What You Never Noticed About Cobra Kai's Senseis

A common thread throughout the Karate Kid and Cobra Kai universe is the relationship between teachers and students, and the effect each has on the other. The reason why Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) and Mr. Miyagi (Pat Morita) made such a strong, believable team was that each had something to learn in their time together, thus making each of them more well-rounded in the end. Of course, the same holds true for Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) and his sensei, John Kreese (Martin Kove), who opposed all that Miyagi and his protégé stood for, reflecting his treachery onto his student.

As is often the case in the real world, however, time has drastically changed the world and characters established in the Karate Kid franchise leading into their Cobra Kai incarnations. In the case of the mentors, Miyagi is, sadly, long dead, and Kreese, after spending some time away from martial arts, is just beginning to reassert himself as Cobra Kai's ruthless figurehead. As far as the students go, long gone are the hot-headed underdog Daniel and the egotistical yet good-hearted Johnny of decades past. Now senseis themselves, their teachings, surprisingly enough, aren't exactly in-line with the lessons their predecessors instilled in them.

In a recent Reddit post, user hsm4ever10 raised an intriguing point about Johnny and Daniel's relationship on Cobra Kai, detailing how they've become inverse of their respective mentors. Daniel — taught tenets like patience, forgiveness, and commitment to his pupils by Miyagi — is going in the complete opposite direction. "No matter what mistakes Daniel made Mr Miyagi never abandoned him or got mad at him, something that Daniel ironically does in a regular basis to Robby," they said, citing that Daniel is, be it intentional or otherwise, cheapening the credibility of Miyagi-do by disregarding its founder's core beliefs.

Meanwhile, Johnny, who Kreese taught that a methodology revolving around aggression and showing "no mercy," is more than willing to rectify his wrongdoing. As the Redditor explained, "Johnny is learning to stand by his students. He will surely not abandon Miguel even if he gets injuries after the accident." Such compassion is indicative of Miyagi and his teachings, not John Kreese, who would prefer to cut off weak links rather than nurture and help them find success. Johnny seeks to redefine what Cobra Kai means, although Kreese is less than eager to change his jaded, callous ways.

Mr. Miyagi and John Kreese tried their hardest to impart their wisdom upon their pupils, but, as it turns out, neither of them was willing to live the rest of their lives by it. For Johnny Lawrence, this is a good thing, since his time in Cobra Kai as a kid stuck him in the villain camp, while, for Daniel LaRusso, it would be in his best interest to come to his senses and remember what his sensei taught him all those years ago.