your portrayal and analysis are very very in depth and good, i see one fatal flaw in that article:

comparing enter the dragon to karate kid is like comparing crank to airplane.

karate kid is a comedy,

it should not be taken as a serious action film. its like gymkata, brazillian brawl, berry gordy's the last dragon, old school, fistfull of yen, harold and kumar go to white castle, the naked gun or remo williams, best watched with some weed and a bottle of quality mezcal.

EDIT:
ok- i might be partially bieng facetious, but its pretty hard to take the karate kid seriously. if anything i think the karate kid is a reflection of the popular opinion based on mythology run wild that existed before not the cause of it. i agree with your article- but i just HATE to give the karate kid that kind of credibility to even be mentioned in the same article as enter the dragon.

Greetings, time traveler from 2005!

your portrayal and analysis are very very in depth and good, i see one fatal flaw in that article:

comparing enter the dragon to karate kid is like comparing crank to airplane.

karate kid is a comedy,

it should not be taken as a serious action film. its like gymkata, brazillian brawl, berry gordy's the last dragon, old school, fistfull of yen, harold and kumar go to white castle, the naked gun or remo williams, best watched with some weed and a bottle of quality mezcal.

EDIT:
ok- i might be partially bieng facetious, but its pretty hard to take the karate kid seriously. if anything i think the karate kid is a reflection of the popular opinion based on mythology run wild that existed before not the cause of it. i agree with your article- but i just HATE to give the karate kid that kind of credibility to even be mentioned in the same article as enter the dragon.

Well, since it's been resurrected, I'll help continue the debate...

Essentially, even though you and many others may consider it a "comedy" it is, in fact, portrayed and genre identified as a "drama". By that identification, it is considered to be serious in tone than your average drama. It's also one of the reasons its impact is felt to this day. A very different movie than "The Last Dragon" even though both are as as close to fantasy as you can get when it comes to actual martial arts application.

Recently on Cracked there was an article on how the karate kid ruined the modern world.

http://www.cracked.com/article_18544_how-the-karate-kid-ruined-modern-world.html

the article focuses on the idea that training hard for a little bit of time will let you overcome years of hard work and dedication. The author goes on to point out that because of this line of thinking most people have no concept of how hard things really are, and end up either quitting or taking the easy out. It's a fun article.

Nice...

Cull:
The Karate Kid and the emasculation of martial arts in the US - No BS MMA and Martial Arts (http://www.bullshido.net/forums/showthread.php?t=22147)

the article focuses on the idea that training hard for a little bit of time will let you overcome years of hard work and dedication. The author goes on to point out that because of this line of thinking most people have no concept of how hard things really are, and end up either quitting or taking the easy out. .

I was in 4th or 5th grade when I saw the movie way-back-when, It rocked my world, it and other things planted the "martial" seeds in my head... but as I trained on and off and saw this movie over the years I kept on thinking how did a total noob, win a whole full contact tournament (in the black belt division?) they must have been some weak black belts, or Mr. Miagi was a great ass teacher... but hey its is what it is...

IT WAS A CHILDRENS' MOVIE, not a comedy, not an action, not a thriller

I was in 4th or 5th grade when I saw the movie way-back-when, It rocked my world, it and other things planted the "martial" seeds in my head... but as I trained on and off and saw this movie over the years I kept on thinking how did a total noob, win a whole full contact tournament (in the black belt division?) they must have been some weak black belts, or Mr. Miagi was a great ass teacher... but hey its is what it is...

I thought the reason he won a full contact Karate tournament after only a few months intense training was because Miyagi only taught him techniques that worked as opposed to flashy jumping kicks that that Chinese looking guy used against Johnny in the semi finals. But hey it was a teenagers film and was meant to be taken with a pinch of salt.
Personally though I would rather watch this Film than Enter the Dragon as the fighting in that looks really dated

Bigstu, do you have any fucking idea what you are on about? Because you clearly don't.

I was in 4th or 5th grade when I saw the movie way-back-when, It rocked my world, it and other things planted the "martial" seeds in my head... but as I trained on and off and saw this movie over the years I kept on thinking how did a total noob, win a whole full contact tournament (in the black belt division?) they must have been some weak black belts, or Mr. Miagi was a great ass teacher... but hey its is what it is...

Also, Cobra Kai had every single warning sign of a McDojo and what little live sparring was done was to boost Johnny's ego and condition him to over-the-top aggressiveness. Plus, these kids were fifteen-year old black and brown belts and the tournament clearly didn't worry much about the accreditation or even the contestants wearing the required uniform. Heck, they let Cobra Kai compete despite the fact their competitors tended to rack up five or six final warnings each per tournament.

Bigstu, do you have any fucking idea what you are on about? Because you clearly don't.

The Karate Kid is a film aimed at teenagers. I was a teenager when I watched it and I enjoyed it. Enter the dragon IMO is not a film I would care to watch again.
Now do you have any fucking ideas other than ranting??????

It was mentioned in the movie, Karate Kid, that Ralph Macchio's character had taken karate back home in New Jersey, so he might not have been a total newb, but he lacked the confidence to use it... maybe.

I laughed more watching Enter the Dragon personally, though I did enjoy Ralph Macchio getting whaled on, a lot

This article was well thought out, and comprehensively written, and makes sense in every way. I do, however, think there is a place and a reason for no-sparring schools, assuming that they are, in fact, theaching properly in other respects. Before the counter-argument assault begins, understannd that I concede that there is no replacement for contact sparring, and that if someone expects to be able to use a technique in a fight, they, quite frankly, need to use it in a fight, at least a simulated one. Still, though, many parents do not understand this concept, and a 14 year old convincing his mother to let him into a no-contact school, as opposed to a sparring one, may be easier. The child can get a decent training base, and find a sparring school later, when they can choose for themselves. Also, some people simply do not have the confidence to begin with sparring, and attending a no-contact schol for a time could be good for them. The point stands that there is no substitute for training against a resistant opponent, and Karate Kids "you painted a fence, now go kick some ass... peacefully" approach to things is still ridiculous". But all no-contact schools are not evil.

It was mentioned in the movie, Karate Kid, that Ralph Macchio's character had taken karate back home in New Jersey, so he might not have been a total newb, but he lacked the confidence to use it... maybe.

I laughed more watching Enter the Dragon personally, though I did enjoy Ralph Macchio getting whaled on, a lot
No, he took a few classes at the YMCA and read some books.

This actually makes this movie worse, in my opinion. A kid who had maybe 3 weeks of serious training and read a few books defeats a guy who, while a complete dillhole, has had years of hard training. How does he do it? With "The Crane Kata."

No, he took a few classes at the YMCA and read some books.

This actually makes this movie worse, in my opinion. A kid who had maybe 3 weeks of serious training and read a few books defeats a guy who, while a complete dillhole, has had years of hard training. How does he do it? With "The Crane Kata."

It's no different from The Mighty Ducks - bunch of kids that can't stickhandle or skate their way out of a paper bag somehow miraculously, through a few montages of training, transform from sub D-leaguers to A leaguers and manage to beat kids that have been practicing together religiously for a long time. Even worse in Mighty Ducks II where they beat the opposing team with a ridiculously stupid slapshot called the Knuckle Puck... just as bad as Crane Kata. Worse.

I still get all heartwarmingly fuzzy (is that a medical condition?) when I watch these types of films tho