Since its premiere in 2018, “Cobra Kai” has been known for its impressive fight streaks. Since most of the characters in the show are martial artists, the actors who play them usually have to do some of their own stunt work. Ralph Macchio, who plays Daniel LaRusso, and William “Billy” Zabka, who plays his on-screen rival Johnny Lawrence, are no exception.

William Zabka revealed that Ralph Macchio had “surprised” him during fight scenes

In a recent interview with Deadline, Macchio and Zabka discussed the need for training to convincingly represent karate instructors who engage in their fair share of fights. Macchio noted that his character did more and more martial arts as the series progressed.

“It seems like they’re adding more and more fights as we get older,” Macchio said with a laugh.

The actor then revealed that the fight scenes were “more difficult” for him than when he was younger. He noted that “everything hurts a bit more” and he bruises a lot.

“It takes a lot more stretching and preparation. We bang our forearms together and the next morning we’re in the makeup trailers saying, “Hey, I have Macchio-ed, I have Zabka-ed,” pointing out our bruises, ”Macchio said.

He went on to say that he and Zabka “worked very hard at it” and took pride “in making the most of it. [they] can. “

Zabka then said he was able to do fight scenes due to the “training” he received from martial artist Pat Johnson while filming “The Karate Kid” in 1983. He also noted during production of the film, that the cast “had three months to do the final fights. He explained that this was not the case for” Cobra Kai “due to time constraints.

“In a show with so much fights and so much content and so many characters and storylines, sometimes we’ll have one, two days, if that,” the actor said.

In the interview, Zabka also revealed that he found Macchio’s techniques surprising during the fight scenes.

“I’m always surprised when I train with Ralph how strong his blocks are. He has legitimate blockages. It’s like a baseball bat in my arms. I’m like ‘Dude, relax on this.’ And he’s like, ‘Hey, I’m just trying to save my life,’ ”the actor said.

Macchio jokingly replied that he was “still in defensive mode”.

William Zabka accidentally kicked Macchio while filming “The Karate Kid”

While Macchio hasn’t given an exact reason why he feels the need to protect himself during the fight scenes, it may have something to do with Zabka accidentally injuring him during the production of “The Karate Kid “. In a 2018 interview with Illustrated sports, Macchio revealed that his co-star kicked him in the face while filming the scene where Johnny beats Daniel on Halloween prom night.

“It was around 4 am. Billy was supposed to fake a rotunda before… and he just nailed me in the jaw. You would have thought I would have been hurt more. I was thrown all over the place, ”the actor recalls.

The fourth season of “Cobra Kai” will likely air on Netflix later this year.

READ NEXT: Paul Walter Hauser on whether Stingray will be in future seasons