Also known as

Description

American actor best known as Daniel LaRusso in The Karate Kid (1984) and its sequels, and in Cobra Kai (2018-2025). Apart from four jiu-jitsu lessons as a child, he had no martial arts experience before The Karate Kid; before filming he was trained in Okinawan Goju-ryu karate by fight coordinator Pat E. Johnson. He performed the majority of his own stunts in the films and, decades later, on Cobra Kai.

Teachers (1)

• 
  Pat E. Johnson

  linkGoju-ryu 3

  Confirmed

  First-person account naming both teacher and style (Guardian 'How we made', 2023 - trained in Okinawan Goju-ryu karate by Pat E. Johnson), corroborated by Johnson's own account of training him intensively for the film (via THR quoting Sports Illustrated, 2018) and by trade coverage of the production. Film-preparation training rather than dojo study, but the relationship and style are explicit and uncontested across independent sources.

  (1984-1984)

  expand_morefact_checkassessed by FSMverified

  Frederico Muñoz

  Researcher, Martialis

  2 sources

  fact_check

  First-person account naming both teacher and style (Guardian 'How we made', 2023 - trained in Okinawan Goju-ryu karate by Pat E. Johnson), corroborated by Johnson's own account of training him intensively for the film (via THR quoting Sports Illustrated, 2018) and by trade coverage of the production. Film-preparation training rather than dojo study, but the relationship and style are explicit and uncontested across independent sources.

  assessed by FSMverified

  Frederico Muñoz

  Researcher, Martialis

  "Apart from four jiu-jitsu lessons when I was 10, I had no martial arts experience. Before filming, I was trained in Okinawan Gōjū-ryū karate by Pat E Johnson, who coordinated the fight scenes and played the head referee in the tournament at the end of the film."

  — Gilbert, Ben. (2023-09-18). 'Everyone was doing the crane kick': Ralph Macchio on making The Karate Kidlinkinfo

  "For The Karate Kid (1984), Johnson told Sports Illustrated in 2018 that he trained actors Pat Morita and Ralph Macchio "separately, really hard.""

  — Barnes, Mike. (2023-11-06). Pat E. Johnson, 'Karate Kid' Choreographer, Trainer and Referee, Dies at 84linkinfo

Sources