.

Daniel was every little girl’s Dream Date back then. He was kind, communicative, sensitive, witty and (mostly) pacifistic. He was also of a manageable physical size and looked like a cute soft-butch.

R109 Part III is terrifying bizarro sleaze that everyone should see at least once in their life.

I always wonder if Sean Kanan hurt Macchio more in their fights than Zabka did. And if Macchio liked it.

Aw, Ralph's face completely changes when he smiles wide and genuinely R119. In most photos I've seen he's usually always staring or at best nervously and tensely grinning a little.

Billy Z. really cried during the final cut of the tournament scene. Hot.

Dreamzone made a porno of TKK Part 1 about five years ago.

Sadly it's a straight one of the trashiest low-budge variety. I haven't seen it but from grainy stills I gather it's all just plastic girls having to service 30-something guys pretending to be high-schoolers. Most offensively they turn Daniel's mother Lucille into a wannabe amateur porn MILF and Miyagi into a lech hebephile. So grim.

Here's the laconic. I can't bring myself to post clips or the DVD cover, it's too bone-chilling.

[quote] With high hopes of porn stardom, Daniel's mother moves the family out to California. While she pursues her dreams and every dick in town, Daniel aspires to fend off the local bullies. Sympathetic to his plight, Daniel's perverted neighbor Mr. Miyagi trains him to fight. With the Karate tournament just a day away, will Daniel be ready? Will his insatiable mother stop craving cock? Will a double-penetration scene slow down with evil Cobra Kai? Answers to these questions and more are revealed in The Karate Kid XXX.

Someone should clap back and create a high-quality softcore totally-gay version of Cobra Kai. If the makers could find a guy who looks just like William Zabka they'd have a sure hit on their hands.

[quote] Someone should create a high-quality softcore totally-gay version of Cobra Kai. If the makers could find a guy who looks just like William Zabka they'd have a sure hit.

This! They could light the dojo the same way cheesy pastel 80s skinflicks were, then add a Casio soundtrack with the drum machine mixed low in the background. Perfect setting for adult Johnny & Daniel to slowly and passionately feel each other up and then fuck (maybe with Chosen & Mike Barnes later on).

I’m still searching vainly for Zabka & Macchio pron-doubles...

The movies didn’t have anywhere near enough snake/dick jokes. Wasted potential.

It’s said in the film and later in COBRA KAI that Daniel was 8 years old and present in the hospital room when his father died and, but no cause is given.

What is the audience to assume happened, there? Terminal illness, accident, or injury?

Those 80s gym shorts were something else.

It was a masterstroke to make Johnny Lawrence stunningly beautiful. HS Bullies often are (that’s their peak).

There are some movies that are so annoyingly slight, I never had any desire to see them.

This movie has no real stars, and no real reason to exist except to make tweens happy.

I was too mature for this film even when I was 8. The only drawback to not seeing these type of movies is there's kind of holes in my pop culture knowledge. But I can live with it. And have for a while.

I'm guessing R129's career is bitchy flight attendant.

[quote] I was too mature for this film even when I was 8. The only drawback to not seeing these type of movies is there's kind of holes in my pop culture knowledge. But I can live with it. And have for a while.

R129 there's an app for that.

We also have streaming media on demand these days plus a Karate Kid reboot series, so worry no more!

The real antagonist of Karate Kid is Freddy. He was totally getting Daniel back for that gate to the face.

Think about it; Freddy takes Daniel to the party where he first confronts Johnny, which Daniel only does in the first place because Freddy goads him into talking to Ali right in front of her hothead ex-boyfriend. Daniel would never have had any beef with the Cobras at all if it weren't for that fight on the beach. Daniel walked blindly into a war with these crazy karate psychos and only because he got the bare minimum of relevant information about Ali from Freddy - that she likes him, not "yeah she's into you man but her ex is still hung up on her and he is 6ft with a black belt so don't give him a reason to target you or you will get your ass kicked.” When shit inevitably goes down and Daniel's problems with the Cobras escalate at school and in gym, Freddy drifts into the background of scenes to point and laugh at Daniel's misfortune with the rest of their class. Freddy does not even show up with the rest of the Hills to support Daniel at the All-Valley. Some friend.

^^is Demitri in COBRA KAI meant to be the new Freddy?

I hope not, I like Demitri sassing back to Johnny and I want him to be a gay karate student.