The 10 Best Fight Scenes From Cobra Kai (Including Season 4)

The 10 Best Fight Scenes From Cobra Kai: Cobra Kai – The spin-off from a beloved movie series from the 80s, i.e. The Karate Kid films has resulted in a phenomenon that has captivated fans of the original films as well as attracted a new fan base to the series. The new series, in itself, is something that has the ability to standalone and thrive. As a martial arts comedy, the show has retained the combat elements, infused pop culture from the present day, and fused it with the culture of the past to create an amusing, entertaining and engaging series.

The fight scenes are what keep the martial arts feel intact and one can even spot the different philosophies of each dojo come to the fore in these instances.

Here are some of the best fight scenes from Cobra Kai:

10. Miguel vs Kyler (Season 1 Ep 5 – Counterbalance)

As part of his training, Miguel learns to strike first and shows the school that he is not someone who can just be run over. 

In a scene that is reminiscent of the pilot episode brawl featuring Johnny and Kyler, this one sees Diaz stand up for Samantha and also provide camera phones with content to make viral and prove that karate is cool. This fight also was his way to get even for the Halloween night beat down that got administered on him. 

Miguel’s brutal thrashing of the four bullies leads to the high school student’s interest in martial art and sees Eli, Demetri and the rest make their way to Cobra Kai. It doesn’t actually have pure karate but comes across as a choreographed fight that sees creative use of a cafeteria involving tables, chairs, trays.

9. Soccer Field Fight (Season 3 Ep 4 – The Right Path)

In the aftermath of the high school brawl, physical contact and invasion of privacy is a major offense at West Valley High. However, the destruction of an intricate project provokes the Miyagi Dos to not take things lying down and use soccer, a game that encourages physical contact to actually throw in a few red card offenses. 

This sport-fight makes the list as it involves trickery, flat-out brawling as well as causing harm in the way of playing the game. One can even see the philosophy of both dojos come to the fore as Cobra Kai resorts to power, whilst the Miyagi Do students opt to play smart (on certain occasions). In retrospect, this can be seen as Samantha’s natural instinct to strike first or strike back, as this was a response to Hawk destroying Demetri’s science project.

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8. Mall Brawl (Season 2 Ep 5 – All-In)

It was the first fight between the opposing teams not to be held in a competition. This one takes place when Demetri, who gets assaulted by Kreese, writes a review about Cobra Kai and gets confronted at the mall. He sprints to the food court where Samantha and Robby are, but cannot find them. Once he is cornered, the duo emerges and exhibits the fight in a circle technique to perfection as they fend off Hawk and company. 

This scene helps them overcome almost twice their number and is the beginning of Demetri seeing how he can use karate to improve himself.

7. Arcade Brawl (Season 3 Ep 5 – Miyagi Do)

This is one of the many spillover fights from the High School Brawl. Coming right on the heels of the soccer field fight, it sees the Miyagi Do kids attempt to make a stand and strike back at a mall. 

Fed up with being run over by the Cobra Kais at school and at work, Chris rallies the troops who surround the group at an abandoned laser tag place. What largely is Samantha vs Hawk turns ugly once Tory makes her entry and triggers memories from the high school fight. With Samantha hiding and the arrival of Cobra Kai reinforcements, it turns one-sided, with the Miyagi Dos overpowered. 

Demetri pays the price as Hawk snaps his arm and manages to stun even Tory. This action shakes Samantha and galvanizes Amanda LaRusso to enter the fray as she confronts Kreese and hits him.

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6. Johnny vs Daniel (Season 4 Ep 5 – Match Point)

This battle saw Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence challenge each other to a winner-takes-all collision. Whoever won would assume control of Miyagi Do and Eagle Fang. It came after Johnny accused Daniel of thinking himself the better fighter, as he claimed the win by a single point almost three decades ago. It resembled the fight between Rocky Balboa and Apollo Creed in Rocky 3, and Johnny Lawrence’s training montage at the start was amusing, as it showed his absolute determination to win. 

On the deck at the Miyagi Do, Lawrence scored the first point and prompted Daniel to respond with two points in quick succession. When LaRusso wanted to finish the fight with a dose of Chozen’s Miyagi Do karate, he gets taken down and loses a point. This could be something we see Daniel use in Season 5.

At 2-2, both senseis go for the finish before Daniel lands his kick and Johnny lands his punch at the same time, leading them both to drop and hit the board at the same time. Officially, it was a draw. 

5. Daniel vs Chozen (Season 3 Ep 5 – Miyagi Do)

After having to travel to Japan to try to save his dealership, Daniel LaRusso gets hit with advertising and some words of wisdom. This provokes him to head to Okinawa where he re-connects with Kumiko, Yuna, and, quite surprisingly, Chozen. 

Initially, it seems as though Chozen is there to wait for the perfect opportunity to avenge his defeat. His stiff behavior also seems to keep viewers and Daniel apprehensive. Chozen takes Daniel around the island and then stops at his dojo. Upon seeing some scrolls, LaRusso wants to take them home, but Chozen refuses. Following an exchange where Daniel claims that Mr. Miyagi taught him everything, they put their skills against each other with audiences learning that Miyagi karate was not only about defense. 

This bout’s intense choreography and back-and-forth action is a sight to behold. The setting within the Okinawa wilderness is something that lends authenticity to the duel and the ending is reminiscent of what Mr. Miyagi did to John Kreese in The Karate Kid 2. It also is a reverse of the ‘Honk’ at the end of The Karate Kid 2.

4. Kreese vs Daniel (Season 3 Ep 10 – December 19)

This battle stays true to the philosophies of both senseis and it doesn’t show them crossover to another side. It truly is a clash of styles with desperate times calling for desperate measures. 

Animosity from the 80s spilled over and the advent of Cobra Kai brought up demons from three decades back. When Kreese arrived, this seemed inevitable. John Kreese said so himself towards the start of Season 3. And finally, in the season finale, following the LaRusso home invasion, audiences finally got to witness this dream fight. 

Daniel LaRusso, furious at Cobra Kai’s efforts to destroy his house and harm his daughter, thunders over the Reseda Strip Mall and thrashes Kreese. In the process, he also saves Johnny Lawrence, who is in a chokehold. 

Kreese identifies his assailant and smiles, reminding Daniel that the brawl was inevitable. As expected, Daniel just stays defensive and prompts Kreese to scornfully tell him that he can’t just keep defending. He then picks him up and tackles him through the glass, taking their fight to the sidewalk. Armed with glass, the Cobra Kai sensei shows murderous intentions as he seeks to stab LaRusso; who, in turn, counters with his newly learned skills. 

This fight’s aftermath sets the stone for the events of Season 4. 

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3. School Brawl (Season 2 Ep 10 – No Mercy)

What stemmed from a drunken farewell to the summer party misunderstanding resulted in an all-out school-wide brawl, where multiple parties tried to settle the scores with each other. It began with Tory calling out Samantha via the P.A. system and fighting her as Miguel and Robby, who tried to stop the two, ended up battling each other. 

Side battles saw Chris vs Mitch, Bert vs Nate (with StingRay getting involved), and Hawk vs Demetri. The latter was absolutely wild and saw property destruction. Meanwhile, the main fights saw brutality, as Samantha had scars on her arm and got dragged down the stairs. She responded by knocking Tory down. Before she could face a response, Miguel was shockingly kicked off the balcony. 

The High School fight had ramifications as the West Valley science lab was stripped of anything that could be used as a weapon. Also, this large-scale fight made West Valley High popular to the point that even middle school students who are about to graduate to the High School were curious about it. It resulted in the no-contact rule that gave rise to the Soccer field battle and the LaRusso home invasion. 

2. Robby vs Eli (Season 4 Ep 10 – The Rise)

Robby Keene vs Eli Moskowitz gets a high spot as it is the only tournament battle to feature and is pure and clean karate. This bout, a semi-final at the previous edition, served as the tournament final. Robby, who had finished second at the 50th All-Valley Tournament, was looking to go one better. In his path was Eli, who was out to get him for shaving his Mohawk off to pay him back for his decision at the LaRusso home invasion. 

The closely contested final saw an aggressive Robby score the first point against a defensive Eli, who focuses on defense and balance. Subsequently, Daniel urges Eli to use his Cobra Kai teachings to anticipate Robby’s moves. This leads to an even fight that gets level following a mid-air kick. The remainder of the contest sees an insane number of swerves and blocks before sudden death overtime comes into the picture. 

For the first time since Daniel LaRusso vs Mike Barnes, fans got to see a fight go this far. As Robby shed his Uwagi, Eli also opted to do the same. Although he got overpowered, Eli capitalized on Robby’s momentary lapse and pulled off a thriller to keep Miyagi Do in the hunt for the Grand Champion award.

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1. LaRusso Home Invasion (Season 3 Ep 10 – December 19)

Just as Miguel and Sam realize that they need to join forces to stop Cobra Kai, and build on their moment from their speech to save the All-Valley before the council; Cobra Kai attacks them. They toss Nate through a window and kick down the door to signal war. 

When Tory steps in, the fight begins and mayhem ensues. This battle sees Cobra Kai overpower the Miyagi Do/Eagle Fang combination with Sam, Kyler, Tory, and Hawk dominating the battle.

This brawl saw doors broken, windows shattered, ornaments scattered and tables plus showpieces getting reduced to rubble. It was extremely crucial as audiences got to witness the reawakening of three characters i.e. Hawk, Sam, and Miguel. 

Kyler destroys Miguel, who then manages to finish his bully after absorbing an insane amount of punishment. Meanwhile, Hawk sees his friends’ plight and the arc that was being teased throughout the season comes to life; he finally breaks free and saves his binary brother. 

After overpowering the others, Tory and Sam are on a collision course. Here, Sam sprints to the outhouse and must deal with a nunchaku-wielding foe. When Tory sends her crashing into the frame of Mr. Miyagi, she grabs a stick and fights back, showing that the scars of the High School Battle have gone as she has faced her fear.

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