Why does Miguel’s grandmother Rosa approve of Johnny as her grandson’s sensei on Cobra Kai? The relationship between Miguel Diaz and Johnny Lawrence has been the show’s foundation, with each of them growing and learning from each other in every season. While that’s seemingly counterintuitive, considering the state Johnny is in at the beginning of the show, it’s Miguel’s grandmother Rosa who puts the most faith in Johnny from the start.
The most obvious reason is due to Miguel dealing with bullying both in and out of school, with Johnny coming to Miguel’s defense early on, paralleling Mr. Miyagi’s defense of Daniel LaRusso against Cobra Kai students led by Johnny himself in The Karate Kid. The bullying Miguel experiences gives him pretty evident issues with his sense of self-worth, as does his asthma. With Johnny’s skill as a martial artist and Miguel’s enthusiasm for learning Karate, Rosa recognizes the potential for Miguel to develop greater confidence and self-defense skills, both being among the most common reasons people get involved in martial arts in the first place.
Of course, when Cobra Kai begins, Johnny isn’t exactly the ideal martial arts mentor. Beginning the show at his lowest point, Johnny is essentially an alcoholic and puts himself into situations that could get him or other people seriously hurt or killed at numerous points. Miguel’s mother Rosa, who abhores violence, is quite apprehensive of Miguel learning martial arts, and Johnny being Miguel’s sensei doesn’t help her confidence any. On the other hand, Rosa is much more willing to back Johnny, and it could actually be because of Johnny’s character flaws.
Rosa recognizes that Johnny is a flawed, impulsive man, but not a bad one. It’s also clear that while Johnny’s training methods are frequently questionable, and at time even quite dangerous, this doesn’t stem from Johnny’s innate character but from the influence of John Kreese and the Cobra Kai philosophy. Johnny’s never quite managed to shake that off, and his current lot in life has made him embrace the Cobra Kai edict of “No Mercy” head on. The world has shown Johnny no mercy, and in his mind, the only way to survive its wrath is to do the same.
Because of Johnny’s inner demons and recklessness, Rosa might actually see a reciprocal benefit from her grandson studying with him, hoping that Johnny might learn from Miguel, too. What validates that point is the fact that this is exactly what happens on Cobra Kai. Miguel’s agresssion against Robby in the All-Valley Tournament of season 1 is where Johnny begins to question the wisdom of Kreese’s philosophy. Though Johnny still takes some time to fully turn over a new leaf in season 2, season 3 is where he really starts to become a new man after Miguel is nearly killed in the school fight, putting every concern of his aside for the sake of seeing Miguel through to his full recovery.
At face value, Johnny doesn’t seem like a suitable sensei for high school kids, but Miguel’s grandmother Rosa might see Johnny’s issues as a bug rather than a feature. She obviously wants her grandson to learn to defend himself and build his self-condfidence, but she might also recognize a similar need for growth in Johnny himself. As Cobra Kai heads into season 4, Rosa’s faith in Johnny might have been not just for Miguel, but also about Johnny becoming a better man himself by becoming Miguel’s sensei.
