Characters / The Karate Kid: Miyagi-Do and Associates

The Karate Kid Main Character Index
Daniel LaRusso | Johnny Lawrence | John Kreese | Terry Silver | Miguel Diaz | Robby Keene | Samantha LaRusso | Eli "Hawk" Moskowitz | Tory Nichols | Demetri Alexopoulos | Kyler Park
Dojos and Others
Miyagi-Do and Associates | Cobra Kai and Associates | Eagle Fang and Associates | The LaRusso Family | Other Characters

Miyagi-Do Karate

Miyagi-Do Karate

"Inner peace. Focus. Balance. These are just some of the skills that you will master when you join Miyagi-Do Karate."

"Miyagi-Do existed before any of us. It'll be around long after we're gone. The roots are strong, so the tree will survive."

— Daniel LaRusso

With roots originating from Okinawa, Japan, for many generations, Miyagi-Do is all about peace, balance, and defense — only fighting when absolutely need to. Nariyoshi Miyagi establishes this in the United States, with his best student, Daniel LaRusso as the two-time All-Valley champ. LaRusso himself would later become the dojo’s sensei 34 years later, teaching a new generation of students.

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• Beat Them at Their Own Game:
  • In general, the philosophy of Miyagi-Do is about exploiting the weaknesses in an enemy's attack. A particular favourite strategy of Mr. Miyagi's when fighting off multiple attackers is to dodge an opponent's strike in such a way as to make him accidentally hit his teammate instead.
  • Becomes a victim to this in the All-Valley tournament in Season 4 by Cobra Kai of all people. Robby taught them Miyagi-Do techniques which gave all the Cobra Kais an advantage by knowing how they fight on top of their inherent offensive techniques.
  • To combat the influence Silver's Cobra Kai has over the Valley, Chozen proposes to Daniel that they use Cobra Kai's teachings against him. He does this by going undercover as a sensei looking for a job at Cobra Kai, mirroring Kim Sun-Yung's focus on deception.
    Chozen: To catch serpent, you must think like serpent. We will use his style against him.
• Big, Thin, Short Trio: Chris, Demetri, and Nathaniel.
• Bowdlerisation: An In-Universe example. In Part II, Miyagi claims that his ancestor accidentally sailed to China and returned to Okinawa with a family and a new style of karate that emphasized defense and mercy. Cobra Kai reveals that Miyagi's tale about the origins of Miyagi-Do was The Theme Park Version; the true story is that Miyagi's ancestors developed karate to fight and kill Japanese invaders, which is similar to the real life history of karate. That said, the part where Miyagi states that Okinawan karate was influenced by Chinese kung fu is also true in real life as well.
• Breaking the Fellowship: A downplayed and unique example in Season 5. After losing the tournament against Cobra Kai in Season 4 as per the deals between the senseis, the dojo is shut down. While the more minor background characters are not seen again, the main students are still seen frequently hanging out with each other. Interestingly, Demetri is rarely seen hanging out with the students in Season 5 due to getting a new job ever since the dojo shut down, not showing up for the Sekai Taikai qualifiers or even the after-party.
• Doing It for the Art: Subverted In-Universe. The dojo's commercial has Daniel flat-out say all lessons are free, but this isn't fully out of altruism. Daniel knows that Johnny can't afford to do the same, so giving free lessons will lure students away from Cobra Kai. It's one of his methods to destroy Cobra Kai.
• Enemy Mine: They eventually form one with Eagle Fang, first during the LaRusso house fight against Cobra Kai, and eventually in preparation for the All-Valley tournament (with Johnny and Daniel as co-sensei).
• Fatal Flaw: Pride. Not helped in any way by what he told them about his time at Cobra Kai, Daniel had the Miyagi-Do students so convinced that they are automatically in the right during their feud with Cobra Kai that they subconsciously escalate the tensions and partake in actions that go against Mr. Miyagi's Martial Pacifist teachings.
• Foil: Miyagi-Do's Big, Thin, Short Trio become this to Cobra Kai's (later Eagle Fang's) Mitch, Hawk, and Bert, respectively.
  • Mitch and Chris are the stockier students of their respective dojos. Mitch, however, immediately fell right in with Cobra Kai while the sensitive Chris had trouble adjusting to the dojo's hyper-aggro way of thinking and eventually decided it wasn't for him. Mitch generally remained a Flat Character throughout Season 2 whereas Chris arguably becomes the most developed Miyagi-Do student who remains a secondary character overall.
  • Demetri and Eli were both social outcasts that found self-confidence thanks to karate. Eli's transformation into Hawk saw him abandon his old "pussy" ways entirely in contrast to Demetri who continued to revel in his nerdy interests. Their fighting methods are also a sharp contrast to one another; Hawk being an all-out offensive steamroller while Demetri is almost a purely defensive combatant.
  • Nathaniel and Bert are the smallest members of their respective dojos, but are the inverse of each other in several other ways. Bert is not particularly vocal nor as overtly aggressive as his dojo encourages, and is Cobra Kai's Token Good Teammate along with Aisha. Nathaniel retains Cobra Kai's combative nature and pugnaciousness even after defecting to Miyagi-Do, which in practice makes him the dojo's Token Evil Teammate. Also, Nathaniel is the more overtly nerdy of the two and is never seen to express a romantic/sexual interest in anyone, while Bert is something of a secret pervert.
• Give Me a Reason: How they interpret Miyagi's "karate for self-defense only", due to Daniel's failure to properly explain it. This leads to them deciding that "self-defense" means that rather than throw the first punch, they can provoke the Cobras into doing so.
• Good Is Not Nice: Chozen reveals to Daniel that the version of Miyagi-Do karate that was taught to him wasn’t the full version, which while a solid karate form was only idealizing the positive pacifistic aspects of Miyagi-Do. The original version of Miyagi-Do Karate was in part a killing art, and used a mix of offence and defense in order to stop their enemies. As Chozen put it, taking away an opponent’s ability to fight is also a valid method of Miyagi-Do.
• The Good, the Bad, and the Evil: The "Good" to Eagle Fang's "Bad" and Cobra Kai's "Evil". While Eagle Fang is colored red and applies a Martial Pacifist philosophy onto a direct, strength-driven fighting style, and Cobra Kai is a Thug Dojo that thinks Violence is the Only Option, Miyagi-Do is a Pacifist Dojo whose colors are white and blue, their techniques based on balance and focus, and its sensei Daniel being The Hero of The Karate Kid franchise.
• He Who Fights Monsters: When Sam takes over command of the dojo in Daniel's absence in Season 3, they take a much more aggressive attitude in their rivalry with Cobra Kai, to the point of essentially acting like Cobra Kai themselves, "striking first" by starting fights with Cobra Kai during a soccer game at school and in the laser tag arena at Golf 'n' Stuff (albeit after Cobra Kai had been harassing and provoking them). Daniel, having learned his lesson from the previous season, manages to set them straight when he returns from Okinawa, returning the dojo to its Pacifist Dojo philosophy and encouraging his students to show Cobra Kai forgiveness and compassion rather than seeking revenge.
• Knight Templar: Thanks to Daniel's teachings of Cobra Kai being Always Chaotic Evil, along with admittedly quite a few Cobra Kai students taking levels in jerkassery, the Miyagi-Do students, unfortunately, have a tendency to believe in their own righteousness to a fault. Several scenes through season 2 and 4 see the Miaygi-Do students actually be the instigator of the conflicts because of this. Johnny actually finally calls Daniel out on this in Season 4.
• Logical Weakness: The dojo's defensive approach to karate proves to have one major weakness in Season 4. Because their fighters rely on reacting to an opponents attacks, it leaves them open to falling for feints and combination attacks. Cobra Kai takes advantage of this in the All Valley after Robby teaches them all of their moves and by the quarterfinals, only Sam, Eli, and Demetri are left in the running.
• Mirroring Factions: Cobra Kai and Miyagi-Do are this to each other throughout Season 2, with everyone having a direct counterpart on the other team (except Stingray).
  • Miguel and Robby are both The Ace of their respective dojos, who have a romantic relationship with Sam and are Foils through their relationships with Johnny, with Miguel being his surrogate son and seeing him as a positive father-figure, while Robby is his biological son but has a very poor relationship with him.
  • Aisha and Tory are both Foils to different aspects of Sam's personality. Aisha represents who Sam could be if she had embraced her Closet Geek side instead of rejecting it, while Tory is more of an Evil Counterpart who takes Sam's hot-headedness up to eleven and resents her privileged lifestyle, having grown up in a poorer family. The three also form a Freudian Trio, with Tory as the Id, Sam as the Ego and Aisha as the Superego.
  • Hawk and Demetri were both previously nerds who were bullied at school. While Demetri was generally accepting of his lot in life and happy with the few friends he had, Eli completely rejects his nerdy interests and cultivates his "Hawk" persona to bury his past as a victim. They also represent their dojos mantras taken to a logical extreme, with Hawk being completely merciless and aggressive while Demetri is almost purely defensive.
  • Mitch and Chris are both The Big Guy and have a We Used to Be Friends dynamic.
  • Bert and Nathaniel are the smallest members of their respective dojos. Bert is a Nice Guy and a Butt-Monkey who serves as something of a Token Good Teammate to Cobra Kai, while Nathaniel is very aggressive and a Token Evil Teammate to Miyagi-Do.
• Nice, Mean, and In-Between: Gentle Giant Chris is the nice, aggressive and short-tempered Nathaniel is the mean, while snarky and cynical but generally averse to violence Demetri is the in-between.
• Odd Name Out: The only one of the three main dojos of the franchise that doesn't have Animal Theme Naming. However, its signature attack, the Crane Kick, does fit with the naming theme.
• Order Reborn: The American (or at least, Californian) branch has been dormant for years until Daniel officially restores it during Cobra Kai Season 2.
• Pacifist Dojo:
  • Played with. While Miyagi encouraged pacifism and self-defense, the second movie has Miyagi admit that the karate duels in his home village were fights to the death. The same movie also shows Sato and Chozen teaching Miyagi-Do to the local American military. In Cobra Kai, Chozen confirms that the original Okinawan practitioners killed their enemies.
  • In Cobra Kai, this is Daniel's approach to martial arts, focusing on concepts like inner peace and balance in contrast to Cobra Kai's flashy, aggressive mindset; as a result, some of the Cobra Kai washouts who join Miyagi-Do take a little longer than the other students in adopting the "balance" teachings. It also fails to quite live-up to that standard in Season 2, becoming more of just a straight up counterpart to Cobra Kai, escalating tensions rather than de-escalating them. In fact, Demetri is the only one who actually practices this during the school brawl, attempting to get help from the teachers or flee until Hawk corners him and he's faced with no other choice but to defend himself. Thankfully, Daniel realizes his error and rights the dojo's course in Season 3.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: Blue (and boy, do they ever try) to Cobra Kai's red.
• Rival Dojos: In Season 2, with Cobra Kai, of course. Downplayed and then Subverted with Eagle Fang in Season 3. Initially, both dojos are more focused on Cobra Kai, but there's still lingering tensions between them due to the past events of the series. However, that goes away the second Tory launches a gang assault on both of them.
• Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: When some Cobra Kai students defect to Miyagi-Do midway through season 2, both the former Cobras and the Miyagis have difficulty accepting each other, and several of them nearly come to blows several times. Daniel's very first challenge is moving them past the "teeth-clenched" part. And when Sam comes up with the idea of allying with Eagle Fang, there's the initial challenge of getting everyone to agree to how to make it work given Eagle Fang is made of former Cobra Kai students who engaged the Miyagi-Dos in the school and/or arcade fights.
• The Team:
  • The core members almost perfectly fit the Five-Man Band dynamics in Season 2, albeit with the additional presence of Nathaniel as the Tagalong Kid. Daniel is The Leader, as the dojo's Sensei who guides the dojo's philosophy and recruitment strategy. Robby is The Lancer, as Daniel's top student and more cynical Foil who takes a more aggressive stance against his father and disagrees with Daniel's decision to allow former Cobra Kai students to join. Chris is The Big Guy, as the physically strongest dojo member. Demetri is The Smart Guy, who makes a lot of nerdy references and uses a more analytical fighting style to make up for his lack of physical strength. Sam is The Heart, as the emotional center of the team who helps Robby with his home life and is quick to leap into a fight with Cobra Kai to defend Demetri.
  • These dynamics are switched up in Season 3 after Robby goes to juvie. Sam takes over his position as The Lancer, running the dojo in Daniel's absence and making the decision with Miguel to make an alliance with Eagle Fang behind his back. Demetri takes on the role of The Heart, giving a passionate Rousing Speech to convince Bert and Mitch to join their alliance and being the one most frequently put in danger to emphasize the stakes. He also retains the dual role of The Smart Guy as he is put in charge of planning the logistics of the new combined dojo.
• Took a Level in Badass: Goes without saying since it’s a martial art founded on teaching defense in Riker of war and crafted by Miyagi so that anyone who learns it becomes a more formidable version of themselves. Chris, Demetri, and Nathaniel make great improvements in their skill a short time after joining. and in Season 2's final brawl, all three of them manage to outfight their Cobra Kai counterparts — Mitch, Hawk, and Bert, respectively. Even more so for all of them when they truly merge with Eagle Fang and learn to blend both styles and work as a team. The Miyagi Fangs are able to take on the Cobra Kais in the climax of Season 5 when they have more than twice their numbers.
• Trickster Mentor: Daniel initiates new students with this manner, instructing them to perform chores like fence painting in the same manner Mr. Miyagi taught him. Thing is, even when charging nothing, this approach turns off a lot of prospective students.
• Two Girls to a Team: Very downplayed, as they were only two known female students throughout its history; Julie Pierce and Samantha LaRusso.
• Wax On, Wax Off:
  • The Trope Namer. Miyagi-Do's signature teaching methods, as taught to Daniel by Miyagi and to the next generation by Daniel, involve teaching blocks through muscle memory by having students perform menial tasks such as waxing cars, painting fences and sanding floors.
  • Occasionally deconstructed, as this technique has been known to turn away potential students who think that it's just an excuse to trick them into free labor, including Julie Pierce, for whom Miyagi has to find an alternative method of teaching. Even students like Anthony, who already knows the purpose of the chores from having grown up as Daniel's son, and Demetri, who is Genre Savvy enough to figure it out for himself, think it's stupid and would much rather have Daniel just cut the crap and teach them the moves in a straightforward manner.
• Worf Had the Flu: In Season 4, most of their members get knocked out early in the All Valley Tournament because Robby had taught Cobra Kai all of the dojo's moves beforehand to give them an advantage.

Founder

Nariyoshi Miyagi

Nariyoshi Kesuke Miyagi

"It's okay to lose to opponent, must not lose to fear!"

Played By: Pat Morita

Dubbed By: Roger Carel (European French, Part I, Part II and The Next Karate Kid), Gérard Hernandez (European French, Part III), Magalhães Graça (Brazilian Portuguese, Part I and Part II), Garcia Neto (Brazilian Portuguese, Part III), Eleu Salvador (Brazilian Portuguese, Next), Luiz Carlos de Moraes (Brazilian Portuguese, redubs)

Appearances: The Karate Kid (1984) | The Karate Kid Part II | The Karate Kid Part III | The Next Karate Kid | Cobra Kai (archival footage)

"Lesson not just karate only. Lesson for whole life. Whole life have a balance. Everything be better. Understand?"

The founder of Miyagi-Do Karate. A Japanese-American World War II veteran and karate master born in Okinawa who becomes the mentor of Daniel LaRusso, Julie Pierce, and Daniel's daughter Sam. He died in 2011. After Cobra Kai dojo's resurgence in 2017, Daniel resurrects Miyagi-Do following the 2018 All Valley Tournament filling Mr. Miyagi's teachings unto a new generation of fighters.

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• The Ace: A decorated war veteran—a recipient of the Medal of Honor—as well a powerful martial arts master. Mr. Miyagi is also a humble and peaceful man who possesses several talents, as well the wealth and ability to get along with almost everybody. He is also a good role model for Daniel and Julie, his students who eventually come to see him as a paternal figure. Even to this day, he remains the best fighter Miyagi-Do has ever produced with no one even approaching his level. Best shown with how Mr. Miyagi was able to effortlessly defeat Kreese and Silver (in succession no less!) while the latter were in their prime, while middle-aged Daniel barely gets the upper hand against a Kreese who is well into his 70's (and then only through the help of pressure point techniques that Miyagi didn't need to use) while his fight against an elderly Silver ended in a brutal one-sided beatdown the first time and he only managed to defeat him the second after Silver was visibly weakened and exhausted from a fight against Chozen.
  Daniel: Nobody was more badass than Mr. Miyagi.
• Bait-and-Switch Comment: The beginning of Part II sees him about to mercilessly strike down a helpless Kreese during a confrontation between the two while reminding him of Cobra Kai's mantra, but stops midway and comically tweaks his nose instead.
• Big Damn Heroes: Saves Daniel multiple times throughout the series.
  • From the first movie, he quickly dispatches of Johnny and his friends. He also saves Johnny from being choked by Kreese.
  • In Part II, he chases off Chozen and his friends, who were also vandalizing the property of the Miyagi family.
  • In Part III, he stops two of Barnes' assaults.
  • He also saves Eric from being beaten up by Dugan in The Next Karate Kid after the former shows up late for Alpha Elite training.
• Big Good: Miyagi was the benevolent force for Daniel, acting as both his karate teacher and surrogate father. Unfortunately, he is no longer around for the events of Cobra Kai.
• Bus Crash: He is no longer around during the events of Cobra Kai, having died in 2011 (while his actor died in 2005).
• Charles Atlas Superpower: Despite approaching sixty in Karate Kid II, he's fully capable of chopping a tree in half with his bare hand. In The Next Karate Kid, he is fast enough to perform an Arrow Catch.
• Children Raise You: Admits to Yukie that he felt lost until he met Daniel.
• Combat Pragmatist: As far he's concerned, if you find yourself in a fight without rules you should do everything necessary to get your attacker to back off, such as dodging in such a way they horribly cut up their arms, hit them in a "primary target", or using the Drum Technique, and teaches Daniel to do the same. He also follows up with inflicting only the necessary damage, nothing more (and calls the Drum Technique as for emergencies only as it could kill someone), and leaving as soon as possible.
• Cool Old Guy: One of the defining ones of the 1980s.
• Curb-Stomp Battle: Basically every fight he gets in ends with him effortlessly disposing of his foes:
  • In the first movie he saves Daniel from Johnny and his Cobra Kai buddies despite being outnumbered five to one. He makes short work of every of them, even when attacked by two Cobra Kai students simultaneously. Even Johnny, despite his status as a two-time All Valley karate champion, is quickly overwhelmed and beaten unconscious without landing a single hit on Miyagi.
  • In the second film, he saves Johnny from his abusive master John Kreese, who attempted to choke him out of spite for losing the All Valley tournament. Rather than fight him, Miyagi just dodges Kreese's attacks and lets him break his own hands by punching through the windows of two cars before submitting him. Later on, he takes on Chozen and his friends when they attack his house and Daniel, beating them one-by-one quickly before taking on Chozen himself. Chozen manages to hit him with a spear, but only because Miyagi was making sure Daniel was ok and had his back turned. Miyagi is barely fazed by this hit, and easily beats Chozen down despite the latter being armed.
  • Miyagi doesn't fight Sato, despite the latter's pressuring him for a duel. However, Miyagi does save Sato by breaking a tree in two when a storm ravages Okinawa, and Sato's amazed reaction after this feat implies that he now believes Miyagi would have won the duel.
  • When Mike Barnes and his goons attack Daniel and his house in the third film, Miyagi shows up and makes them retreat immediately. Then he follows Daniel to the Cobra Kai dojo just to find Mike, Kreese and Terry Silver tormenting Daniel. Within one minute, he knocks out Barnes by throwing him against a wall, outclasses Kreese in a direct fight, and humiliates Silver without breaking a sweat.
  • Finally, in The Next Karate Kid, Miyagi easily defeats and humiliates Colonel Dugan in front of his own students.
• Dark and Troubled Past: Back in Okinawa, he was in a Love Triangle with his best friend and a young girl he loved, which he dealt with by leaving for America, causing the girl (who loved him) to remain a spinster for the rest of his life and his best friend to harbor a murderous grudge against him for most of his life. To make matters worse, he had moved to America shortly before the outbreak of World War II, so he and his newly-pregnant Japanese-American wife were thrown in an interment camp. As the Japanese were invading Okinawa, Miyagi volunteered for the United States Army and won both the Purple Heart and Medal of Honor, but the experience of fighting and killing people traumatized him. Then he learnt that his wife and child died during complications in childbirth, and medical help that may have saved her never came because of the anti-Japanese racism in the camp. Oh, and his father back in Okinawa died lonely and miserable because Miyagi never visited enough and stayed away, while his former best friend devolved into a Corrupt Corporate Executive who is bullying the local population.
• Dead Man Writing: Kumiko shows Daniel a collection of letters that Mr. Miyagi wrote to Yukie while he was still alive, but the very last letter was written the exact week he died.
• Deadpan Snarker: He doesn't speak often, but when he does it's usually this.
  Daniel: You think you could break a log like that?
  Miyagi: Don't know. Never been attacked by tree.
  • This was one of the traits he had in common with his stunt actor, Fumio Demura.
• Earn Your Happy Ending: Although he's long dead by the time of Cobra Kai, his last letter to Yukie reveals that he lived out his golden years as a much loved and honorary member of the LaRusso family, and he was truly happy and at peace towards the end.
• Eccentric Mentor: Miyagi's Elective Broken Language, silly jokes, tendency to speak in Ice Cream Koans and unorthodox training methods overall make him seem like an odd old man and not the kind of person you would expect to be a badass karate sensei, but there's no questioning his outstanding fighting capabilities or that he is a terrific mentor to Daniel.
• Elective Broken Language: He usually speaks with a stereotypical Asian accent and refers to himself in the third person, but he drops his speech mannerisms while arguing with Sato, making clear that his way of speaking is an affectation.
• Face Death with Dignity: Spent his last week in the hospital reflecting on his life, and retained his sense of humor up till his death.
• Fight Magnet: For a guy who doesn't want to fight, Mr. Miyagi beats up a lot of people.
• Fish out of Water: In The Next Karate Kid, he proves to be a little out of his element dealing with Julie. For example, he accidentally walks in on her once, freaking her out. He immediately apologizes, citing that he and Daniel used to enter each other's rooms all the time and it was no big deal. He also has some trouble trying to buy her a prom dress, since he has no idea what she would like and can't ask her because he wants it to be a surprise. All of that said, he gets a handle on things fairly quickly.
• Genius Bruiser: Very much into the philosophy and ideas behind karate plus a man of many other talents.
• Get A Hold Of Yourself Man: He encourages a devastated Daniel to continue his fight against Barnes during the finals of the 1985 All-Valley Tournament in Part III.
• Good Cannot Comprehend Evil: If Mr. Miyagi has any flaws, it's probably the fact he tends to underestimate the gravity of situations he's involved in across the movies. The fact Kreese has taught his students to be bullies capable of beating Daniel half to death while also being potentially dangerous to them himself clearly shocks the man. He's also genuinely heartbroken to discover Sato not only is still angry but fully intends to kill him. A large part of the drama of Part III is Silver luring Daniel away from Miyagi, which happens in part because Miyagi doesn't fully understand what's happening to Daniel until it's too late.
• Good Is Not Soft:
  • Mr. Miyagi is a kind, nice man that genuinely loves Daniel like a son, but mess with children while he's around, and he will show you exactly how tough he is. The Cobra Kai students leaned that the hard way in the first film, Chozen and Kreese learned it the hard way in the second one, Kreese (again), Mike Barnes, and Terry Silver learned it the hard way in the third one, and a bunch of raucuous jerks and Colonel Dugan learned it the hard way in Next Karate Kid.
  • While a pacifist on screen, Miyagi was also a World War II veteran. In the first movie, he states that he killed many Nazis.
• Good Wears White: Mr. Miyagi, undisputedly the Big Good of the franchise, mostly wears off-white and light khakis.
• Greater-Scope Paragon: For Cobra Kai. He's long dead by the time the show starts, but Daniel still holds him and his lessons in high regard even well into adulthood, and tries to impart the same lessons to the next generation. As a matter of fact, all of the show's heroes (Daniel, Johnny, Chozen, Miguel, Sam, Robby, to name a few) are upholding Mr. Miyagi's legacy in more ways than one, especially when Miyagi-Do and Eagle Fang team up to take down Cobra Kai.
• Heroic Sacrifice: While it doesn't end up happening in the second film, Miyagi agrees to fight Sato to ensure the survival of the village, knowing it could lead to his death when he could easily abandon these people and return to America without being any worse off for it. Downplayed, however, since it's implied that Miyagi is even better than Sato, and simply left Okinawa because he didn't want to kill his best friend.
• Heartbroken Badass: While Mr. Miyagi was serving with distinction for the United States in World War II, his wife and son died due to complications during childbirth in the Manzanar Japanese Internment Camp. Decades later, Mr. Miyagi is still haunted by the loss.
• Humble Hero: Karate Kid II shows through the character of Sato that Miyagi could have used his martial arts skills to make himself a fortune through various means. However, he refutes such a life in favor for one as a simple handyman. Miyagi also tries to persuade Daniel from not entering the tournament circuit and using his skills for fame and glory, suggesting "Early Retirement." He even rejects displaying the Medal of Honor he won in World War II, stating that all the medal showed was that he was lucky, not that he was brave.
• Irony:
  • Mr. Miyagi has a vintage car collection that would be the envy of any motor enthusiast, but has no driver's licence.
  • Despite claiming that he's not good at teaching girls during Next, he turns out to have more female on-screen students (Julie and Sam) than male students (Daniel).
  • Miyagi (correctly) warns Daniel that no matter how good you are at martial arts, there's always someone better than you, one reason why he doesn't like fighting. Miyagi himself is the best martial artist in the entire franchise, and has never been seen to so much as break a sweat in any of his fights.
• Incorruptible Pure Pureness: Definitely. Sure, like all humans he has his flaws, but he's willing to admit them and goes as far as to atone for his actions throughout The Karate Kid Part II. Overall, he's a wise mentor and the perfect father figure to Daniel LaRusso and Julie Pierce. It really shows when he doesn't take too much pride in his craft, unlike Daniel throughout the majority of Cobra Kai.
• Like a Son to Me: Daniel and Julie saw him as a surrogate father and he returned the sentiment, and viewed Sam like his granddaughter.
• Martial Pacifist: Mr. Miyagi teaches Daniel how to defend himself but constantly discourages him from using karate for sports or to hurt people. As he explains to Daniel knowing martial arts isn't enough, because sooner or later you'll face someone who knows more. For that reason Miyagi always hated fighting growing up.
  • As he says to Julie in The Next Karate Kid, "Fighting not good. But if must fight, win."
• My Greatest Failure: It turns that he has a few in the first sequel: he left the girl of his dreams behind to go join the war, he didn't visit his father enough before he died, and he left his best friend on bad terms. Also serves as a Nice Job Breaking It, Hero as he realizes the depth of his screw up.
• Nice Guy: Mr. Miyagi was an unambiguously good person. He was kind, forgiving, thoughtful, and he only used violence as an absolute last resort.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Tried to do the right thing by announcing his love for Yukie publicly but that incited his best friend to want to kill him in a Duel to the Death, so he left Okinawa instead. What happened in the meantime was Yukie preferred to become a spinster rather than get married to another man, Sato fumed over the insult for decades, and his father was left broken-hearted. Miyagi's The Stoic demeanor breaks a couple of times as he realizes the depth of his screw up. Even Daniel points out they probably should have just eloped.
  Miyagi: Nobody perfect.
• No Celebrities Were Harmed: Nariyoshi Miyagi was heavily based upon Chojun Miyagi, creator of the goju-ryu style that is taught in the movie.
• No-Sell: The one time we actually see Miyagi take a hit, when Chozen hits him in the back with a spear in Part II, he shrugs it off like it's absolutely nothing and proceeds to kick his ass. Justified as Miyagi saw it coming, had a second to brace himself, and with all those years of conditioning under his belt, he's probably built like a tank.
• Not So Above It All: At the end of the The Next Karate Kid, he insists that fighting is not good. But he winks at Julie when he tells her that if you have to fight, win.
• Obfuscating Stupidity: Generally acts like a somewhat doddering old man when he's actually a Genius Bruiser.
• Offscreen Moment of Awesome: It is said that he had a hand in Sam's early training.
• Old Master: Not actually all that old at the beginning but reaching the end of his middle years.
• One-Man Army: Best shown in Part III where he manages to fight Mike Barnes, Kreese, and Silver (all of whom are formidable fighters in their own right) without taking a single hit.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: The only time Miyagi drops his Asian Speekee Engrish act and referring to himself in third person is when he tries to reason with Sato. Unlike his fight against Silver, Mike Barnes, Chozen and Kreese (the first time) where he was more defensive and only hit when necessary, Miyagi really had it in for Kreese as he went on the offensive hard enough that Kreese got knocked out.
• Our Founder: His portrait is prominently displayed on one of the dojo's walls.
• Papa Wolf: Snaps into action whenever Daniel is outmatched in a fight.
• Parental Substitute: As time goes on, Mr. Miyagi becomes more and more of a father figure to Daniel.
  • It's all but stated outright that he's taken the place of Julie's departed father as well.
• Posthumous Character: Even seven long years after his passing, Mr. Miyagi's influence continues to play a role in Daniel's life and his actions throughout the series. Daniel would yearn for Mr. Miyagi to be there for him in the flesh to guide him during an emotionally troubling time.
• Present Absence: Despite being a Posthumous Character by the time of Cobra Kai, Mr. Miyagi's legacy is still felt and several characters (but Daniel especially) frequently mention him.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: Being a Martial Pacifist, he is this to Daniel and Julie, such as when Julie tells him to do what her grandmother does, telling Julie off, and telling her she made a mistake, Mr. Miyagi tells her he does not need to say anything.
• Retcon: Downplayed since it's from a deleted scene from the first film, where Miyagi tells Daniel that the reason he left Okinawa for America was to avoid being conscripted into the Imperial Japanese Army (Miyagi even refers to himself as a "draft dodger" in the scene). In The Karate Kid Part II Miyagi's reason for fleeing to America was changed to his desire to avoid fighting Sato.
• Retired Badass: A martial artist and a World War II veteran (who was even awarded the Medal of Honor).
• Simple, yet Awesome: Miyagi's fighting style is waiting for the opponent to attack and countering their strikes with the amount of force he sees fit to give his opponent. Boring on paper but when used by someone with Mr. Miyagi's level of skill and experience, it is a sight to behold when even larger, younger and stronger opponents fall to the Miyagi's strikes. Notably, Mr. Miyagi never resorts to using any special or secret techniques against any of his opponents and has been able to defeat them with ordinary attacks.
• So Proud of You: He nods and smiles at Daniel after his student wins the All-Valley Tournament. And in his final letter to Yukie before his death states that he is proud of the man Daniel has become ever since the two first met, and is thankful to have been a part of his life.
• Tell Me How You Fight: Miyagi is a Martial Pacifist whose art is a family-trade and has found some form of peace in his old age. Naturally, Miyagi-do is a form of karate that emphasizes counterattacks and Deadly Dodging, any real offensive moves he takes is quick, decisive and exploits flaws in his opponent's stances. The manner he teaches it to Daniel — through household chores that build up his core muscles and provide muscle-memory — reflects the style's grassroots origins, the style having been brought to Okinawa by his ancestor and perfected through the ages.
• Token Enemy Minority: In his World War 2 days, he fought for the United States, despite being from Okinawa. However, his pregnant wife was interred in a camp, as many people of Japanese heritage were and she died there, losing the baby as well.
• Too Clever by Half: He is less arrogant than most examples of this trope. However, he still seems unable to resist opportunities to be clever, even when it goes counter to his goals. His Wax On, Wax Off teaching regimen in the first movie (or rather, his refusal to explain it) almost drives his student away. His impromptu bet at the bar in the second movie may have paid for Daniel's college, but also humiliated the man he was trying to talk out of a duel to the death with him. His "sweep" joke in the third movie drove Daniel straight into the arms of the Evil Mentor when he needed support.
• Tranquil Fury: Miyagi wore a cold expression while he systematically beats up Barnes, Kreese, and Silver in short order when coming to Daniel's defense.
• Trickster Mentor: Enjoys playing games with Daniel that usually end up teaching him what he needs to know.
• Underestimating Badassery: Particularly in Karate Kid II. Men like Kreese and Sato seem to have no idea just how powerful of an opponent Miyagi actually is.
• Veteran Instructor: Miyagi is a master martial artist who served in the U.S. Army during World War II (he even earned the Medal of Honor, the highest military decoration a serviceman can receive).
• What the Hell Is That Accent?: Subverted. For all the flak Mr. Miyagi's accent has taken over the years, it is an extremely accurate Okinawan accent. Pat Morita learned it from his stunt double, who was a recent immigrant from Okinawa.
• World's Best Warrior: Mr. Miyagi is, hands down, the most powerful, skilled and experienced fighter of the Karate Kid franchise. Not only is he still in prime shape despite his age, his skills allow him to beat/dispose of any enemy (sometimes several at once) with little effort. Throughout the films there's no one who could ever match Miyagi's skill, and he's never taken a hit during a fight (Chozen did land a hit on him, but that was only because Miyagi was making sure Daniel was ok when he attacked him). Not even other masters like John Kreese, Terry Silver or Sato Toguchi come close to his level. Also shown that he can turn any of his students into badasses and Daniel's students also benefit from him posthumously.

Senseis

Daniel LaRusso

See Daniel's character page here

Chozen Toguchi

Chozen Toguchi

"Now let us see how much you really know."

^{Click here to see him in the 80s} "You insult my honor again, and I kill you."

Played By: Yuji Okumoto, Shigi Ohtsu (1972 flashback)

Appearances: The Karate Kid Part II | Cobra Kai

"If an enemy insists on war, then you take away their ability to wage it."

The nephew of the late Sato and former enemy of Daniel. He eventually joins the latter in becoming one of Miyagi-Dos co-senseis in their fight against Terry Silver's Cobra Kai.

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• Abhorrent Admirer: To Kumiko, who wants nothing to do with him due to his bullying ways, but Chozen keeps stalking and harassing her and bullying Daniel for getting closer to her.
• The Ace: It's revealed that Chozen continued his training with Sato after his defeat to Daniel in the second film. And unlike Daniel, Chozen dedicated his whole time to practice Miyagi-Do karate with no other business or family to worry about. By the time he and Daniel meet again 35 years later, Chozen has become a master of Miyagi-Do himself and proves to be a better fighter than Daniel, defeating him in a sparring match with little effort. Daniel eventually asks him to teach him, which Chozen gladly accepts. He also holds the distinction of being the only character to successfully land a hit on Miyagi onscreen (though he fought dirty, but still it’s quite an achievement). Season 5 cements this by having Chozen effortlessly defeat all six of Terry Silver's handpicked Cobra Kai senseis by himself (in fact it was this that spurred him to contact Kim Da-Eun) and he even fought Terry in a one-on-one duel (with real weapons and while drunk no less) and proved himself the only one - besides Daniel and Mr. Miyagi himself - to be capable of matching him.
• All Your Powers Combined: His training style mirrors both Daniel's Trickster Mentor style and Johnny's Training from Hell, mixing both forms of training to effects that are arguably superior to both Johnny's and Daniel's. Demetri and Chris even comment that he mixes the hardest parts of both.
• Always Someone Better: Implied to be better than Johnny. Not only has he found perfect balance in life, Johnny is still trying to figure out how to defend against the crane kick while Chozen managed to do that successfully decades ago in The Karate Kid Part II (though this may be because Chozen was trained in the same style).
  • Played for Laughs when he and Johnny briefly get into a verbal spat with each other, first to see who was a tougher bully to Daniel and then to see which one of them witnessed Daniel's most badass feats. In both cases, Chozen's experiences outclass Johnny's.
• Arrogant Kung-Fu Guy: Thinks Daniel is kind of ridiculous challenging him with Bonsai karate in the town where karate was invented. He’s grown out of this when he is reintroduced.
• Ascended Extra: While he appears in a few Season 3 episodes as a guest star and makes a cameo appearance at the end of Season 4, he becomes one of the main protagonists in Season 5 as he allies Daniel (and Johnny to a lesser extent) in their campaign against Terry Silver.
• The Atoner: Chozen has spent his life atoning for the misdeeds of his youth, and ultimately confesses to Daniel that his regret is difficult to overcome. This is very prevalent in how he talks to troubled kids as he wants them to overcome their darkness like he did. In the short screen time he shares with Tory he gives her meaningful advice.
• Badass Boast: His response to Terry Silver when they meet.
  Silver: You’re playing with fire, Danny boy!
  Chozen: And I am gasoline!
• Badass in a Nice Suit: He is seen wearing a fancy, black formal top (and bottom) when he appears at the end of Season 4, agreeing to work together with Daniel to stop Silver's Cobra Kai.
• Badass Teacher: He's a Miyagi-Do instructor whose methods are effective in teaching his students valuable skills and lessons while also being good enough in a fight to go toe-to-toe with Silver, and win, while drunk.
• Bash Brothers: The end of season 5 shows him, Mike Barnes, and Johnny fighting Cobra Kai senseis together. He and Johnny also go Back-to-Back Badasses before that.
• Be All My Sins Remembered: It's shown in Season 5 that Chozen's guilt over his misdeeds as a youth is so strong that he has dedicated all of his life to trying to atone for them while refusing to move on. Daniel tells Chozen he's done more than enough to make up for his past behavior, everyone who knows him knows it and has forgiven him, and he needs stop dwelling so much on the past so he can live a full life in the present.
• Beware the Nice Ones: Chozen has become a lot kinder than he was in the decades that have past since his fight with Daniel. He’s also become a lot deadlier and is now a Miyagi-Do Sensei who is able to take on six of the valleys strongest karate instructors, and go one on one with Terry Silver, something only Miyagi and Daniel were able to do successfully.
• Big Bad: In Part II. While he was already the Dragon-in-Chief, Sato pulls a Heel–Face Turn and disowns him, making Chozen become the lead villain, outright trying to murder Daniel in a fight to the death.
• Big Brother Instinct: Heartwarmingly, he develops this towards Daniel once he agrees to help him stop Terry Silver. Chozen acts like a caring and supportive big brother to Daniel throughout Season 5 and is outraged to the point of seeking revenge after Silver beats him up.
• Born in the Wrong Century: Like his uncle, Chozen has a traditionalist view on honor, and the way he treats Daniel's campaign against Silver in Season 5 of Cobra Kai (being constantly vigilant, scouting potential threats and enemies, and patrolling the LaRusso residence and dealership for ambushes) would make him fit right in the Sengoku Jidai^note The historic period of Japan characterized by near-constant civil war between the various ruling samurai warlords.
• Break the Haughty: Nothing went well for Chozen once Daniel arrived in Okinawa. His uncle shut him up at every turn, Daniel caught him cheating the villagers with false weights, Kumiko falls for Daniel (and she never cared for Chozen anyway), Daniel bested him at breaking ice blocks (winning a huge bet that Uncle Sato forced him to honor), Miyagi curbstomped him when he and his friends attacked Daniel, then he got exposed as a coward when the storm hit and Sato disowned him. That was just the prelude to the big showdown at the end, which he lost.
• The Bully: Pretty much uses his position as Sato's heir to bully the village. He’s changed as an adult, though.
• The Bus Came Back: He and Daniel have not seen each other in over three decades since the end of Part II, until he encounters him at a bar, on Kumiko's invitation. He returns again the Season 4 finale of Cobra Kai to help Daniel with his fight against the titular dojo.
• Call-Back:
  • During their sparring, Chozen ultimately immobilizes Daniel, holding the latter's head and preparing a finishing strike in the exact same way that Daniel did to Chozen at the end of Part II, including honking the nose instead of delivering the finishing blow.
  • Chozen also ends up saying his famous line "You keep for your collection" yet again, albeit in a far more civil context this time.
  • Season 5 gives him a very heartwarming one. When he leaves a voicemail for Kumiko sheepishly asking her to meet him once he returns to Okinawa, he tells her the same thing Mr. Miyagi told Yukie all those years ago.
  Chozen: I am glad I came here Kumiko, but I make one big mistake. I should have taken you with me.
• Childhood Friend Romance: Zig-zagged with Kumiko. In Season 5, Chozen confesses to Daniel that he's had romantic feelings for Kumiko since their childhood, and shows regret for how he treated her during Part II. It takes words of encouragement from Daniel to try to rekindle their romance, which Chozen attempts with a phone call to her.
• The Comically Serious: Fills this role with Daniel before and during their partnership in Season 5.
• Composite Character: When he takes over teaching duties for Myagi-do and Eagle Fang for a day, Demetri and Chris note that as a teacher Chozen is basically a combination of Daniel's crypticness and Johnny's aggression.
• Confirmed Bachelor: Like Kumiko, he outright tells Daniel he never got married or had kids. In Season 5, after spending time with Daniel's family and seeing the love and support he's given by them, as well as celebrating with Johnny and Carmen about their upcoming child, Chozen visibly starts to regret having to had chosen a life of celibacy.
• Contrasting Sequel Antagonist: To Johnny, his direct predecessor in terms of Daniel’s rivals. Both him and Chozen develop an intense dislike for Daniel but they show it in complete opposite ways: Johnny outwardly bullies Daniel despite the latter not even doing anything that bad (except hitting on Ali), which quickly devolves into a fight, while Chozen actually pretends to be quite civil and nice before subjecting Daniel to a Crushing Handshake to subtly assert his dominance over him. Johnny and his friends physically bully Daniel while Chozen verbally insults him and doesn’t resort to violence until Daniel, from his point of view, insults his honour. On the flip side, Johnny is explicitly ordered by Kreese to leave Daniel alone until the tournament, whereas Chozen keeps on getting more and more physical with his bullying in the second act. While Johnny is a bully, he is horrified when his Evil Mentor tells him to sweep the leg and when Daniel wins, he congratulates him. Chozen, on the other hand, decides to fight Daniel to the death even when his mentor urges him to stop and in the end, chooses death when Daniel defeats him. While Johnny’s mentor was Kreese, because of whom he never found peace and saw Daniel as the root of all his problems, Sato gave Chozen another chance to prove himself, allowing Chozen to ultimately found peace and he blamed himself for his failures.
• Cool Old Guy: Chozen has mellowed down quite a bit, and is on friendly terms with Daniel now. He's also a great teacher, giving Tory some much-needed advice about honor while undercover at Cobra Kai and helping the combined dojo's students learn teamwork and trust in one another.
• Cruel Mercy: When defeated by Daniel. Daniel offers Chozen the choice "Live or die?" Chozen chooses death, but Daniel instead tweaks his nose and drops him to the ground, shaming him in front of the entire village.
• Deadpan Snarker: This was his preferred way of getting under Daniel's skin as a teenager, until he started getting physically aggressive.
  Chozen: You dance very nice. Like geisha.
  Kumiko: (grabs Daniel's arm) Let's go.
  Chozen: His little teacher's favorite technique, huh? "Let's go."
  • Even as an adult he is quite snarky. He mocks Demitri for talking too much and later even takes a dig at himself after he gets severely injured in the season 5 finale.
    Chozen: Oh, just a flesh wound.
    Daniel: Yeah, but it's like, all your flesh!
    Chozen: Maybe should've had a short island iced tea.
• Death Seeker: Defied. He was this way at the end of Part II, especially after losing to Daniel in the final fight, but his uncle guided him back to sanity.
  "After our fight, I felt great shame. I... I wanted to die. But, my uncle saved me. He gave me a chance to prove myself. I spent my life trying to do just that. But... regret is sometimes difficult to overcome."
• Dirty Coward: On only one occasion does he face Daniel unaided, and even then he has Daniel cut off any help. Also, he refuses to go help Daniel rescue the bellringer girl, even when his uncle orders him to do it.
• Dragon-in-Chief: He bullies Daniel throughout the movie, mirroring the rivalry between Sato and Miyagi. He also is disowned by Sato after his Heel–Face Turn for refusing to save the bell-ringer girl during the typhoon, which leads to him being the Final Boss in the story.
• Easily Forgiven: Despite the regret over his transgressions towards Daniel throughout the course of Part II, Daniel sincerely imparts forgiveness towards his former nemesis.
• Establishing Character Moment: During his first appearance in Part II, he picks up Miyagi and Daniel at the airport (only to bring them to Sato), strikes up a bit of friendly conversation, then greets Daniel with a Slasher Smile and a Crushing Handshake.
  "Welcome to Okinawa. I hope your stay here is a pleasant one".
• Evil Counterpart: To Daniel in The Karate Kid Part II. Both lost their fathers at a young age, both are tied to Miyagi-do Karate, both are suitors for Kumiko and both are strong and resilient. However, while Daniel is brave, heroic, pacifistic and kind to others, Chozen is cruel, violent, extorts the Okinawan villagers and proves himself a Dirty Coward.
• Evil Is Petty: Despite being the surrogate son of a fantastically wealthy businessman, he still cheats the dirt poor villagers.
• Failed a Spot Check: He insists that forcing Daniel into a fight to the death by threatening Kumiko will restore his honor in the eyes of the village. His blinkered Revenge Myopia keeps him from noticing how everyone watching this unfold is clearly horrified by Chozen's behavior and is rooting against him in their duel.
• Fake Guest Star: He's present for the entirety of Cobra Kai Season 5 but is only credited as a guest star, though with an And Starring citation.
• The Fashionista: In his youth and in the present day, he wears very fancy looking shirts as his everyday outfits. Even the dogi he wore to fight Daniel in the climax of The Karate Kid Part II was a bright yellow, stylish one.
• Fatal Flaw: If Chozen has one flaw both pre- and post-Heel–Face Turn, it's that he tends to be too overzealous when it comes to defending the honor of both him and the ones he cares about. This really bites him in the Season 5 finale of Cobra Kai when he decides to confront Terry Silver at his home with Johnny and Mike Barnes, even though he is completely wasted and in no condition to fight. He nearly gets killed during the confrontation, which would likely have been an easy victory for him if he were sober.
  • Downplayed, however, as he actually does manage to defeat Silver, and only loses thanks to a sucker punch when he gets distracted.
• Faux Affably Evil: When he was younger, he put on a friendly demeanor to hide how utterly ruthless and tactless he was.
• Foil: To Johnny. Both are former rivals of Daniel who are now his teammates, but there are many differences in their personalities. Chozen trained in the pacifistic style of Miyagi-Do, but has a much more aggressive interpretation of it than Mr. Miyagi, while Johnny trained in the aggressive Thug Dojo Cobra Kai, but balances their style with his own sense of honor. Johnny is a hot-tempered, boorish American, while Chozen is a calculating, cultured Okinawan. Johnny is a functional alcoholic, while Chozen generally doesn't drink. While both are more aggressive than Daniel, Johnny tends to fight first and think later, while Chozen is more tactical in where and when he chooses to fight. Johnny utilizes a rough brawling fighting style, while Chozen prefers efficient, precise strikes. Johnny uses anything he can get his hands on as a weapon, while Chozen always carries his signature pair of sais.
• Freudian Trio: Among the three main rivals of Daniel, he's the Superego. Chozen pre and post redemption is always focused in honor and is at his core highly defensive of his loved one for better or for worse. He's also pretty serious when training his students, though he has also his silly moments as well.
• The Gadfly: While he Took a Level in Kindness and forgave Daniel following the events of Part II, he decides to act like he still holds a grudge as part of being a Trickster Mentor and just to have a laugh.
• Gendered Insult: When he sees Kumiko teaching Daniel the Obon dance, Chozen derisively compares the latter to a geisha.
  "You dance very nice... like geisha!" (strikes a geisha pose and laughs with his friends at Daniel)
• Generation Xerox: Similar to how Daniel is Mr. Miyagi's Generation Xerox, Chozen is this to Sato. Like his uncle, he holds a vendetta against his romantic interests suitor. The trope also prevalent in Cobra Kai, as Chozen takes up the torch passed down by Sato in becoming a master in Miyagi-Do karate. To add on further, Chozen does undergo a redemption arc (albeit offscreen), just as Sato is said to have done, and makes peace with Miyagi's Generation Xerox.
• Good Is Not Soft: Even after his Heel–Face Turn, he can be very intense when it comes to defending Miyagi-Do's honor. When he takes over teaching duties for the dojo one day, the students note that his lessons are more like Johnny's than Daniel's.
• Hate Sink: Between antagonizing Daniel for little to no reason (mainly because Daniel is Miyagi's student, seemingly), cheating villagers out of their money (which they don't have much of to begin with), and threatening to kill Kumiko out of spite, it's safe to assume Chozen's the most villainous of the Karate Kid antagonists. He's so vile that even Sato is ultimately disgusted by his actions. He could very well make Kreese, who is known for being unmerciful, look like a saint in comparison. Cobra Kai massively subverts this, as despite trolling Daniel when they first meet again after 34 years, Chozen has changed for the better.
• "Hell, Yes!" Moment: When Daniel asks for his help in taking down Terry Silver and Cobra Kai, he replies with a deep “OSS!”.
• Heroic Comedic Sociopath: His first suggestion for dealing with Terry Silver's expansion of Cobra Kai is always to resort to violence or even murder, with a lot of humor being derived from Daniel's exasperated efforts to reign him in.
  Daniel: There's only one way to end this. We have to cut the head off the snake.
  Chozen: Hai, Daniel-san. I can do that. [pulls out a pair of sais]
  Daniel: Hey, whoa. No. No, no. I didn't mean literally cut his head off.
  Chozen: They are not for cutting. They are for blocking, and stabbing, and clawing, and gouging.
• Hidden Depths: Despite his traditionalist views of life, he seems to have kept up with the modern times very well — as shown when he remarks on Stingray having a "Ninja-level gaming station" (something perhaps only Millenials and Gen Zs would know) and looks teary-eyed when watching 60-Day Fiance.
• Honor-Related Abuse: He holds a warped outlook on honor, to the point that as a teenager, he threatens to end Daniel's life if he insults it.
• Hourglass Plot: In The Karate Kid Part II, Chozen starts out as welcoming and friendly to Daniel before quickly revealing his true colors as vicious and rotten to the core. When Daniel and Chozen first meet again in Cobra Kai, Chozen does start out as aggressive and intimidating (albeit with a slight sense of honor) before revealing himself to be a completely changed person for the better, ending their encounter on cordial terms.
• Hypocrite: As a teenager. For all his talk of honor, he never fights Daniel fairly, either having backup or having Daniel cut himself off from help, and Would Hit a Girl.
• Iconic Sequel Character: Despite only appearing in Part II, Chozen is next only to Johnny to be considered as Daniel's most remembered rivals. Even in Cobra Kai, he wouldn't tun up until Season 3.
• It's All My Fault: In contrast to Johnny who considered Daniel the antagonist after the events of the first film, Chozen has long owned up to his actions in the second film and accepts that he was the one at fault. He's spent much of his adult life atoning for his misdeeds and is happy to learn that Daniel forgives him for everything that happened.
• Knight of Cerebus: He's a much more vicious rival than Johnny Lawrence, and is the only villain in the Daniel LaRusso trilogy that has murderous intentions toward Daniel himself.
• Mr. Fanservice: He rips open his shirt to reveal his chiseled pecs and washboard abs, which can give Johnny Lawrence a run for his money. And his tight shirts reveal his huge biceps too. He also goes Skinny Dipping in the Cobra Kai Season 5 premiere and shows he's still in great shape for his age.
• Nice, Mean, and In-Between: Of Daniel's three Karate rivals, he's the Mean to Mike's Nice and Johnny's In-Between as throughout Season 5, he's frequently shown to be Reformed, but Not Tamed. Zigzagged, however, as Mike himself has his Reformed, but Not Tamed moments, especially when he fought Chozen and in the season finale, Chozen comes across as more of a Nice Guy when compared to Barnes.
• Not Quite Dead: He's left unmoving and face-down in the water after his Duel to the Death with Silver in the Season 5 finale, and for many scenes, the viewer's meant to think he's dead, like Kreese earlier in the episode. In parallel to Kreese, he reappears alive, though badly wounded.
• Offscreen Moment of Awesome: Chozen has long redeemed himself by the time he meets Daniel again, but the only details he provides are that he went through a period of great shame following his loss to Daniel, until his uncle Sato helped him find purpose again and Kumiko reaching out to Chozen on a separate occasion.
• Older and Wiser: Chozen's character development since The Karate Kid Part II is very evident, to say the least.
• Older Than They Look: Chozen is supposed to be around the same age as Daniel and Johnny (50's), but in real life, Yuji was actually 63 by the time Season 5 came out. Made even more jarring that he's three years older than the much Younger Than They Look Thomas Ian Griffith, even though Terry Silver is supposed to be elderly compared to Chozen. Interestingly, out of all the actors who have played Daniel's rivals, Yuji Okumoto is the only one who is older than Ralph Macchio.
• Old Master: He seemed to have dedicated his whole life to karate and teaching Miyagi-do. When Daniel invites him to see him off, Chozen mentions that he had a class to teach.
• Pressure Point: Chozen learned all the secrets of Miyagi-Do karate, including pressure points strike to disable enemy's arms and legs. He teaches them to Daniel.
• Real Men Wear Pink: While Daniel and Amanda are out attending a charity function and Chozen has the house to himself, he holds down the fort by watching 90-Day Fiancée and getting misty-eyed.
• Redemption Promotion: Although Daniel defeated him in The Karate Kid Part II, since his offscreen Heel–Face Turn Chozen has become a master practitioner of Miyagi-Do karate and completely outclasses Daniel in their friendly rematch.
• Redemption Rejection: Sato pleads with him to let go of his grudge and forgive Daniel, but Chozen throws it back to his face. After losing to Daniel in their death match though, Chozen accepts his uncle's offer at redemption.
  Sato: Chozen! I was wrong... hate is wrong. Don't do this!
  Chozen: I cannot hear you, uncle. I am dead to you, remember?
• Reformed Bully: A much straighter example than Johnny. While Johnny was a Jerk Jock who, as a teen, used to pick on nerds, especially Daniel, and even as an adult is a bit of a Jerkass and even thinks swirlies are hilarious, Chozen was an even worse bully who would use his position and Martial Arts training to lord over pretty much everyone and even attempted to murder Daniel and Kumiko. As an adult he is much more civil and even expresses regret over his behaviour. He is even a martial arts teacher and is more than happy to teach Daniel the Miyagi-Do pressure point technique. At the end of season 4, he agrees to help Daniel in his mission to finally end Cobra Kai, which he does see through during Season 5.
• Revenge: Played for Laughs. It seemed like Chozen wants revenge on Daniel for his defeat decades before, but when it appears he's about to deal Daniel a deathblow, he honks his nose. Chozen gleefully admits that he's waited years to do that.
• Shadow Archetype: To Johnny as the main antagonist of their respective films, but with a caring mentor (Sato) by his side, he has truly become a better person. While Johnny was still haunted by his defeat at Daniel's hands 35 years ago and has become a belligerent drunk, Chozen took a chance to reflect upon his deeds and decided to make a change from within, starting with himself and becoming a well-respected karate master. Johnny is still in the middle of his path to true reformation, while Chozen has already went through it all.
• Shameless Fanservice Guy: In Part II, when Kumiko throws dirt at his fancy shirt, he simply rips it off throws it at her feet with a Slasher Smile and leaves without a shirt, laughing, with his friends. Not that he needs it. Decades later, even as an older man, he goes Skinny Dipping and stands stark naked in front of Amanda, showing off his muscular physique. His reaction is to just politely greet her.
• Slasher Smile: You better believe it.
• Sleeves Are for Wimps: The dogi he wore in his fight to the death against Daniel was sleeveless, similar to the Cobra Kai dogis both Johnny and Barnes wore, but with inverted colours (yellow with black highlights as opposed to black with yellow highlights). His shirts also have very short sleeves that show off his huge biceps and triceps.
• Silver Fox: While he, like the rest of the cast, has aged, he still is a very handsome fellow. If his huge bulging biceps are any indication, he still is as much of a Mr. Fanservice as he was years ago.
• Stern Teacher: Even after turning over a new leaf, Chozen takes his teaching very seriously. In addition to his training being as tough as Johnny's or Silver's, Chozen will not mince words on how he thinks a student is performing (esp. if they're lacking). Nevertheless, his harsh assessments are meant to make students really contemplate on what they're doing wrong and expresses pride when they do figure it out.
• Still Got It: The Training Montage involving him and Daniel shows that he hasn't just retained his fighting skills; he is leagues ahead of his former nemesis.
• The Teetotaler: Doesn't drink anymore, in contrast to his past self, who once assaulted Daniel and Kumiko at a club while drunk. As of Season 5, he only drank to celebrate Carmen's pregnancy and later fought Terry Silver while partially drunk.
• This Cannot Be!: His reaction in the second movie after Daniel successfully breaks six blocks of ice. You can hear him shout out "Chikuzo" when he finds out he lost the bet.
• Throwing Down the Gauntlet: He takes Kumiko hostage and threatens to cut her throat unless Daniel fights him.
• Took a Level in Badass: While Daniel has become an Old Master himself, Chozen repeatedly gains the upper hand when the two of them are sparring. Probably helps that Chozen has been a full time practitioner and teacher in the years since while Daniel had to prioritize his family and business during that timeframe.
• Took a Level in Kindness: Chozen appears to not have changed much come his first encounter with Daniel in over three decades. However, this is only an act, and he reveals that his experiences following the end of Part II have humbled him over the years. After an extended training montage, the two depart on good terms. It is also revealed that Chozen ultimately made up with Sato and even Kumiko (at least enough for her to feel comfortable inviting him to meet Daniel again).
• Training from Hell: Chozen's style of training is just as intense as Johnny's.
• Tranquil Fury: As an adult, he can still tap into the rage he felt as a young man, but now he channels and focuses it into something truly scary.
• Trickster Mentor: His training is as rigid as Johnny's but encourages the students to think just as abstractly as they would with Daniel's training.
• Troll: Aside from his prank on Daniel in season 3, he also briefly pretends to be offended by Louie in season 5, before laughing it off.
• Tyke-Bomb: Cobra Kai Season 5 shows he's been training in karate since he was a child.
• Worf Had the Flu: The only reason Chozen loses his duel with Silver is a momentary distraction caused by his drunkenness at the time.
• World's Best Warrior: Chozen has spent his life not only trying to atone for his mistakes but also improving his fighting skills even after Sato died. Thanks to Sato teaching him several techniques that Miyagi never taught to Daniel and the fact that he has a full-time job as a martial arts teacher (whereas Daniel divides his time between teaching and the dealership), Chozen managed to surpass his former nemesis, whom he defeats easily when they fight again. With Miyagi and Sato dead, Chozen is the best fighter in the whole series, with not even Johnny or Kreese being on his level. Even while in a drunken state, Chozen is capable of having an even match with a sober Terry Silver.
• Worthy Opponent: It's implied that Terry Silver considers him this when Chozen shows his willingness to kill during their fight to the death, despite looking down on him earlier.
• Would Hit a Girl: He strikes Kumiko across the face and knocks her unconscious when she tries to help Daniel in the fight against him. Chozen would greatly regret this later in life.

Former Senseis

Sato Toguchi

Sato Toguchi

"So coward. You return!"

^{Click here to see him in 1972}
"Army training is not enough!"

Played By: Danny Kamekona, Akihiro Kitamura (1972 flashback)

Appearances: The Karate Kid Part II | Cobra Kai

An influential businessman in Okinawa who seems to have a dark history with Mr. Miyagi.

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• Anti-Villain: Lampshaded by Miyagi after Sato gives him time to mourn his father before demanding that they fight.
• Arrogant Kung-Fu Guy: Even more than Chozen and clearly where he got it from.
• The Atoner: Implied in Cobra Kai with his helping Chozen to turn over a new leaf since he was the one that led his nephew down a dark path in the first place.
• Big Bad: Of the second movie as his desire to fight Miyagi to the death for dishonoring him drive him to antagonize not only Daniel and Miyagi, but also Tomi Village as a whole. After his Heel–Face Turn, Chozen takes this spot from him.
• Bus Crash: Said to have died during the time between Part II and Cobra Kai, coinciding with his actor dying in 1996.
• Contrasting Sequel Antagonist: John Kreese was a mostly disconnected antagonist who let his students do the job of directly antagonizing Daniel and Miyagi. He also has no honor whatsoever and is shown to be very racist towards foreigners. Sato is a far more active antagonist, directly and outwardly antagonizing not only Daniel through Chozen, but also antagonizing Miyagi directly and personally, as well as Yukie and the other Tomi Village villagers. However, he's also shown to have a legitimate sense of honor even towards his enemies, letting Miyagi mourn his father and honoring Chozen and Daniel's bet despite losing money in it. Unlike Kreese, he sees the errors of his ways and reforms. And would eventually help Chozen reform as well.
• Cool Uncle: When Sato finally got his act together, he helped Chozen rebuild himself into a better person since it was his influence that corrupted his nephew in the first place.
• Corrupt Corporate Executive: He's a wealthy industrialist whose supertrawlers have greatly depleted the local fish population, forcing the former fishing village to scrape by via small farming. He also owns all the land in the village and forces its residents to rent from him. He drops this aspect after his Heel–Face Turn, with Cobra Kai outright stating that when Tomi Village fell on hard times, Sato took it upon himself to help them all avoid falling into poverty by modernizing the village and giving the people stable jobs, money and livelihoods.
• Disc-One Final Boss: Pulls a Heel–Face Turn after Miyagi saves his life, with Chozen taking over as the villain.
• Duel to the Death: Tries to force Miyagi into one of these, intending on getting back at his former friend for disgracing Sato by professing his love for the latter's bride-to-be, Yukie.
• Easily Forgiven: Miyagi holds no grudge against him despite the fact Sato actively planned to murder him and severely antagonized him, though the fact that Miyagi lived through World War II and took a path of peace and forgiveness might have been the cause of it, as is the fact that Sato outright cooperates with the people of Tomi Village after the storm.
• Even Evil Has Standards:
  • Despite being a real bastard at first, it's shown that Sato does possess a sense of honor by giving Miyagi time to mourn his father's death before their Duel to the Death and honoring the bet that Daniel could break more ice blocks than Chozen. He proves that his Heel–Face Turn after Miyagi saves his life is genuine by saving an unconscious Daniel who had just saved Yuna, a little bell-ringer girl, from dying in the storm.
  • Sato utterly loathed Master Kim Sun-Yung for his style of Tang Soo Do that espoused "no honor" and to strike with deception. Even during his Heel phase, Sato was a firm believer in honor and keeping your word.
• Evil Counterpart: To Miyagi. He's a tournament and flash-loving Corrupt Corporate Executive who is also mildly racist towards outsiders. After his Heel–Face Turn, he instead begins taking on more of Miyagi's positive qualities and even helps Chozen redeem himself and become a better person by the time of Cobra Kai.
• Evil Sounds Raspy: Has a very strong, guttural voice that emphasizes his antagonistic status. He loses most of it after his Heel–Face Turn.
• Evil Uncle: Subjected Chozen to a Training from Hell at a very young age and wasn't a great influence on him growing up either. This changed after Sato's Heel Realization, and he fortunately also steered his nephew on the right path before his death.
• Evil Virtues: Sato values honor above all else; he believes all things should be earned without shortcuts and if a promise is made, their word is good as gold.
• Heel–Face Turn: After Miyagi saves his life while proving that Sato was never his equal in skill, which humbles him down from his previous actions and prompts him to help the villagers rebuild Tomi Village.
• Honor Before Reason: Sato's Fatal Flaw. He is obsessed with his honor, but also has a very warped and old-fashioned view of it. His belief in honor has its virtues, as despite his hatred for Miyagi, Sato compels Chozen to pay Daniel when the latter wins the ice-breaking bet and allows Miyagi three days to mourn his father, their shared sensei, out of respect. He also despised Kim Sun-Yung specifically because his style of fighting promoted "no honor and no mercy." However, he fumes for 30 years against Miyagi for declaring his love for Sato's arranged wife, perceiving this as a grave insult, and still fully intends on killing Miyagi when he returns while Miyagi himself has long since moved on with his life. He then denounces Miyagi as a coward for refusing to fight him to the death, failing to understand how refusing to fight can be an honorable act and not realizing that Miyagi doesn't want to fight him because Miyagi knows he is the superior fighter and doesn't want to kill his best friend. He grows out of this after seeing Miyagi save his life and outright risks himself to save Daniel's life, proving that he has let go of his hatred.
• I Have No Nephew: After Chozen refuses to help Daniel save the bellringer girl during the storm, Sato disowns his nephew for his cowardice: "Now to you, I am dead". Subverted later when Chozen attacks Kumiko and Daniel during the festival, and a remorseful Sato pleads with him to give up and seek redemption, and further subverted when it's revealed in Cobra Kai that after the events of Part II, he kept his offer and helped Chozen get redemption for his actions.
• Large Ham: He might be the largest of the entire franchise, which is really saying something. Even when he mellows out after his Heel–Face Turn, he still has his moments.
• Murder the Hypotenuse: His plan with Mister Miyagi when they were teenagers. Miyagi left Japan instead, only to find Yukie still didn't want to marry Sato.
• Noble Demon: Merciless as he was, Sato respects anyone that demonstrates true honor and integrity.
• Offscreen Moment of Awesome:
  • Cobra Kai reveals that Sato saved his nephew from crossing the Despair Event Horizon following his defeat by Daniel in Part II, and helped set Chozen on the path to becoming a good and honorable man. He also kept training Chozen to the point where his nephew proves to be completely out of Daniel's league by the time of their rematch, even in a friendly sparring session.
  • The series also reveals that after Tomi Village suffered from a catastrophic crop failure that nearly caused it to die out, Sato spearheaded a campaign to redevelop the village into a premiere shopping and entertainment destination for locals and tourists. This completely revitalized and stabilized the village's economy, brought in more jobs and better wages for all of the villagers, and improved the overall quality of life for the area.
• Old Master: Is the head of Okinawa's largest karate dojo and was personally trained by Mr. Miyagi's own father, making him one of the most skilled fighters in the franchise. He's still no match for Miyagi, however.
• Parental Substitute: It's implied that he raised Chozen, which explains a lot of how he turned out.
• Pet the Dog: After Mr. Miyagi's father dies moments after pleading his son and Sato to reconcile, Sato can't bring himself to directly deny his former sensei despite his anger and gives Miyagi three days to mourn before their big fight. Another moment is when even though he feels embarrassed by Chozen losing the bet with the ice blocks, he nonetheless honors the bet and tells his nephew off for embarrassing him.
• Rival Turned Evil: How Sato is set up to be. It turns out it's not so much evil as Honor Before Reason and he only became rivals with Miyagi due to both harboring feelings for Yukie. After his Heel–Face Turn, he drops both aspects.
• Training from Hell: He subjected his students on Okinawa to this, including a young Chozen, such as making them strike bags of sand until their knuckles bled.

Mr. Miyagi's father

Mr. Miyagi's father

"If I am dreaming, let me never awake. If I'm awake, let me never sleep."

Played By: Charlie Tanimoto

Appearances: The Karate Kid Part II

Miyagi's elderly father, a karater master in his own right who taught his son and Sato everything they know in karate. His gravely ill state forces Miyagi to return to his old island for the first time in 40 years, kickstarting the events of Part II.

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• Dying Wish: His final moments are spent asking his son and Sato to make amends, before he expires.
• Good Parents: By all accounts. His son certainly remembers him fondly and mourns for him deeply, and the fact that he fell in love with a girl bethroted to Sato, had to run away and even fought for the U.S. against the Japanese side doesn't seem to have changed his love for his son in the slightest.
• Greater-Scope Paragon: Mr. Miyagi is presented as the ultimate source of light and wisdom in the franchise, but his father was the person who originally taught him all of his values and karate skills, and in fact it's implied that Miyagi himself, like Daniel, was quite reckless and impatient in his youth before his father guided him down the right path.
• Long-Lived: Implied, given that his son is 60 when he dies (Charlie Tanimoto was 80 when he played Miyagi Sr., and while it's a stretch, it is possible that the character was about the same age and conceived Miyagi in his early-20's).
• Old Master: He taught his son and Sato, Old Masters in their own right, everything they know about karate, and presumably other pupils.
• Unnamed Parent: His first name is never revealed.
• We Hardly Knew Ye: Daniel didn't even know Mr. Miyagi had a living father, and when they meet him, he's bedridden and in his final days.

Students — The LaRusso Siblings

General

The children of Daniel LaRusso who experience the wealth that Daniel never had growing up. Both of them join Miyagi-Do Karate under different circumstance: Sam was already previously taught the art under Mr. Miyagi but rejoins after a years long hiatus to help Daniel stop a resurgent Cobra Kai; Anthony on the other hand never had an interest in karate until pushing Kenny's buttons way too far to the point the latter turns to Cobra Kai and becomes his worst enemy.

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• Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: After four seasons of constantly irritating each other and having a pretty poor relationship, Season 5 shows that they do care for each other when Sam finds out that Anthony is being bullied and agrees to teach him karate to defend himself, while Anthony gushes over Sam's own fighting skills.
• Brains and Brawn: Anthony is easily the Brains to his sister’s Brawn in Season 5. Sam has far more combat experience than him, but Anthony’s the one who came up with the strategy to pass Chozen’s lesson and use his tech experience to expose Terry Silver.
• Create Your Own Villain: Both of them suffer from this, being responsible for creating their own Arch-Enemy. Sam accuses Tory of stealing Amanda's wallet, looks down on her criminality, and pisses her off further by drunkenly kissing Miguel at Moon's party. Anthony on the other hand bullies Kenny to the point where the latter turns to Cobra Kai and uses his training to lash out on the former.
• Sibling Yin-Yang: Sam is overall considered the golden child of the family while Anthony was basically left to his devices. Sam learned karate from a young age whereas Anthony only recently started training. Sam is very much an Action Girl who is not afraid to throw down even against the likes of Kyler or Tory while Anthony favors the "thinking man's" approach with his karate training and would rather avoid getting into an actual fistfight.

Samantha LaRusso

See Samantha's character page here.

Anthony LaRusso

See The LaRusso Family

Students — The Binary Brothers

General

Two bullied nerds and childhood friends attending West Valley High School who become the first people that Miguel strikes a friendship with. After Miguel beats their bully, Kyler, in the lunchroom, both take an interest in karate by joining Cobra Kai; Eli remains in the dojo and becomes the boisterous Hawk, whereas Demetri eventually joins Miyagi-Do after Hawk becomes a bully to him. Both become rivals to each other in Season 2 and 3, but eventually make up after Hawk defects from Cobra Kai to join Eagle Fang, later joining Miyagi-Do by Demetri's persuasion after a traumatic haircut.

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• Arch-Enemy: Kyler Park is to them, being their bully dating perhaps even before Season 1. It really speaks volumes when Demetri is at his most satisfied beating him down, compared to his bout against Hawk when he becomes apologetic.
• Bash Brothers: After Demetri and Eli reconcile, the two prove to be a highly effective fighting team as they dispatch several Cobras in the LaRusso house fight with their combined skills. The Final Battle at Silver's flagship Cobra Kai dojo also shows their effectiveness in both their computer skills and in physical combat.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: When introduced, the brash, abrasive and opinionated Demetri is the Red Oni, to quiet, timid Eli's Blue Oni. However, these roles are reversed after Eli joins Cobra Kai and takes on the "Hawk" persona, with Demetri as the rational and intellectual Blue to Hawk's reckless, passionate and brutish Red. Even when Eli joins Miyagi-Do, he's much more prone to getting into a fight than Demetri despite the former being calmer and much more balanced.
• Took a Level in Badass: Both of them. From bullied nerds to some of the best fighters in the valley. They've come a long way since their introduction in Season 1. It says something when the best insult Kyler can come up with in the Season 5 finale is calling them "Yasmine and Moon's bitches", which is really just a reminder that they've managed to form relationships with two of the prettiest, most popular girls in school.

Eli "Hawk" Moskowitz

See Eli's character page here.

Demetri Alexopoulos

See Demetri’s Character page here.

Students — Others

Robby Keene

See Robby's character page here

Chris

Chris

"Who's badass now?"

Played By: Khalil Everage

Appearances: Cobra Kai

"I'm not gonna throw the first punch."

Chris joined Cobra Kai after the All-Valley Tournament along with his friend Mitch. Despite being the largest of the teenage cast, he is also the least aggressive and confrontational. For a time, Chris and Mitch served as lackeys in Hawk's personal gang, but Chris became increasingly disillusioned with Cobra Kai's aggressive ways. When Daniel confronted Johnny over the vandalism of the former's dojo, Chris became the first Cobra Kai student to walk out and join Miyagi-Do.

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• Apologetic Attacker: When Chris gets a hit in on Demetri during training, he apologizes.
• Bash Brothers: In a deleted scene posted by John Cihangir, Rickenberger's actor, Chris and Mitch are shown handily working together to defeat Doug Rickenberger during the house fight.
• Beware the Nice Ones: Right up to the final brawl of Season 2, Chris tries to avoid violence as much as possible, be it when he is part of Hawk's gang chasing Demetri, having Demetri frustrate him by throwing his (sincere) apologies back in his face, or being confronted by his former friend Mitch at the end. Only when Mitch actually throws the first punch does Chris decide to lay the smackdown — and lay it he does.
• Big Brother Instinct: In the Season 5 Finale, he "protects the egg (Anthony LaRusso)" alongside the rest of his Miyagi-Fang friends while Anthony uploads the video incriminating Silver to Cobra Kai.
• Big Guy, Little Guy: Big to Nathaniel's Little.
• Combat Pragmatist: Chris may not welcome violence, but when he's in a bind, he doesn't hesitate to use whatever he can get his hands on, such as when he used a textbook to beat Mitch during the school brawl and grabbed a frying pan to smack Doug Rickenberger in the LaRusso house fight. He also has no qualms about taking advantage of his larger size and bum-rushing an opponent, as he does to Chozen during a training exercise.
• Defector from Decadence: Or from worse. Chris is one of the students who decides to leave Cobra Kai to join Miyagi-Do. Unlike some of the other defectors, particularly Nathaniel, Daniel doesn't have to spend any effort reeducating him out of Cobra Kai's "no mercy" mindset.
• Embarrassing Nickname: Deconstructed. Unlike Mitch who was more than happy to go along with his nickname at first, Chris was not happy with being constantly hazed and demeaned by the senior Cobra Kai students Hawk, Bert, Aisha and even Miguel, who came up with the nickname "Douchebag" for him.
• Gentle Giant: He's a big fella, but Chris is a relatively sensitive and non-confrontational individual who "never liked it here" during his time at Cobra Kai. As a result, he has no trouble fitting in with Miyagi-do.
• Good Is Dumb: Downplayed. He tends to be the most clueless of the Miyagi-Dos, such as not knowing what a fulcrum is despite being in high school. However, his ability to use various items lying around as weapons hints that he is very intelligent, just perhaps not the most bookish.
• Good Is Not Soft: Chris is a Gentle Giant who prefers to avoid fighting, but when he has no other choice, he can dish it out and knock his opponents around with ease, as Mitch learns the hard way.
• Fire-Forged Friends: Has two instances of this, both being the Binary Brothers.
  • With Demetri in Season 2. When Chris joined Miyagi-Do after the dojo trashing incident, Demetri understandably did not trust him as Chris was part of Hawk's gang who attacked him at the mall earlier in the season. After a few verbal disputes, the two managed to work together to lift an overturned rock at the dojo and from then onwards, they overcame their differences and have become genuine friends.
  • With Hawk in Season 4. Chris and Nathaniel were understandably uneasy at the idea of Hawk joining the Miyagi-Fang alliance and did not accept him one bit, considering that he was the ringleader of harassing Chris at work and beating up Nathaniel. However, when Hawk joins Miyagi-Do after getting his mohawk cut off and is ready to make genuine amends again, Chris was more than happy to greet and welcome him. Before the Season 5 finale fight at the flagship dojo, Chris and Hawk are on good terms as he was willing to greet Hawk specifically with a handshake when he showed up.
• Improvised Weapon: A recurring specialty of his. Whenever he's forced into a real fight, he won't hesitate to use any nearby objects, whether it's a book or a frying pan, as a weapon to give him an advantage.
• Mistreatment-Induced Betrayal: Hawk's relentless bullying of Chris plays a large part in his decision to abandon Cobra Kai for Miyagi-Do after the mall fight.
• Mook Chivalry: When he was part of Hawk's gang, Chris was the only one who was reluctant to fight Demetri and even suggested Hawk to let him go, as he felt they'd made their point by scaring him away. Hawk, however, dismissively brushed him off for trying to think for himself.
• Nice Guy: Which is why he never quite fit into Cobra Kai. He joins just as Kreese returns and is extending his influence over the students. Chris tries to stop Hawk from assaulting Demetri and only reluctantly and regretfully helps him out of loyalty. Hawk and Mitch vandalizing the Miyagi-Do property was the last straw for him and he joins Miyagi-Do to make amends. Even when confronted by his former friend Mitch, he refuses to throw the first punch.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: Blue to Nathaniel's and Mitch's Red.
• Scary Black Man: Averted. Anything intimidating about Chris really just comes down to him being larger than most of the other students at either dojo. And even then, he never outwardly appears nor acts in any aggressive or menacing manner (except when he was rightfully angry at Demetri for snubbing his sincere apology for assaulting him at the mall with Hawk and at Mitch for insulting his mother). Even when he was with Hawk's Cobra Kai gang, he (unsuccessfully) tried to be the voice of reason.
• Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: He's easily the sensitive guy to Mitch's manly man. Especially played straight during their time in Cobra Kai together, in which Chris was very reluctant to take part in the Cobra Kais' antics (eventually leading to his defection), whereas Mitch is proud to go along with everything Hawk does and remains loyal (at least before Kreese kicks him out).
• Stone Wall: In many ways a Spear Counterpart to Aisha, Chris is overall a defensive fighter, preferring to block and evade attacks before finishing the fight in one decisive move, usually with an Improvised Weapon of some kind.
• Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: Upon Chris's initial recruitment to Miyagi-Do, he and Demetri can't stop bickering, so Daniel sets the two of them to move a heavy stone as a team. At first, they spend as much time insulting each other as they do actually trying to lift the stone, but once they finish the job, they form a solid friendship.
• Tell Me How You Fight: Peaceful and sensitive by nature, he makes it clear that he's not going to throw the first punch. Once it does get thrown, he responds either with a block or a retaliation. Then he goes ahead with the fight.
• Throw the Book at Them: How he takes Mitch down — by smashing him in the head with a textbook.
  Mitch: [while Chris is sprawled on the ground after a kick] Should have stayed in Cobra Kai. Could have been a badass.
  Chris: [strikes him out] Who's badass now?
• Token Good Teammate: Initially this to Cobra Kai. Already disillusioned with the jerkassery of his classmates, he finally quits once he learns about how Hawk vandalized Miyagi-Do's dojo and stole Miyagi's medal of honor. He also becomes this to Miyagi-Do as he's the only one who doesn't try to provoke Cobra Kai in any way or show any active aggression.
• Vitriolic Best Buds: Deconstructed. Cobra Kai's macho attitude causes them to treat all new recruits this way, giving them demeaning nicknames and treating them like lackeys to the more senior dojo members. However, Chris is such a Nice Guy that he quickly grows sick of this, interpreting their behavior as just plain abuse rather than the friendly ribbing it's intended to be, which is ultimately one of the factors that causes him to abandon Cobra Kai for Miyagi-Do.
• We Used to Be Friends: With Mitch. Chris really doesn't want to fight him at first, but during the school brawl, Chris takes him down when Mitch leaves him no other option. They're briefly seen fighting again during the brawl at the end of Season 5, where it's implied Chris won, taking Mitch out of commission for the final part of the fight.
• The Worf Effect:
  • Gets hit with this in Season 3 as he goes down in every major fight that occurs just to show how much stronger Cobra Kai has become.
  • In Season 4, he's knocked out of the All Valley in the qualifying stages by Kyler to show how Cobra Kai has gained an advantage from Robby teaching them Miyagi-Do moves.

Nathaniel

Nathaniel

"If you died, I wouldn't even attend your funeral."

Played By: Nathaniel Oh

Appearances: Cobra Kai

"I love math humor."

One of the former Cobra Kai students, he joined Miyagi-Do with Chris and the others.

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• Asian and Nerdy: He's Asian, and Bert calls him a nerd when they brawl. He also laughs at a math joke during Moon's party.
• Bash Brothers: Him and Bert after becoming friends.
• Big Guy, Little Guy: Little to Chris' Big.
• Blood Knight: Enjoys fighting much more than most of the other Miyagi-Do students.
• The Glasses Come Off: When Bert breaks his glasses, Nathaniel takes them off and knocks him to the ground for some MMA-style "ground and pound" until a security guard separates them and drags them away.
  Nathaniel: [to Bert] Oh, now you're in trouble.
• Good Is Not Nice: In stark contrast to Chris, Nathaniel carried the Cobra Kai mindset with him to Miyagi-Do (much to Daniel's frustration). It never quite washes off — when Bert challenges him in the school brawl, Nathaniel eagerly responds to Bert's Trash Talk with a Johnny-esque "Come and get it, dickhead."
• Hazy-Feel Turn: He leaves Cobra Kai for Miyagi-Do after Hawk trashes their dojo, but it doesn't count as a proper Heel–Face Turn as his attitude doesn't really change and at this stage both dojos are still mostly sympathetic.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He is one of those who defects to Miyagi-Do after Hawk vandalized Daniel's dojo, though he still retains a hot-headed and confrontational personality.
• Kick the Dog:
  • In the Season 3 premiere, he greets Yasmine, who is just minding her own business, by reminding her of her humiliating front-wedgie at Aisha's hands. Yasmine may not be a particularly nice person herself, but it's still a cruel and totally unnecessary thing to say.
    Nathaniel: 'Sup, front-wedgie!
  • He and Bert pick on and make fun of Kenny for wearing a Cobra Kai shirt to his tour of the high school, even though Kenny had no idea about the dojo rivalry at the time and did nothing to deserve such treatment.
• Laser-Guided Karma: He bullies Kenny throughout Season 4 due to his youth and allegiance to Cobra Kai (despite the latter having no idea about the war going on between the three dojos). Fast forward to the All-Valley, and Kenny is the one who eliminates him using Miyagi-Do techniques.
• Made of Iron: Nathaniel gets jumped by Hawk and Mitch following their fundraiser for Miguel's surgery. When the Miyagi-Do group later tell Sam about the stolen donation, he is seen thoroughly bruised and bloodied but is otherwise perfectly able to walk and stand without aid.
• The Napoleon: Let's just say his aggressive and assertive streak don't exactly correspond with his stature.
• Pint-Sized Powerhouse: He's the tiniest of the Miyagi-Do students, but he can hold his own easily. When he throws down with Bert, Nathaniel is clearly the superior fighter of the two.
• Precision F-Strike: Has the honor of saying it in Season 3, after he shows up at Sam's front door beaten up by the Cobra Kais (with the money for Miguel stolen in the process).
  Nathaniel: They kicked the fucking shit out of me!
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: Red to Bert's and Chris' Blue.
• Sitcom Arch-Nemesis: Despite sharing little screen time together, he and Bert seem to have an unexplained animosity for one another.
  Bert: I hate your stupid face so much.
  Nathaniel: If you died, I wouldn't even attend your funeral.
• Those Two Guys: Him and Bert are rarely seen apart after the merging of their dojos.
• Token Evil Teammate: Downplayed. Despite remaining firmly dedicated to Miyagi-Do after leaving Cobra Kai, he never does quite let go of the latter dojo's Bring It attitude towards fighting.
• Vitriolic Best Buds: He and Bert are in this territory by Season 4. They insult each other as much as they did when they were enemies, but it's clearly more light-hearted and they're pretty much inseparable. During Chozen's egg lesson, they're the only ones who work together at first.
• The Worf Effect: In Season 4, he's knocked out of the All Valley in the qualifying stages by Kenny to show how Cobra Kai has gained an advantage from Robby teaching them Miyagi-Do moves.

Abe

Abe

”What if we fall?”

Played By: Jayden Rivers

Appearances: Cobra Kai

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• Black and Nerdy: Implied to be this due to being a part of Johnny's original Ragtag Bunch of Misfits and having Nerd Glasses.
• Everyone Has Standards: While he previously dealt with Johnny's Training from Hell during his time at Cobra Kai, he's clearly aghast when Johnny wants him and the other current Miyagi-Do students to jump across a gap between two rooftops as part of their combined training.
• The Generic Guy: Has little to no lines (with one being his reaction to Johnny's roof training), and pretty much only serves as a background Cobra Kai (and later Miyagi-Do) member.
• Heel–Face Turn: Joins Miyagi-Do (alongside Chris, Nathaniel, Lil Red, Frank and another boy) after realizing how far Cobra Kai has fallen.

Lil' Red

Lil'Red

”I told mom I’d be home hours ago!”

Played By: Shane Donovan Lewis

Appearances: Cobra Kai

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• Ascended Extra: Slightly. He's always been a visible background member of Miyagi-Do, but he gets his first line in the final episode of Season Five. Shortly before that, he was seen standing at Daniel's side, right along with his family, Carmen, and Stingray. The fact that he's seen standing at the end of the brutal brawl is no small thing in itself, either, hinting at his skill.
• Cain and Abel: Becomes the Abel to Big Red after defecting to Miyagi-Do.
• The Generic Guy: Has almost no lines, and pretty much only serves as a background Cobra Kai (and later Miyagi-Do) member.
• Heel–Face Turn: Joins Miyagi-Do (alongside Chris, Nathaniel, Abe, Frank) after realizing how far Cobra Kai has fallen.
• Only Known by Their Nickname: Everyone calls him Lil' Red, in and out of universe, and his real name has not been revealed. However as revealed by Counselor Blatt during the aftermath of the soccer fight, his last name could be Caldwell or Johnson (being Big Red's brother).
• Sibling Rivalry: The dojo rivalry sets him and his brother Big Red against each other when the former abandons Cobra Kai for Miyagi-Do after Hawk, with Big Red's help, trashes the Miyagi dojo. Of course, you probably wouldn't know this just from watching the show. Subverted as of Season 5, as the two brothers reconcile after Silver is exposed as a fraud.

Frank

Frank

Played By: Cameron Markeles

Appearances: Cobra Kai

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• The Generic Guy: Has no lines (except for one response to Nathaniel after the car wash fundraiser), and pretty much only serves as a background Cobra Kai (and later Miyagi-Do) member.

Jason

Jason

Played By: Flaco Reyes

Appearances: Cobra Kai

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• The Generic Guy: Has no lines and pretty much only serves as a background Miyagi-Do member.
• No Name Given: His name hasn't been mentioned, but was revealed via Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/p/CdLebywOuF3/).

Stiven

Stiven

Played By: Tony Vo

Appearances: Cobra Kai

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• The Chew Toy: Is this to Hawk during most of the fights between Cobra Kai and Miyagi-Do. While he is brave enough to take him on, Hawk's far superior skill and greater experience makes this a Curb-Stomp Battle on Stiven's receiving end.
• Determinator: Anyone who can take three beatdowns in a row, two by Hawk and one by Tory, definitely counts as this.
• Go Through Me: He makes an admirable attempt to defend Sam from Tory during her gang assault on Sam's house by intercepting the latter as she chases the former through the house. Unfortunately, Tory defeats him in seconds.
• Hidden Depths: Despite being a background extra, the fact that he's able to give Hawk serious competition in the house fight, get back up, try and stop Tory, then get back up after that and fight Hawk AGAIN says a lot.
• Made of Iron: Even after Hawk breaks a vase over his head during the home invasion, he's able to get up to try and help Sam. After getting beat down by Tory, he gets back up again. At the end of the episode/season in the group shot, Stiven is shown without any signs of damage or even lingering animosity towards Hawk.
• What Happened to the Mouse?: Disappears after Season 3. Unlike Rickenberger and Mikey who at least had an in-universe explanation on why they left (almost all of Cobra Kai quit after the house fight), Stiven leaves Miyagi-Do for no apparent reason.

Former students

Julie Pierce

Julie Pierce

Played By: Hilary Swank

Appearances: The Next Karate Kid

A teen in Boston struggling with emotional issues who becomes Mr. Miyagi's student.

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• Action Girl: Eventually. It takes training under Mr. Miyagi to become one.
• Animal Motif: Julie's fighting style is heavily influenced by the praying mantis and its patience, tying to Julie's Character Development of controlling her aggression.
• Better with Non-Human Company: Very antisocial at first but even then she had a soft spot for Angel, a hawk she was tending to.
• Dance Battler: Mr. Miyagi and the monks teach her waltz and she incorporates some of its principles in her techniques.
• Defrosting Ice Queen: She eventually drops her cold behavior and starts warming up to Miyagi.
• Dude Magnet: She attracts Eric and Ned's attention. She reciprocates the former's feelings while she's more bothered by the latter's advances.
• Iconic Sequel Character: Despite the negative reputation of Next, Julie is still considered a believable and likable character and her potential appearance in the Distant Sequel Cobra Kai is one of the most anticipated.
• Intergenerational Friendship: She shares this with Miyagi who's old enough to be her grandfather.
• It's Personal with the Dragon: While Dugan is the film's Big Bad and is the one fought last (by Mr. Miyagi, who sweeps him), Ned is the one who directly antagonizes Julie for most of it. As such, Julie and Ned's battle is given more focus.
• Kindly Vet: One of the subplots of the movie has her nursing an injured hawk back to health.
• Painted-On Pants: Julie is fond of wearing leggings.
• Put on a Bus: Her activities after the events of The Next Karate Kid are unknown outside of her continuing to implement Mr. Miyagi's teachings into her life, and Word of God has it that she was at his funeral and met the LaRussos there.
• Raised by Grandparents: Julie has been under her (paternal) grandmother's care since her parents' deaths.
• Sour Outside, Sad Inside: It's suggested that the reason behind her bitterness is because of her parents' deaths, as well as her grandmother treating her as if she were the latter's daughter-in-law (who was Julie's now deceased mother) and being harassed at school by a jerk with power (Ned), whose advances she has repeatedly rejected.
• Sugar-and-Ice Personality: She starts out being unusually cold to Miyagi and her grandmother, due to the grief of losing her parents to a car accident.
• Two First Names: Pierce is a common male given name.
• What Happened to the Mouse?: She's the only major character from the original movies whose fate hasn't been addressed.

Associates

Okinawa

Kumiko

Kumiko

"Many tried...but none of them fought to the death for me."

^{Click here to see her in the 80s}

Played By: Tamlyn Tomita

Appearances: The Karate Kid Part II | Cobra Kai

"Put good out into the world, and good will come back to you."

The niece of the late Yukie and Daniel's former love interest.

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• Action Survivor: She's not a trained fighter but Kumiko has no qualms trying to take care of herself despite her oppressor's superior strength and skill(s).
• Amicable Exes: She and Daniel were romantically involved for a short time, decades ago. When they reconnect, both of them are absolutely thrilled to see one another, with no hint of any hard feelings or unresolved conflict.
• The Bus Came Back: She and Daniel reunite in Okinawa for the first time in over three decades since the conclusion of Part II.
• The Confidant: She listens to a troubled Daniel while also sharing with him her past troubles, and helps him out with his emotional problems.
• Confirmed Bachelor: Despite her aunt's wishes, Kumiko has remained unmarried throughout her whole life. Which leads to...
  Kumiko: I stayed, uh... What was your word for it? A "free agent".
  Daniel: Come on, I'm supposed to believe that a guy never got a ring on that finger?
  Kumiko: Many tried. But... none of them fought to the death for me.
• Dude Magnet: If what Kumiko says is 100% true, many did try to fall in love with and marry her. Unfortunately, none of them lived up to Daniel's standards. Also played straight in The Karate Kid Part II with Daniel and Chozen competing for her feelings.
• Earn Your Happy Ending: After everything she went through in the second film, she achieved her dream of dancing internationally with a renowned troupe.
• Easily Forgiven: Daniel is shocked when she arranges for Chozen to meet him again, going as far as to ask if she forgot about Chozen trying to kill him. In response, Kumiko merely says, "That was a long time ago."
• Generation Xerox: Kumiko's relationship with Daniel seems to echo how her Aunt Yukie never married and continued to love Miyagi from Japan.
• Hidden Depths: As a person raised with traditional Okinawan culture, Daniel jokes that Kumiko's favorite thing about London must have been their tea. It was seeing The Cranberries in concert.
• I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: She fixes Daniel's karate and business problems in the US, even though she surely knew that he will continue with his life without her.
• Iconic Sequel Character: Despite only appearing in Part II, Kumiko proved to be a hit with fans that her popularity is enough to rival original female lead Ali Mills and even Daniel's eventual wife Amanda LaRusso. Even in Cobra Kai, she wouldn't tun up until Season 3.
• Mighty Whitey and Mellow Yellow: She's surrounded by Asian men she doesn't show the slightest bit of interest in, but as soon as Daniel shows up at the front door... then again, the other suitor with a chance was Chozen of all people.
  • Justified as Chozen undoubtedly scared off any other potential suitors given his treatment of Daniel-san.
• Neutral Female: Subverted. She tries to pull Chozen away from Daniel during their last fight. It doesn't work, but the effort is appreciated.
• Nice Girl: She's never less than friendly and welcoming to Daniel and Miyagi; indeed, she gets on well with anyone who's not Chozen. She remains on good terms with Daniel even after not having seen each other for over three decades, and helps him out with his emotional and business troubles. She's even quite cordial to Chozen, who tried to kill her once (although the shame-leverage there might have helped with getting him to help Daniel).
• Old Flame: Chastely with the married Daniel, probably with some Foreshadowing for Ali's reappearance. Nothing happens, but they're both clearly delighted to see each other and spend time with each other again. Daniel even says it feels like it's been minutes since they saw each other, not decades. This gets sneakily lampshaded when Kumiko lights an actual lantern before reading Miyagi's letters to Yukie to Daniel.
• The One That Got Away: Kumiko seems to consider Daniel to be this to her, with shades of her One True Love. She mentioned many pursuers, but none ever willing to face potential death for her like he did. Played straight with Chozen when he partially confesses his feelings for Kumiko to Johnny and Daniel during Season 5, mentioning that he was closer with her during their childhood and felt personal shame for alienating her with his actions. It takes a few words of encouragement from Daniel for Chozen to leave her a voicemail confessing his feelings to her.
• Put on a Bus: Daniel mentions in Part III that she chose to take a job with a dance company in Tokyo instead of coming back to the United States with him. He seems less bitter about it than Ali though, possibly because he knew how much she wanted to be a traditional dancer as opposed to just ostensibly dumping him for another guy, therefore he knows she's following her dream. We see what becomes of her in Cobra Kai season 3.
• Small Role, Big Impact: In Cobra Kai, she appears for part of two episodes, but her role in reintroducing Daniel to Yuna and Chozen triggers a huge wave of positive effects. Thanks to Yuna and Chozen, Daniel's business, school, and life are all saved, not to mention all of the ways that Chozen will help him in Season Five.
• Trickster Mentor: She does Miyagi proud by secretly arranging for Daniel to meet with Chozen again, leading to Daniel burying the hatchet with Chozen and learning a new special technique.
• True Blue Femininity: She wears a blue kimono during her famous dance scene, which even has an ocean design on it.
• Unkempt Beauty: Try as she might, she can't quite keep her hair out of her face in her youth.
• Yamato Nadeshiko: Emphasized by her wearing a kimono and performing the Japanese tea ceremony.

Yukie

Yukie

Played By: Nobu McCarthy

Appearances: The Karate Kid Part II

Mr. Miyagi's ex-girlfriend, who still harbors a deep love for him.

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• Bus Crash: Said to have died during the time between Part II and Cobra Kai, coinciding with her actress dying in 2002.
• Mama Bear: A blink if you miss moment, but before Chozen breaks out the knife, Yukie is the first one to try to run across the bridge to try to get Kumiko away from him.
• Old Maid: By her own decision, since she chose to remain a spinster than becoming a prize wife to Sato.
• Parental Substitute: To Kumiko, her orphaned niece.
• Yamato Nadeshiko: Similar to Kumiko.

Julie's Family

Louisa Pierce

Louisa Pierce

Played By: Constance Towers

Appearances: The Next Karate Kid

Julie Pierce's grandmother and legal guardian.

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• Outliving One's Offspring: Her son and daughter-in-law both died in a car crash, giving her Promotion to Parent for Julie by necessity.
• Parents as People: More like Parental Substitutes as people. Louisa and Julie struggle to find common ground, but Louisa did recently loose her son (Julie's father) and is still in mourning the loss herself along with shouldering the responsibility of raising the troubled Julie alone.
• Promotion to Parent: Given legal guardianship of her granddaughter Julie following her son and daughter-in-law's death by car crash.
• Two First Names: Her married surname Pierce is a common male given name.

Jack Pierce

Jack Pierce

Appearances: The Next Karate Kid (Photo only)

Julie's grandfather and Mr. Miyagi's Commanding Officer during the Second World War.

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• A Father to His Men: He was a close friend to Mr. Miyagi in addition to being his Commanding Officer.
• The Ghost: He never appears in the flesh and is only discussed after his death.
• Hero of Another Story: He was a lieutenant in the 442nd Regiment, which, as Terry Silver points out, was the most decorated unit in U.S. Military history. Not only that, but he saved Mr. Miyagi's life, proving that he must have been a badass in his own right.
• I Owe You My Life: On the receiving end. Mr. Miyagi taught him the closely-guarded family secrets of Miyagi-Do karate in gratitude for Pierce saving his life in World War II.
• Posthumous Character: He's dead long before the events of The Next Karate Kid.
• Small Role, Big Impact: He's a Posthumous Character who is never seen in person, but if he hadn't saved Mr. Miyagi's life in World War II, Miyagi would have never met Daniel and the entire franchise wouldn't have existed.

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