The main characters of The Karate Kid and Cobra Kai have all had excellent victories, but some stand out among the rest as their finest moments. Of course, the drive to win has been at the center of the franchise since the very first The Karate Kid movie in 1984, when Daniel LaRusso became determined to beat Johnny Lawrence at the All-Valley Tournament. His unlikely victory here was iconic, but as the characters’ stories have continued into sequels and Cobra Kai, even grander fights have seen some impactful wins.
The opportunity for great fights in The Karate Kid has only grown with the addition of several new main characters, each of whom has developed their fighting skills in meaningful ways. After Daniel’s movies from the 80s’ sequels and reboots like The Next Karate Kid (1994) and Jackie Chan’s The Karate Kid (2010) introduced new characters to defeat their enemies, Netflix’s Cobra Kai took this to a new level with a variety of teenage main characters. Every movie and season allows characters like Daniel, Johnny, Miguel, Sam, Robby, and more to prove that they are the “best around” with some epic wins.
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Karate Kid & Cobra Kai Timeline Explained (Including Season 5)
The Karate Kid and Cobra Kai saga spans Mr. Miyagi’s life and continues with the children of Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence in the 21st century.
14 Julie Beating Ned Randall
The Next Karate Kid
Since Julie Pierce only appeared in The Next Karate Kid, she hasn’t had as many fights as other characters who have battled it out in Cobra Kai. Therefore, her best win is easily her final match against Ned Randall. Compared to other fights within the franchise, this one was relatively slow-paced, and Julie’s win came after she was blinded and forced to fight only using her senses. It was an impressive moment for her character, and the victory was undoubtedly well-earned after all the work she put in with Mr. Miyagi.
13 Mr. Han Defeating The Bullies
The Karate Kid (2010)
It’s no surprise that this fight in The Karate Kid was so great since it featured kung fu legend Jackie Chan. The fight between Chan’s character, Mr. Han, and the bullies was meant to parallel Mr. Miyagi’s fight in the 1984 movie. However, there was a significant twist since Han never kicked or punched any of the kids he was up against. Instead, he manipulated them into taking each other out until he was the only one left standing. This eliminated the awkward idea of a grown man beating up a bunch of teenagers and meant for an even more visually exciting victory for Mr. Han.
12 Dre Winning Against Cheng At The Tournament
The Karate Kid (2010)
The final battle in the 2010 The Karate Kid between Jaden Smith’s Dre and his bully, Cheng, was an entirely different caliber than in the original movie. The stunts pulled by the characters were pretty unbelievable (something Cobra Kai adopted in its choreography), which meant a visually striking battle. Since Dre hasn’t appeared in any franchise installments since then, he hasn’t yet had the opportunity to top this fight. Still, it would be hard to do so with the cobra hypnotization-like final blow he delivered at the match’s resolution.
11 Mr. Miyagi Beating John Kreese, Mike Barnes, & Terry Silver
The Karate Kid Part 3
Mr. Miyagi had a few good fights throughout the four Karate Kid movies he appeared in, and he never lost a single one. His fight against Johnny Lawrence and the other Cobra Kai was iconic, but since they were only teens, his victory wasn’t quite as impressive as his biggest match in The Karate Kid Part 3. During this fight, Miyagi took out Mike Barnes, John Kreese, and Terry Silver, all without breaking a sweat. Silver was his greatest competition, being easily a couple of feet taller than Miyagi himself. However, he used his enemy’s height and weight against him, a tactic Daniel repeated when he fought Silver in Cobra Kai season 5.
10 Daniel’s Win Against Terry Silver
Cobra Kai Season 5
Daniel’s big fight against Terry Silver at the end of Cobra Kai season 5 was the resolution to a 30-year conflict, and it couldn’t have been more satisfying. This is why this particular match is able to stand out against all the original karate kid’s previous moments. Sure, his fight with Johnny in The Karate Kid was iconic, and facing Chozen and Barnes in the sequels was highly challenging, but the fact that a now grown-up Daniel was able to use the methods Silver had taught him to take him down made this big fight the perfect capper to the character’s long list of excellent victories.
9 Johnny Defeating The Karate Instructors
Cobra Kai Season 5
Though originally the villain of The Karate Kid, Johnny has made an excellent protagonist for Cobra Kai. His leading position means he has had a lot of great fights throughout the Netflix series, but, fittingly, his best yet was off the mat. In the season 5 finale of Cobra Kai, Johnny, Chozen, and Mike Barnes (the three teen villains of the Karate Kid movies) headed for Terry Silver’s house, thoroughly intoxicated, to kick some butt. They wound up facing off with all the Cobra Kai senseis at once, and though things looked pretty rough for Johnny, the fact that he finally had something good to fight for (his unborn baby) allowed him to go against the odds and take them all down (with only a little help from Barnes).
8 Demetri Beating Hawk
Cobra Kai Season 2
Demetri hasn’t had much time to shine in Cobra Kai, which makes sense, considering he was the least interested in karate. However, come the school fight in season 2, he finally had a chance to show that there was more to him than met the eye. Fittingly, his fight was against Hawk, who had been his best friend before Cobra Kai changed everything. Though it was clear that the loser of this Cobra Kai mini-match was the better fighter, Demetri came out on top thanks to the defensive magic of Miyagi-Do. It took some time, but the outcome of this fight is why Hawk eventually decided to join Daniel LaRusso’s dojo.
7 Robby Beating Hawk At The Mall Fight
Cobra Kai Season 2
Robby is one of the most intriguing teen fighters of Cobra Kai since he has been trained in the greatest variety of styles for the longest amount of time. Still, back in season 2, he had only practiced Miyagi-Do, and though he wasn’t as strong as he was going into Cobra Kai season 6, seeing him bring the techniques Daniel had taught him to real fights was great fun. In the mall fight, Robby managed to fight several enemies at once in perfect balance. Of course, the cherry on top of this was when he KOed Hawk in mid air.
6 Hawk Defeating Robby At The All-Valley
Cobra Kai Season 4
Hawk and Robby’s fight in Cobra Kai season 4 is another example of a less-skilled fighter coming out on top, but that’s part of what made this such a good match. The tournament fight went into sudden death, which is when things really started to get interesting. Hawk and Robby were both trained in Miyagi-Do and Cobra Kai, which meant they knew each other’s movies better than anyone, and each move was expertly blocked by the other. Ultimately, Hawk got the upper hand for just long enough to get the victory.
5 Tory’s Final Point Against Sam At The All-Valley
Cobra Kai Season 4
Since the referee was twisting Tory’s match against Sam in the Cobra Kai season 4 All-Valley Tournament in her favor, it’s difficult to consider the entire match a win. Hopefully, season 6 will see this pair finally get a fair fight, but it can’t be denied that the final point Tory landed was earned. Sam had been putting up a great fight, and the rivals managed to block each other’s moves to the point that it seemed like there wouldn’t be a winner. In the end, it was Tory’s decision to fight clean—to earn the victory for herself—that allowed her to land that final kick.
4 Miguel Defeating The Bullies
Cobra Kai Season 1
As Cobra Kai‘s official karate kid, Miguel is an excellent fighter. He’s proven in match after match that he has what it takes, but since he had a few lapses into the “darkness” of Cobra Kai, not all of his victories have been fun to watch (most notably, his All-Valley win in Cobra Kai season 1). So, though early in his development, Miguel’s victory against the cafeteria bullies in season 1 is still his most satisfying to watch. It was a classic “underdog proves he’s amazing” moment.
3 Kenny Payne Beating Hawk
Cobra Kai Season 5
It’s difficult to cheer for Kenny right now since he is more a villain than a Cobra Kai main character. Still, he is far from past the point of no return, and since he is the Cobra Kai dojo’s best fighter, he can’t be left out. Kenny has developed his skills relatively quickly, and Cobra Kai season 5 saw him pick up some pretty serious techniques, one of which promptly took Hawk down during the Sekai Taikai qualifying match. In all, Hawk is a better fighter, but the Karate Kid franchise has consistently proven that a single good hit is all it takes.
2 Sam Beating Tory At The School Fight
Cobra Kai Season 2
The school fight in Cobra Kai season 2 was a big moment for many of the Netflix series’ characters, but aside from Miguel, it had the longest-lasting impact on Sam. Following the traumatic events, she became terrified of Tory, expecting her to turn up around any corner with a weapon to hurt her. Still, Sam managed to come out on top of their big fight. She was only a moment from potentially being killed by Tory, but this inspired her to hold nothing back and fight for her life. The result was her best and most satisfying victory in the series.
1 Chozen Initially Defeating Terry Silver
Cobra Kai Season 5
Terry Silver was the one who ultimately walked away from his big fight with Chozen in Cobra Kai season 5, but this was only after the latter man claimed the initial victory. This was perhaps the most serious fight in the entire Karate Kid franchise, with Silver wielding a katana and Chozen managing two sai. Both men were clearly fighting to the death, and Chozen had the upper hand by the end, with Silver entirely at his mercy. It was a definitive victory, but when Chozen turned his attention to the house, Silver took advantage with a dirty move. Thankfully, Chozen survived, so he can go on to tell the story of his initial badass Cobra Kai victory.
