Cobra Kai
WhileCobra Kaihasevolved past the bare days ofThe Karate Kid , it still shows that Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence have a famed rivalry that will seemingly never cease . From that first All - Valley Tournament , the two have grow and direct their own lives . With both of them being adults , many people inquire who is the better fighter nowadays .
BecauseCobra Kaitreats both characters as likable , neither one of them is shown to be better than the other . Here are the key differences between both Johnny and Daniel , and we ’ve lend a few more to the existing inclination of reason to take both in earnest when it come time to hit the tintinnabulation .
Updated on November 19 , 2020 by Derek Draven : We’ve added 5 more entries to the list that give call - outs to the traits that make Johnny Lawrence and Daniel LaRusso so great . Audiences have yet to see which of these two would pull ahead a full - fledge replay , but these are the fundamental points to watch out for when the day finally arrive .
Daniel Fights For His Family
Daniel LaRusso fought not just for himself , but for those he cared about as well . He moved out to California with his female parent at a young age and straight off hated the fact that he was n’t fitting in and got browbeat as a result . His torment at the hand of the Cobra Kai fry threw his life into disarray which touch on his female parent and in high spirits school crush Ali .
When it seemed like all Bob Hope was lost in the first All Valley Tournament , Daniel bemoan to Mr. Miyagi that he ’d never find equipoise in himself or with those he cared about unless he could win . It was an attitude he take with him into adulthood when he began fighting for the right balance and inspiration with his wife and children .
Johnny Can Focus His Anger
Johnny ’s withering loss to Daniel throw his life into a tailspin . In the course of one night , he had been disgraced and left out in the cold after John Kreese turned on him . He ’d spend the next two decades wallowing in his own sense of self - frustration until a series of incident brought his teenaged angst to the open once again .
With an grownup ’s headland to sort it all out ( kind of ) , Johnny was capable to harness his anger and turn it into a positive violence . He rented a space , reform Cobra Kai , and defend against an agonizingly slow start before becoming the top karate dojo in the city .
Daniel Has Something To Prove
Being a dupe of bullying is difficult and crushing for kids , but such an experience can bring out the inner tiger and turn into something positive . Those who have been browbeat in school day know how unmanageable it is to constantly feel like the loser and the underdog .
Those same kids are capable of taking that experience and forging themselves into something better and stronger . They can set out to prove to the world just how tough they really are . Facing down severe adversity can breed true long suit of character - something Daniel LaRusso has in spades .
Johnny Sticks To What Works
Johnny sleep with what proficiency work , and what do n’t . Although he fell victim to a Grus kick that arrive completely out of leftfield , his karate skills were more than enough even for the ripe fighters around . He could treat himself in a street fight with ease , all without winding himself .
John Kreese ’s savage methodology was a definite plumage in Johnny ’s cap and one that he use routinely to his vantage . While he could stand to extend his horizons a bit , it ’s safe to say that he ’s a wrecking ball that can handle ninety - five percent of what is throw at him .
Daniel Is Adaptable
By direct contrast , Daniel LaRusso is like water - always loose - flowing , yet herculean at the same sentence . Mr. Miyagi inculcate in Daniel the clear - mindedness he ’d need to look far beyond simple punching and kick , and deep down into the true nature of what karate was all about .
It was this adaptability that allowed Daniel to wail back in the first All Valley Tournament and clip Johnny ’s wing before ingeminate it again the following twelvemonth against Mike Barnes . It also preserve his life history in Japan when he struggle Chozen , who wanted to murder him .
Johnny Has More Practice
After the days of the All - Valley Tournament , it ’s clean that Daniel LaRusso drop the greater age of his life slowing down and gaining a fellowship . While Johnny Lawrence aptly put the karate thing behind him as well , he was all the more willing to dust it off and play it back when the chance demo itself .
With him running his own dojo before Daniel formally get back into it , Johnny is a bite more good than his old rival . He has to constantly relearn sometime technique and invest in some Modern ones as a way to learn his massive classes a thing or two .
Daniel Is More Level-Headed
Daniel LaRusso is a much serene person than Johnny Lawrence . WhileCobra Kaihas shown that he can mislay focal point or get tightly wound , he know how to exercise that inner public security he learned back in the ' 80 when things get tough .
When people fight angrily , they set forth to dislocate up and make more mistakes . Because Daniel often does n’t have his emotions get the better of him , he perform better in fights . That ’s what help him deliver the goods the All - Valley Tournament twice back in the twenty-four hours and what helped him take on the outlaw that were trying to seriously harm Robby .
Johnny Trained Stronger Students
While there was a lot of lecture as to which scholarly person would win the All - Valley Tournament , it ’s clear that Johnny ’s were a bit stiff . With heavy - batter like Hawk and Miguel , Cobra Kai handle to take home the trophy , though that was in part because they exploit their opponent .
InCobra Kaiseason two , it was a long while before Miyagi - Do was even cheeseparing to quick to take on the aggressive bookman of Cobra Kai . Even when Miguel and Robby were having a no - holds - block off free-for-all , it was Miguel who won the fight . He was only injured because Robby denied the mercifulness he was demonstrate .
Daniel Had A Better Teacher
One of the iconic lines inThe Karate Kidwas when Mr. Miyagi secernate Daniel that there were no high-risk students , only bad teachers . It ’s clear-cut that the teachers for both Daniel and Johnny led them down unlike route , which is reflect in their fighting styles .
no matter of how much Johnny tried to change his ways , he was still taught by John Kreese at the end of the Clarence Shepard Day Jr. , which led him to make a quite a little of mistakes in battle . Daniel , on the other hand , was groom by Mr. Miyagi . Mr. Miyagi beat just about everyone he faced , including John Kreese .
Johnny Doesn’t Relent
Johnny Lawrence lived in a pulse - down version of the world after the days ofThe Karate Kid . live in his own grubby flat , he saw all kinds of horrible thing in his life . Because of this , he ’s not afraid to put his fist up to get the job done . Miguel would ’ve been seriously harmed if Johnny was n’t afraid to fight some teenagers to teach them a lesson .
The same would go for those drunk citizenry in the bar . Johnny does n’t relent , though he does show clemency sometimes . Still , he make do enough damage that those he fights roll in the hay not to get on his bad side anymore .