The Leg Tap

As I said earlier, the leg tap was the key evidence that sent me on my wonderful journey.

I wouldn't believed it had I not seen it for myself.

This leg tap though could not be interpreted as a sign of Daniel giving up. It occurs as he is lining up for the next round shortly after Johnny has scored his second point. If Daniel were giving up he simply would have walked off the mat or had Mr. Miyagi throw in the towel. No, there was something more to this, this had a deeper meaning. This was Daniel giving Johnny a sign. 

(leg tap happen at 2 minutes 42 seconds)

And suddenly it hit me, here was the missing evidence I was looking for to tie everything together. Here it was, right on the screen for all to see. Daniel had given Johnny a sign. Johnny was in on it, Daniel and he were working together.

Did Johnny throw the fight?

Watch and judge for yourself.

Aftermath

It took a few months for the tempest to be unleashed but once it was Daniel's world suddenly became one full of danger.

At the beginning of Karate Kid 2 we see Daniel pull up to Mr. Miyagi's house in a bad tuxedo and a damaged car. Daniel places the blame on Ali, which isn't completely untrue. But he tells Mr. Miyagi she has left him for a UCLA football player. Another lie I believe.

My theory is Daniel and Ali's relationship continued on after the All Valley, Daniel riding high on the glory of his victory. And with a pocket full of cash to boot. But Johnny grew tired of waiting for him to call things off with Ali and he and his Cobras paid a little visit to Daniel after the senior prom. A couple of baseball bats to the engine and the front grill of the car can be quite persuasive.

 

 

Daniel, upon learning of Mr. Miyagi's sudden need to travel to Okinawa, felt a shock wave travel through him. What if Johnny and his friends came to pay Daniel another visit, maybe this time wanting the money back? Daniel realized he would not have Mr. Miyagi there to protect him as he has had over the past several months.

Daniel feels his life might be in danger and decides to tag along with Mr. Miyagi to Japan, although it took quite a bit of begging on Daniel's part. And another little lie about studying Okinawa history didn't hurt either.

 

 

But time is a cruel mistress, and with the passage of time truth has a way of making itself known.

Fast forward to current day and we can see what has become of our two heroes.

Johnny's life took a turn for the worst after his high school years. Unable to let go of the glory that should have been his Johnny became recluse. Unable to function in society Johnny sought comfort in a life off the grid.

Johnny currently lives in a trailer in the Californian desert somewhere. Still friends with his Cobras Johnny watches tape of the final fight every day, an attempt to exercise the ghosts of Larusso I suppose.



 

Johnny still dreams of what should have been, what would have been had he not thrown the fight. Perhaps it should have been Johnny who struck the pose of a crane. Then it would have been him who hoisted the trophy and came away with the girl.

A dream some might say, however if you were to ask Johnny I would imagine he would say it is more like a nightmare.

 

 


Daniel's situation is different yet similar.

Daniel returned to New Jersey in later years and currently has a nice house and a loving wife. However he too struggles through life, full of anger and guilt thanks to a glory he enjoyed but deep down knows was not deserved.

Daniel has turned to the bottle for comfort and partakes a club life where he tries to fit into that life of fast cars and fast women he once tasted in California.

 

Anger is still a part of Daniel's character. Unable to let it go he frequently gets into fights and even still breaks out the Crane every now and then.

 

 

Sadly domestic disputes are a part of life in the Larusso household. Mrs. Larusso knows of Daniel's second life and doesn't approve, on more than one occasion Daniel has had to spend the night "sleeping off" his guilt in an alley way not too far from his favorite club.

 

Time is a cruel mistress indeed, so is truth. Neither are inescapable forever as both Johnny and Daniel have discovered.

I would hazard to guess that all of us have gone through similar situations at one point or another in our lives and our hearts go out to them. Hopefully they can salvage some type of existence far removed from the ghosts of the All Valley.


Conclusion

In conclusion I can come to only one conclusion, that is Johnny and Daniel were in on it together at the All Valley tournament.

Not only that but Johnny secretly trained Daniel so he could make it through the early rounds of the tournament and then to the final match. Once there Johnny threw the final match and allowed Daniel to hoist the trophy.

Johnny did all of this for the love of woman, for Ali's love.

In the end not all turned out they way they wanted. Daniel was reckless, hell-bent on entering the tournament the next year even against Mr. Miyagi's wishes causing permanent damage to their relationship. Daniel also had a guilty conscience and blew through the money Johnny had given him as quickly as he could. In the end his life became a shambles full of rage and anger.

Johnny's life became one of torment and pain, never able to re-coup his fame and never able to let go of what should have been.

Profound lessons are to be learned from these two men and their stories. May we not forget and may we learn from them, that is my wish for us all.

I also hope I have not tarnished the greatest movie ever for the rest of you. To me the movie is even better and more intriguing now, however I realize I was able to feel the excitement that comes with the journey of discovery and many of you will not, although I hope you will be able to obtain some level of joy from this whole experience.

Most importantly I hope your love of the movie will continue to grow now that you have seen the truth and will be able to rediscover the movies all over again. There is a certain excitement that comes with discovery, I hope it finds you.

And may you find balance in all things.

Sincerely,

Gary

Tomoe Gozen

Tomoe Gozen  巴御前- onna bugeisha

Tomoe Gozen was a female samurai during the Genpei War of 1180–1185 CE. Though female warriors were not uncommon in Japan at the time, Tomoe is one of very few female samurai, highly trained and skilled in horseback riding, archery, sword fighting and she was also greatly skilled in the use of the naginata, which is a long staff with a curved blade at one end. Tomoe Gozen beheaded many enemies with naginata, because she didn’t believe in staying behind in battles, she was always at the fore front of any battle line.

 She was a senior captain under general Minamoto no Yoshinaka, and either his attendant or consort as well, depending on the source. Her surname is not known, as Gozen is simply a title, somewhat like “Lady.”
 

The earliest written source regarding Tomoe Gozen is from the 14th century Japanese classic, The Tale of the Heike, which in turn is derived from oral tradition. This source describes her as almost supernaturally strong, very beautiful, and surpassing her male colleagues in skill and bravery.
 

The Heike Monogatari goes on to say that Tomoe was one of the last five of Yoshinaka’s warriors standing at the tail end of the Battle of Awazu, and that Yoshinaka, knowing that death was near, urged her to flee. Though reluctant, she rushed a Minamoto warrior named Onda no Hachirô Moroshige, cut his head off, and then fled for the eastern provinces.
Some have written that Tomoe in fact died in battle with her husband, while others assert that she survived and became a nun.

She is among the most popular and widely known female figures in Japanese history/legend, and appears as the lead in at least one kubuki play, Onna Shibaraku.

(info borrowed from the-indigo-butterfly.tumblr)

Even though I'm not interested in sword techniques and sword fighting, I mean what are the odds I am ever going to find myself in a sword fight?

I do like however this advertisement from the Budo Ryu Kai, training in the out-of-doors adds a special touch and gets back to the roots of the martial arts.