‘Cobra Kai’ Changed My Life, And It Might Change Yours Too

Cobra Kai changed my life.

Even if you’re not a fan, you’ve no doubt heard about the runaway hit that is Cobra Kai, the utterly improbable TV sequel to the rampant ’80s feel-goodery of the Karate Kid movies. Picking up decades after the original trilogy wrapped up, it follows the utterly burnt-out Johnny Lawrence, erstwhile bully and bad guy from the first Karate Kid, hopping between dead-end jobs and nursing a pretty nasty drinking habit. Across the valley is Daniel LaRusso, formerly the new kid in town who stood up to Johnny and beat his ass at the All Valley Karate Tournament. Daniel runs the hugely successful LaRusso motors. His life is, in short, peachy.

Shit gets messy between the two when Johnny decides to fix his life by reforming Cobra Kai, which compels Daniel to start Miyagi-do, a karate dojo dedicated to the teachings of the late Mr Miyagi. Chaos ensues.

It’s a testament to the show’s artistry that it somehow feels exactly like the original films, yet also extremely current. William Zabka (Johnny Lawrence) and Ralph Macchio (Daniel LaRusso) aren’t just in Cobra Kai, they’re the executive producers and, from top to bottom, it’s screamingly clear that they care about every aspect of this show, on-screen and off. It’s a soaring, surging love letter to The Karate Kid, to’80s nostalgia, to what family means, and to the sport of karate.

I never watched Karate Kid growing up. Sometimes, we find ourselves having reached grown-ass adulthood having accidentally sidestepped cultural touchstones. I knew bits and pieces, though. Put him in a bodybag, Johnny! Daniel LaRusso’s gonna fight! That weird crane kick Daniel does at the end! But I also knew the story of Karate Kid revolved around the scrappy, relentless rivalry between two teenagers and, as a bullied teenager myself, I probably didn’t feel the need to dive in.

But could this be the show I was looking for? Could this be the thing that would help me eke another week out of this damnable purgatory? I decided to give it a go.

WHAM. The hooks were in. I loved it from start to finish, and once the credits rolled, I felt something odd in the back of my brain, poking me. I watched the second film the next day. WHAM. And there it was again; that pull, a compulsion to do something, though I didn’t know what at the time. The next day? The third film. WHAM. I was in love with this universe, and was now ready to watch Cobra Kai.

Could this be the thing that would help me eke another week out of this damnable purgatory?

Over the coming week, I watched all three seasons. It fuses the cheesy, wide-eyed optimism and earnestness of the films with the masterful, moreish plotting deftness of prestige TV. It’s a masterful, twisty soap opera with more heart than anything else on TV right now, and what’s more, it makes the Karate Kid films even better somehow.

Together, Karate Kid and Cobra Kai are more than just a story about people kicking the crap out of each other. It’s a story about how karate can bring you balance, provide purpose, help you become the best version of yourself. And as lofty (and incredibly cheesy) as it sounds, I wanted that.

Karate. I had to do karate. Not just buy the merch, or watch spinoffs, or get on the message boards. I had to actually do the thing. So, after pacing around the apartment for a half-hour in something of a panic, I googled “karate dojos near me”, found an authentic Shotokan dojo with really good reviews, called the sensei and nervously asked if I could come along and try a class.

I’ve now been doing karate three nights a week for almost 10 months. Seriously. On the left, me on my first day, and on the right, me a fortnight ago.

Cobra Kai is riddled with characters doing exactly what I did — wandering bleary-eyed into a dojo in the hopes of bettering themselves, hopped-up on martial arts movies, not entirely sure how to use their bodies because exercise is completely foreign to them. Ever gotten up and sung in front of strangers? That shit is terrifying. Karate is kind of the same.

I’d spent decades becoming obsessed with pop-cultural properties and learning precisely nothing from the experience. This time, I swore, I was going to put my money where my mouth was and actually learn something. And that’s exactly what I did. ADHD has had me by the scruff of the neck since I was a kid. Medication didn’t help. Therapy didn’t help. Karate did. I’m not saying it’ll work for everyone. But for the first time in my life, I have focus. And I don’t think I’m ever going to stop.

So when I got to talk with William Zabka and Ralph Macchio about Season 4 of Cobra Kai… hell, I told them all about it.

Season 4 of Cobra Kai is a rollercoaster. Fresh off the catastrophic events which capped off season three, Daniel and Johnny are teaming up to try and take down John Kreese (yes, the jerk from the first movie who told Johnny to sweep the leg), otherwise his evil brand of karate will be the only one in the valley. Sound preposterous? Hell, even the characters in Cobra Kai know it’s an odd conflict they’ve gotten themselves into, but it’s the small-scale stakes that make it feel so deeply personal.

One of the biggest drawcards? The younger cast members, all of whom deliver astounding performances. I was lucky enough to chat with Xolo Maridueña (Miguel Diaz), Jacob Bertrand (Hawk), and Gianni Decenzo (Demetri) and their roles on Cobra Kai:

So if you haven’t done the whole Cobra Kai thing yet… trust me. If it can make a life-long indoors kid with ADHD barrel full-tilt headfirst towards a life of karate, it must be pretty damned special. And with Season 4 being perhaps its strongest yet, I highly recommend putting on the first Karate Kid and beginning a journey into the most earnest, heartfelt, cornball yet profound saga out there. You won’t regret it.

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Paul Verhoeven is an author, broadcaster and TV presenter. His books Electric Blue and Loose Units are out now through Penguin, and he hosts the podcasts Dish Island and Loose Units. You can find him on Twitter, Instagram, and in person, if you can (he’s very good at hiding).