With the amazing success of Cobra Kai on Netflix, The Karate Kid is back in the cultural zeitgeist in a big way. People love John G. Avildsen’s classic underdog tale of a young man (Ralph Macchio’s Daniel LaRusso) and his triumph over bullies with the help of a gentle Japanese handyman (Pat Morita’s Mr. Miyagi) who happens to be a secret karate master. The sensei/student relationship is one of the ages. With Cobra Kai fandom at an all-time high, he decided to look back at the original movie and its iconic locations in this episode of “Where It Was Made.”
In this episode, our host Ryan Cultrera takes us on a wild tour of The Karate Kid’s iconic Reseda locations. He starts on the red carpet of the Cobra Kai S5 premiere and then backtracks to where it all began, the humble apartment building where Daniel and Miyagi first met. From there, he checks out the real-life gym which housed the Cobra Kai dojo, the beach where Daniel tangled with Johnny, where the famous karate All-Valley tournament was held and much more. Along the way, we reflect on what makes the film such an immortal classic, one which has stood the test of time in ways no one back in 1984 could have anticipated.
This episode of Where It Was Made is hosted, edited and directed by Ryan Cultrera, produced by Berge Garabedian and John Fallon, and executive produced by James Oster.
Stay tuned for more episodes of Where It Was Made – coming soon!