John Kreese may be a villain, but he certainly has a lot of meaningful quotes in Cobra Kai. The same was true for The Karate Kid, where the sensei’s words had a profound impact on his students. His lines were inspiring, allowing his students to feel powerful and influential, but they also pushed harmful ideas on the young students of Cobra Kai dojo. Johnny Lawrence learned the hard way how such ideas could be harmful to a young person’s life, and it’s clear from John Kreese’s moments in Netflix’s Cobra Kai that he hasn’t changed much.
Cobra Kai picked up 30 years after the conclusion of The Karate Kid, and it’s revealed that the years haven’t been kind to Kreese. After his loss and public humiliation at the hand of Mr. Miyagi, the Cobra Kai sensei lost his dojo and went through bouts of homelessness. He and Johnny Lawrence lost contact until Kreese caught wind that his former student had started teaching the ways of “Stike first, strike hard, no mercy” again. The man joined the Netflix series at the end of season 1, and going into Cobra Kai season 6, he is just as much a threat as he ever was, as proven by his various quotes throughout the series.
10 “Well, I Told You That This Was Inevitable.”
Cobra Kai, Season 3, Episode 10, “December 19”
John Kreese blamed his decline after The Karate Kid on Daniel LaRusso and Mr. Miyagi, and this was especially frustrating for the sensei since he believed their karate style, which depended entirely on self-defense, was ridiculous. At the end of Cobra Kai season 3, Kreese finally had his chance to prove that Miyagi-Do wouldn’t be effective in all circumstances. He backed Daniel into a corner and made it clear that he would die if he stuck solely to self-defense. “I told you this was inevitable,” Kreese said, “You can’t keep up this ‘defense only’ sh*t forever.” Of course, Daniel’s pressure point technique proved him wrong yet again, further evidence of the shortsightedness of Kreese’s ideas.
9 “A True Cobra Feels No Sympathy For Its Meals.”
Cobra Kai, Season 3, Episode 2, “Nature vs. Nurture”
John Kreese named his dojo Cobra Kai for a reason. He truly believed himself to be like the dangerous snake and sought to turn himself into a predator through and through. Kreese knew that stripping himself of compassion and humanity would ensure his emotions would never run him. This is a lesson he taught to Johnny Lawrence, as well as the new young students of Cobra Kai. His karate style taught “no mercy,” which meant there was no need for sympathy or compassion for those who were weaker. This led to poor sportsmanship at tournaments, which Johnny eventually realized wasn’t right.
8 “If Your Mind Is Agile, So Are You. That’s The Best Way To Beat Your Enemy.”
Cobra Kai, Season 3, Episode 4, “The Right Path”
Cobra Kai is full of karate battles, with rivalry matches and tournaments around every corner. However, the bulk of the series is made up of the mind games played between these various opponents. Kreese, Johnny, Daniel, Silver—they are all trying to get a step ahead of the other at one point or another during the Netflix series. Ultimately, the person who ends up on top will likely be whoever thinks the fastest. This is something that Kreese understands all too well. He knows that winning isn’t a simple matter of being stronger than an opponent but being smarter. Going into Cobra Kai season 6, the big question is, who has a mind agile enough to beat their enemy?
7 “No Matter What People Say, It Does Matter Whether You Win Or Lose.”
Cobra Kai, Season 4, Episode 5, “The Rise”
John Kreese has no patience for the common idea that winning or losing isn’t important in sports. The karate teacher only values strength, and the best way to measure this is through winning. This is something that was seen when Johnny won the second-place trophy in The Karate Kid. Kreese snapped the trophy in half and told his student (who was trying to make the best of the situation) that if he wasn’t a winner, he was a loser. Kreese had applied this same mentality to his new students, pushing characters like Tory Nichols to win at all costs. Thankfully, she is slowly beginning to recognize that her mentors have been misled.
6 “Cobra Kai Can Teach You How, But You Have To Prove That You’re Worthy.”
Cobra Kai, Season 4, Episode 3, “Then Learn Fly”
When Johnny first restarted Cobra Kai, his heart wasn’t entirely in the right place. However, to his credit, he allowed anyone and everyone to join his dojo so long as they were willing to do the work. Kreese, on the other hand, was far more discriminatory. He wanted to know that his students had what it took not only to fight but to decimate their opponents. When he met Kenny Paine, Kreese made it clear that Cobra Kai could only be a benefit to him if he could prove that he was worthy. This was how a sweet kid turned into a cruel bully, and the rivalry between Kenny and Anthony was taken to the next level in Cobra Kai.
5 “The Fight Is Only Over When You Say It Is.”
Cobra Kai, Season 2, Episode 5, “All In”
The biggest monster that Johnny unintentionally created was Hawk. Eli had been a weak “nerd” when he started at Cobra Kai and ultimately learned that he had the skill to become something more. He discovered his rage, changed his name to Hawk, and became one of the most despicable forces against Miyagi-Do. This only got worse when Kreese took over. He taught Hawk that, rather than humbly accepting a loss, he could determine that the fight wasn’t over. If the fight was ongoing until he said it was over, he could never lose. It was just another way Kreese fanned the fires of teenage angst to become something catastrophic.
4 “Everyone Closed The Book On Us. They Thought We Were Done. But Now They See That The Real Story’s Only Just Begun.”
Cobra Kai, Season 1, Episode 10, “Mercy”
John Kreese’s big return at the end of Cobra Kai season 1 was quite an impactful moment. Johnny’s new Cobra Kai had just won at the All-Valley Tournament, prompting the old sensei to return and get back in the action. It had been revealed in Cobra Kai that the events of The Karate Kid had led to the dojo being banned from the All-Valley, which had everything to do with Kreese’s behavior. This is what the man was referring to when he told Johnny that everyone had “closed the book” on them, forcing them out of their glory days to be forgotten. However, Kreese was going to take Johnny’s victory as his own—further proof of his narcissistic tendencies.
3 “You May Hate My Guts, But I Will Always Be Your Teacher!”
Cobra Kai, Season 3, Episode 4, “The Right Path”
John Kreese and Johnny Lawrence have had quite the journey together. Though it was evident in The Karate Kid that Johnny was Kreese’s top student, Cobra Kai revealed that he was the closest thing the boy had ever had to a father. Of course, that still wasn’t saying much. Kreese was such a damaged man that his relationship with Johnny was unhealthy, even if there was legitimate love involved. Come Cobra Kai season 3, and Johnny finally began to realize how dangerous an influence Kreese was. Unfortunately, Kreese has yet to understand this going into Cobra Kai season 6.
2 “When Something Bad Happens, You Have Two Choices. You Let It Tear You Down, Or You Let It Build You Up.”
Cobra Kai, Season 4, Episode 2, “First Learn Stand”
Cobra Kai took the time to explain Kreese’s villain origin story, ultimately describing how he had become the man we met in The Karate Kid. While fighting in the Vietnam War, the young John Kreese went through several horrible experiences, and it was only the idea of the girl he loved waiting at home that kept him going. Once he learned that she had been killed in a car accident, there was little left for him to hold onto. Ultimately, Kreese could have fallen apart, but he chose instead to use his rage at the world to build some armor. Ultimately, his advice in Cobra Kai season 4 wasn’t entirely bad—Kreese just has a way of building himself up in unhealthy ways.
1 “Your Whole Life You’re Told To Be Good, But Good Is Only A Matter Of Perspective.”
Cobra Kai, Season 3, Episode 2, “Nature vs. Nurture”
John Kreese didn’t start out as a bad guy, but the circumstances of his life led him to a point where the line between good and bad became blurred. Ultimately, he found that he could change his own perspective of morality and determine anything that could benefit him as “good.” Unfortuantely, this hasn’t been serving him so well. He pulled Terry Silver back into the moral grey area, and his reward was getting thrown into prison. Of course, Kreese has since escaped his cell, so there’s always a chance that he will learn to shift his definition of good and lean into redemption instead. It will all depend on Cobra Kai season 6.
