The 5 strongest Cobra Kai senseis, ranked

As with any good Shonen battle anime — or, um, Netflix’s live-action spinoff “Karate Kid” — “Cobra Kai’s” power rankings are always changing. When it comes specifically to the sensei, things get even more contentious. Not only are they the most powerful of the group – you know, adults with years of practice – but they also don’t duel each other on camera as much as the younger characters, making every fight a big event.

With “Cobra Kai” Season 6, Part 2 in the rearview, it’s a perfect time to check out how the show’s various karate masters currently stack up. But before we get to the top five, let’s do a little housekeeping.

While Mr. Miyagi’s secrets greatly influence “Cobra Kai” season 6, he is not eligible to be included here since he is not actually a character on the show. And while Kim Sun-Yung surely would have qualified earlier in his life, he’s already past his prime during the events of the show to be considered. Additionally, with season 6, John Kreese has formally fallen into the top five. Martin Kove still has the trademark snarl and growl that makes the character iconic, but let’s be honest about the choreography Kreese has gotten over the past few seasons. He’s not great, and Terry Silver trashes him at the end of Season 6, Part 2. In short, Kreese is washed up. Lastly, a strong argument can be made that Kim Da-Eun should be on this list, but since the show refuses to pit her against the other main sensei characters one-on-one, unfortunately there isn’t enough data to back that up. say.

With all that out of the way, let’s look at the five strongest sensei from “Cobra Kai.”

In the past, I’ve had a hard time placing Johnny so high on the “Cobra Kai” power rankings. Yes, he is still the main protagonist of the show, although that role has become less and less central as the ensemble has grown over the years. But Johnny’s goal as a character has never been for him to be the strongest, the most naturally gifted, or the most enlightened. He’s a fighter in the truest sense, persevering even in the face of, let’s be honest, inferior talent. But by now, he’s also become a much more well-rounded sensei, encompassing Miyagi-Do’s core tenants and balancing defense with his signature offense.

Johnny has some impressive victories, most recently fighting Terry Silver to help save Kreese at the end of “Cobra Kai” Season 6, Part 2. That fight is a bit suspect, however, as it’s incredibly short, not entirely decisive, and features some questionable choreography. Of course, Johnny has also held his own against Kreese, Daniel, and other notable wrestlers, and there’s no doubt he’s grown a lot over the course of the show.

All that said, though, a top-five finish is the highest I can put Johnny at the moment. “Cobra Kai” has become incredibly full of top-notch and longtime karate practitioners, and Johnny still has trouble comparing himself to the best. It’s like Yamcha is the main character of “Dragon Ball Z.” Okay, that’s too harsh, but you get the point.

Yes, yes, I disqualified Kim Da-Eun for her lack of on-screen fights against other ranked senseis, so how could I put Sensei Wolf here when she’s only been around for a few episodes? And about Johnny Lawrence no less? Well, for one thing, Wolf already has a “ranking” fight in the books, as he takes on Johnny and Daniel in a 2-on-1, marking himself as one of the strongest fighters in season 6, part 2 of “Cobra “Kai.” He doesn’t fight for long before being interrupted by the fighting around him, but even in that short period of time, Wolf lands several strong hits and seems to have little trouble fending off two opponents at once.

Again, this is mainly a question of good or bad reservations. It’s highly questionable that after three seasons on the show, Kim still hasn’t had a moment of real grief. Maybe part 3 of season 6 will give him a triumphant showdown against Terry Silver, and maybe Johnny will take down Wolf one-on-one, but that’s a world we don’t live in yet. Wolf has emerged quite high on the list and that is where he will remain for now.

There’s also a little behind-the-scenes consideration for it being so high up. Lewis Tan, the actor who plays Wolf, has established himself in recent years as one of Hollywood’s top actors/martial artists, with major roles in stunt-heavy projects like “Mortal Kombat,” “Into the Badlands,” ” and “Shadow and Bone” He is easily the most impressive real-life sensei actor practitioner, so it would simply be a mistake not to rank him here.

Yes, Terry Silver suffers an embarrassing loss against Johnny Lawrence at the end of Part 2 of “Cobra Kai” Season 6, and he’s fallen a bit from where he might have placed a year ago, but he still deserves a spot in the top three. . For starters, as stated above, that loss to Johnny is dubious, to say the least. Terry seems completely bewildered in the fight and barely manages to make a move before a couple of (admittedly impressive) blows knock him out. Still, a loss is a loss, and this one is pretty big. But up to that point, Terry’s only real loss was to the combined efforts of Daniel LaRusso and Chozen Toguchi. And if you’ve read this far, you probably have a good idea of ​​where those two stand.

For much of Season 4 and most of Season 5, Terry stands out (literally and figuratively) as the final boss of “Cobra Kai,” and the writing around him supports that idea. He is brutal in his fights, laying waste to enemies like Johnny and Kreese, and demonstrates remarkable skill with weapons and hand-to-hand combat.

It’s unclear where Terry will end up at the end of “Cobra Kai,” but he hasn’t yet been supplanted as the show’s biggest villain. That said, he’s clearly fallible, and the top two entrants on this list definitely outrank him at the moment.

Yes, the Karate Kid himself has slowly risen through the ranks and now holds the silver medal spot among the sensei. While Daniel was pretty strong at the beginning of the show, it was easy to put Terry and Kreese over him. Although not anymore. By learning new techniques and improving his training, Daniel has become a true master and has defeated his various demons along the way.

You can choose from a variety of impressive victories when it comes to Daniel. He defeats Kreese at the end of Season 3 and Terry at the end of Season 5, always stands up to Johnny well, and rarely has problems with the background grunts that occasionally appear in other “Cobra Kai” fights. His discipline serves him well, but he has also learned to accept his aggression from time to time, which makes him even more formidable.

One could argue that Johnny and Daniel shouldn’t be so far apart from each other on the roster, as the show has taken pains to keep them fairly balanced with each other. But that’s more of a character-to-character thing than a broader judgment on both fighters holistically. Rivals will always bring out the best in each other; That’s the goal of rivalries. But Daniel still has the title over Johnny, even if he’s still not the strongest sensei on the show.

Ever since he was reintroduced into the world of “The Karate Kid” in “Cobra Kai,” Chozen Toguchi has been sitting at the top of the pole. He is the true disciple of Miyagi-Do on the show, and if “Cobra Kai” has one rule, it’s that proximity to Miyagi is basically proximity to God. That said, Chozen also has a vicious streak that allows him to compete against much more dangerous opponents like Terry.

Because he’s not as central to the main story as Daniel or Johnny, Chozen doesn’t have as long of a resume. But there’s one thing about his writing that further justifies him in favor of topping this list, and that’s how the show insists on getting you down or drunk more often than not when big moments come up. If you need to get a character drunk beyond measure to make their fight against the show’s final boss somewhat even, then that character is overpowered. It’s like when the Marvel Cinematic Universe had to remove Hulk and Thor from the action so that “Captain America: Civil War” felt somewhat balanced.

Imagine a sober and measured Chozen taking on basically anyone else in “Cobra Kai,” and you’ll imagine a very short fight. He may not be the main character, and there’s still room for someone else to take the top spot before the show ends, but right now, the throne still belongs to him.

“Cobra Kai” season 6, part 3 will premiere on February 13, 2025 on Netflix.