Conbra Kai Season 1-3 Review

 

Major Spoilers! 

The Karate Kid was a major hit when it debuted in the 80’s. The bond between Sensei Mr. Miyagi and Daniel Larusso was heart warming as Daniel learned karate via “wax on and wax off.” The franchise featured two sequels with Larusso, The Karate Kid Part II which took place in Okinawa, and The Karate Kid Part III when Daniel goes briefly to the Cobra Side. Miyagi then trained a girl in The Next Karate Kid, and finally Jackie Chan starred in a reboot/ remake of The Karate Kid with Will Smith’s Son. After Chan the series went dormant tell YouTube began filming a series with the original cast of the Karate Kid, this time the perspective would be from the loser of the final round in The Karate Kid Part I, the blond bully Johnny Lawrence played by William Zabrak. The series was titled Cobra Kai, as Johnny struggling to make ends meet and put his life together decides to revive the dojo and teach a new generation to “Strike First, Strike Hard, and Show No Mercy.” Immediately Johnny gets a acolyte in s protégée named Miguel Diaz that lives in his apartment complex, and with tough training techniques involving a questionable pool method and later having all his students enter the inside of cement truck tube, Johnny begins to whip a bunch of “pussies,” (his words not mine) into men. At the same time Daniel LaRusso played by the original karate kid himself, the grown up Ralph Macchio, has created his own dojo with two students, his daughter Samatha and the son of his high school enemy Johnny named Robby Lawrence. The first season ends with Miguel Diaz winning the All Valley tournament against Robby and the return of John Kreese, the cruel founder of Cobra Kai. In Season two Samatha and Robby develop a romantic relationship soon after she breaks up with Miguel Diaz, and Miguel ends up dating a vixen and hardened Cobra Kai girl named Tory; immediately the two girls become enemies as Sam accuses Tory of stealing at a party when it turns out to be old friends of Robby. Hawk, who had been a Nerd with a deformity at his nose is now red mohawk fighting machine, who becomes a presumptive leader to doing horrible deeds like stealing Miyagi’s Medal of Honor and trashing Daniel LaRusso’s dojo. Johnny Lawrence seeing this dark side rising in his pupils tells Miguel Diaz that he was wrong about no mercy, which in the climax where the students of Miyagi Do and Cobra Kai have a free for all fight at the school costs Diaz who showing mercy to Robby is kicked off a balcony, and on to a railing. Diaz is rushed to the hospital, Robby runs away, and John Kreese takes control of Cobra Kai. Season Three opens with Johnny at a bar as broken man, he gets into a fight. Daniel having a tip on where Robby maybe teams up with Johnny briefly in an effort to find Robby. The Crueler Cobra Kai under Kreese begins to reveal itself when Hawk breaks the arm of his once best friend, and Samatha wrestles with Post-Traumatic stress from her fight with Tory from the last season. Daniel LaRusso Returns to Okinawa to save his car dealer business, and seek guidance where he meets old friends like Kumiko, and former enemies like Chozen and ends up learning new techniques from Miyagi’s ancestral scrolls. Johnny Lawerence in meantime coaches Miguel Diaz back to full health, and decides to create a new Dojo callee Eagle Fang with the mantra “to be badass doesn’t mean you become an asshole.”  In the end Ali, the love interest that made Daniel and Johnny Lawrence enemies returns and she helps heal the rift between them. During all of this we get to see flashbacks of the John Kreese in Vietnam, how he was trained to be a mean Cobra fighting machine, which lends some backstory to the bad guy. Finally, another free for all major fight breaks out at Chateau de LaRusso, where Samatha finally confronts Tory and her fears. The aftermath sees Johnny go to Cobra Kai Dojo to confront Kreese, and there he finds his son Robby, fresh on parol from prison learning from Sensei Kreese. Johnny and Kreese fight, with Johnny in a choke hold about to be strangled to death by Kreese when Daniel LaRusso appears and intervenes, Daniel then uses his new limb paralyzing pressure point punches that immobilizes Kreese. We then see Daniel’s dojo and Eagle Fang’s dojo combined and Daniel standing alongside Johnny as they choose to join forces to destroy Cobra Kai once and for all together in the All Valley Karate Competition that we have to wait for in Season 4. 

Cobra Kai has become a major sensation. It is the now the number one Netflix series, Netflix having bought the rights. It does a fantastic job of addressing the struggles of older and new generations, and how we all need a mentor. Jesus our Lord told us to do this when he said, “Go forth and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.” (Matthew 28:19). Discipleship is not having people sit in pews or chairs listening to a pastor, it is the one on one discipleship like we see with Johnny Lawrence and Miguel Diaz; an intimate relationship where the mentor and protégée shape one another.  Star Wars depicts this discipleship in the Jedi Master and Jedi Padawan relationship, but Johnny and Miguel’s relationship exemplifies best what I think Jesus meant, a caring and compassionate friendship. I think it is this discipleship which the Church should be doing that draws people into Cobra Kai; its why Karate and Martial Arts is addictive. Its not just the sense of confidence snd power you get from learning the Art of Defense, its learning from the Sensei, who sadly for many is the only father figure in many young people’s lives that they respect. I myself had a Sensei when I learned European Long Sword Martial Arts and Side Sword. My Sensei taught me great lessons that go beyond the battlefield and into everyday life, and he became like Johnny Lawrence to me being Diaz. 

I totally understand the allure of Cobra Kai. It plays on needs we have, and is great fun to watch. That being said I do want to raise some warnings to those who watch. The most notable is that Daniel LaRusso has adopted a Zen Buddhist philosophy. This isn’t inherently new, Mr. Myagi espoused such quips from Zen philosophy and is seen mediating in the earlier films, and telling Daniel to be the Bonzai tree and empty his mind which is very dangerous practice that opens people to demons.  One of the great dangers of Asian cultures  is that everything is religious, the Tea Ceremony, Incense, Tai Chi, flags, hand fans, and more are all connected to Zen Buddhism, Shintoism, Ancestral Worship and more. Any time you get involved in Asian martial arts, artwork, and etc a slither of eastern religions creeps in, because for them everything is spiritual and they tie their religions into all practices, much like Medieval Christians in Europe had everything adorned with crosses, even the arrow holes for castle walls where in shape of crosses. What is alarming is the eastern philosophies are tempting, like Daniel Larusso’s emphasis on “Balance,” which seems harmonious with Christianity, and there in lies the danger, the eastern religions don’t evangelize, they familiarize people with their practices tell they adopt them, for instance Yoga spreads Buddhism, Jainism, and Hinduism through exercises. The Eastern beliefs are wrapped in beautiful packaging, you watch a Samurai do a dance which is to their gods and it seems so perfect and serene, then later the Samurai commits Sokken or Harry Kerry, committing suicide!  The Orient has much of the beautiful side of evil, which Cobra Kai shows at times, especially at the Myagi Dojo and Okinawa scenes. 

I urge viewers to be careful spiritually watching Cobra Kai. I enjoy the series for the relationships,  and fights, but we must keep in mind that karate and its variants have major ties to false religions. Karate is even said to have been invented by Buddhist Monks, and little do Westerns know of the violent wars between Buddhists and Hindus in Tibet, India, and etc in the early Middle Ages (Source: The History of the Renaissance World: From The Rediscovery of Aristotle to the Conquest of Constantinople, Susan Wise Bauer). In fact, most black belts in many forms of Karate, Ju-Jitsu, Tae Kwando and etc have the masters learning to throw people with a point of their hand; they use demons to toss people; which I watched on Ripley’s Believe It or Not show as well as having read about Bruce Lee’s dark powers. Demons are actually very familiar to Asian cultures, just do some research on Japan, the anime Inuyasha alone is all about demons and half demons. 

Can I recommend Cobra Kai?  The answer is yes to a discerning Christian who is able to discard all the false eastern philosophies. For children and teens it behooves parents and mentors to explain that eastern beliefs which are intertwined with the martial arts are wrongful and evil. All Asian and Eastern religions are about the elevation of self, of becoming more serene, wiser, stronger, and etc; they have you self focused, when we as Christians are meant to be other focused, to love God and others, “And he said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the greatest and first commandment.

And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets." (Matthew 22:37-40). Eastern philosophies and religions make the individual a god, who trains to be top in enlightenment and strength, sound familiar? Well its exactly how Satan fell,  "How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low! 

You said in your heart, 'I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north; 

I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.' But you are brought down to Sheol, to the far reaches of the pit. Those who see you will stare at you and ponder over you: 'Is this the man who made the earth tremble, who shook kingdoms.” (Isaiah 14:12-16). Being I focused is Satanic. Now yes, learning discipline, to defend yourself, and demonstrate focus is good, but it needs to be apart from eastern religious ideology that sadly is highly prevalent in the Martial Arts. 

Cobra Kai is a fun series, the throw backs to the 1980’s in the music, the flash backs to the other Karate Kid Films, and the dynamic between Johnny Lawrence and Miguel Diaz alone makes it worth watching. The show has a lot to offer in showing the power of mentorship, something the Church needs to remember is what Jesus told us to do, “Go make disciples..” (Matthew 28:19). Cobra Kai will take you back in time while addressing our modern times, as Johnny says add a Hashbrown (Hash Tag), laugh out loud. But I must stress that in the midst of nostalgia, great acting, and fights are the false zen and eastern beliefs that we must beware of taking any root in us while we enjoy the rush of “ You’re The Best Around.” Amen.