Cobra Kai follows Johnny and Daniel as adults years after The Karate Kid was released and the title of champion of the All Valley Tournament began. Daniel and Johnny start their own respective Dojos and begin to teach a younger generation of students just like their Sensei did for them. These students are continuing to improve on their skills and up-the-ante in their martial arts styles. Some students follow the way of Miyagi-Do, some follow Eagle Fang, and still others have learned the style of Cobra Kai.
Each style has a special skill the students focus on, like Cobra Kai who focuses on exploiting an opponents’ weakness, while Miyagi-Do takes a more defensive approach when it comes to karate. So, with all of these different styles and different Sensei, who are the best fighters in the series? Cobra Kai has given audiences plenty of strong candidates, but the Miyagi-Do and Eagle Fang students shouldn’t be discarded so quickly. Here are the best fighters in the Cobra Kai series ranked.
10 Aisha Robinson
In Cobra Kai season 1, Aisha was the first female student to enter the Cobra Kai Dojo after she persuades Johnny that he needs her money. Aisha is rather a fan favorite of the show as her commitment impresses the other students of the Dojo, according to Screen Rant. While she wasn’t the strongest member of Cobra Kai, her willingness to learn karate so that she could stand her ground against the bullies in her school is quite commendable. Aisha was written off the show after season 2, and fans were rather disappointed by the injustice of her character.
9 Kyler Park
Kyler is one of the better fighters on Cobra Kai as he has natural talent with his wrestling background which made picking up karate rather easily. Even in season 1, he put up a pretty good fight against Miguel on several occasions. Now that he has some karate knowledge, thanks to Sensei Kreese, Kyler has become quite a formidable opponent even against more experienced fighters like Hawk or Robby. Kyler’s raw talent wasn’t enough for him though as he was easily defeated by Hawk in the All Valley Tournament as well as Robby, Miguel, and Kenny who’s relatively new to karate.
8 Demetri Alexopoulos
Season 1 Demetri was rather one dimensional and did not see the benefits of joining a dojo. He was seen in the first season as not the most aggressive fighter, which makes sense as to why he did not thrive in Cobra Kai under Kreese’s teachings. However, he becomes one of Miyagi-Do’s best fighters due to his more defensive technique. Fans of Cobra Kai cheered when he was able to stand up to Hawk during the school fight and keep up with Robby in the 51st All Valley Tournament. He is not one of the most natural talents for karate, but Demetri makes up for it with his sharp mind and speed.
7 Devon Lee
Devon has also only been learning karate for a short time, but she is a quick study as one of the best fighters in her new dojo. Screen Rant delves into how she had no experience before Eagle Fang and was able to make it to the quarterfinals in the All Valley. Devon still has a hard time against experienced fighters like Tory or Sam, but her training in Cobra Kai has immensely improved her skills. Her determination to be the best will help her succeed even though her technique still needs a lot of work.
6 Kenny Payne
Cobra Kai does a very good job at giving audiences a weak and timid character who finds their strength in karate. Kenny fits this mold as he doesn’t have a lot of physical strength, but instead uses speed and his smaller height to his advantage against bigger and stronger opponents. Robby was able to see Kenny’s potential and teaches him to use quick attacks that are really strong. Dallas Dupree Young, who plays Kenny, tells Variety that these teachings allowed him to get to the quarterfinals but was ultimately defeated by Robby as he was more experienced.
5 Samantha LaRusso
Since she is the daughter of Daniel LaRusso (the Karate Kid himself), it makes sense that Sam is one of the best fighters. Miyagi-Do taught her excellent defense skills, but Johnny Lawrence was able to expand her skills by teaching her to strike first and strike hard. At the end of season 5, Sam combines the styles from her dad and Johnny to create her own style. She uses precise strikes that get her dojo a spot in the Sekai Taikai Tournament.
4 Tory Nichols
Tory by far has the hardest life out of any other character in the show. She uses those hardships as the fire to fuel her fighting. Tory starts off by only knowing kickboxing, and then after joining Cobra Kai, becomes one of the best students. Her aggressiveness makes her fight like her life depends on it which gives Tory an edge on her opponents. Tory has a great striking technique that has improved over the seasons, but she prefers to use kicks during her fights. Although her aggression is one of her greatest strengths, sometimes it leads Tory to be sloppy and get in her way.
3 Robby Keene
Robby’s fighting style is a little more basic than the other fighters on the show. Looper describes how Robby has built solid skills in both defense and offense, and thanks to his natural talent, he’s also able to put up a good fight. Robby went through the teachings at both Miyagi-Do and Cobra Kai, which gives him an arsenal of skills to take from. He’s not as flashy as some of his opponents like Hawk, but he is able to pull off the occasional high-risk move. Robby also struggles with keeping his emotions in check while he fights which is how Hawk was able to beat him at the end of Season 4.
2 Miguel Diaz
Miguel has mastered both a defensive and offensive approaches when fighting. He is able to be patient when using a counterattack against an aggressive opponent which makes him a great offensive fighter. Compared to the other fighters on the show, Miguel seems the most balanced fighter as he’s not too flashy and uses simple techniques and combos.Miyado-Do has made Miguel perfect his defensive skills as his spinal injury left him weaker than when he first started karate.
1 Eli “Hawk” Moskowitz
Hawk has transformed greatly since Season 1. He has a bit more of a flashy fighting style compared to Miguel and uses high-risk combos. Hawk is also extremely aggressive when he fights which is to his benefit. While training with Cobra Kai, his offense was his greatest asset while his defensive skills lacked. Hawk really relied on his offense which has been his downfall against opponents who have a strong defense. Since joining Miyagi-Do, he has improved this skill. Miyagi-Do has allowed him to focus more on techniques and timing while he delivers his counterattacks.
