To complete a timeline I first needed a starting point, a date I could base everything else off of. That date was solid, December 19th. I knew this was the day the All Valley Championship took place, but what year? The movie as we all know came out in 1984. Some might say that that would be the year the events took place while others might argue that the events took place at the end of 1983 seeing as the movie came out in the summer of '84. Karate Kid 2 however puts this debate to rest.
The sequel picks up where Karate Kid 1 leaves off and six months after Daniel wins the All Valley tournament we see him pull up to Mr. Miyagi's house in a bad tuxedo and a damaged car. Of course we all know the story and soon Daniel and Mr. Miyagi are off to Okinawa where later they find themselves in the midst of a Pacific typhoon.
A quick search of Pacific typhoons and we learn that in 1984 Typhoon Holly hit Okinawa hard in the month of August with winds upwards of 80 mph. This coincides with the Bon Festival which takes place in Okinawa in the month of August and plays a crucial part in Karate Kid 2.
In August of 1985 no typhoons hit Okinawa, only a tropical storm named Lee that passes with only moderate winds. From that we can safely say the events of Karate Kid 2 took place in 1984 therefore the events of Karate Kid 1 took place in 1983.
Now I could put a timeline together.
Once I found a calendar for 1983 I could piece together the dates of the events falling between the Halloween Dance on Friday October 28th and the All Valley tournament on Monday December 19th.
-Friday, October 28th-
The Halloween Dance and subsequent beating of Daniel at the hands of the Cobra Kai. Daniel is saved by Mr. Miyagi who later offers to help Daniel smooth things over with his "friends."-Saturday, October 29th-
Trip to the Cobra Kai dojo, the agreement is reached to settle the score at the December 19th tournament, and Daniel's karate training begins with "wax on, wax off."
-Monday, October 31st thru Friday, November 4th-
Take a Worm for a Walk week.
-Saturday, November 5th-
Daniel and Ali's first date.
-Friday, November 11th-
Daniel's training continues with "sand the floor."
-Saturday, November 12th-
The catching of the fly with chopsticks and "paint the fence."
-Sunday, November 13th-
Daniel spends all day painting Mr. Miyagi's house while Mr. Miyagi spends the day fishing. Later that evening Daniel realizes he has been learning basic karate techniques the entire time.
-Monday, November 14th-
After school Mr. Miyagi takes Daniel to the beach to "learn balance" in the surf while we get our first look at the Crane Technique.
-Tuesday, November 15th thru Thursday November 17th-
Sometime during these three days Daniel asks Ali out on their second date. Also Mr. Miyagi takes Daniel to the lake where Mr. Miyagi fishes while Daniel practices his blocking moves on the bow of Mr. Miyagi's boat. They have a nice discussion on the meaning of karate before Mr. Miyagi dumps Daniel into the lake.
-Friday, November 18th-
The fateful night at the Encino Hills Country Club.
-Saturday, November 19th thru Saturday, December 17th-
We know little of what happens during this four week period other than Daniel tries to teach himself the Crane, he also practices blocking and punching on the bow of Mr. Miyagi's boat by himself. Later Mr. Miyagi teaches Daniel how to punch properly and gives him a scolding for joking around too much. Also towards the end of this four week period Daniel has his birthday, receives his driver's license and gets #1 and #2 birthday present from Mr. Miyagi.
-Sunday, December 18th-
Daniel goes to Golf n Stuff to "find balance" with Ali and to show off his new car.
-Monday, December 19th-
The Under 18 All Valley Karate Championship.
Once I had the basic time frame down I could get a hold of the facts and ask myself some tough questions. Why would Johnny agree to fix the outcome of the All Valley? What did he stand to gain? Was it Daniel's idea or Johnny's? Or were my ideas way off the mark and Daniel actually did beat Johnny fair and square? I had to continue digging and not stop until I had the answers.
