Cobra Kai season 6 centers on the international Sekai Taikai karate tournament, which is everything Mr. Miyagi (Noriyuki “Pat” Morita) did not want for Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio). Cobra Kai season 6 part 1 ended with Daniel and Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) leading their Miyagi-Do dojo team into Barcelona, Spain, for the prestigious Sekai Taikai tournament. In Barcelona, they found John Kreese (Martin Kove) back as sensei of the Cobra Kai dojo, which now includes Tory Nichols (Peyton List).
The Karate Kid and The Karate Kid Part III, as well as Cobra Kai season 1 and Cobra Kai season 4, culminated in the All Valley Under 18 karate tournament. Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence are both two-time All Valley champions, and they passed on their success to their proteges, Miguel Diaz (Xolo Mariduena) and Eli “Hawk” Moskowitz (Jacob Bertrand). In The Karate Kid movies, Mr. Miyagi trained Daniel-san to win his All Valley competitions, despite the wise Okinawan sensei’s own dislike of karate tournaments.
Mr. Miyagi Wanted No Part Of Tournaments In The Karate Kid Movies
Mr. Miyagi famously frowned on using karate for tournament competitions in The Karate Kid movies. Miyagi embodied his family’s karate philosophy that the martial art was only for self-defense and self-betterment, not to win colored belts. In fact, Miyagi avoided violence and lived a simple life. Miyagi made an exception to train Daniel LaRusso for the All Valley tournament in The Karate Kid as a means for Daniel-san to earn Cobra Kai’s respect and stop being bullied. It didn’t matter to Miyagi if LaRusso won as long as he made a good showing to Cobra Kai.
Mr. Miyagi would have preferred Daniel not to fight in either All Valley if it could have been avoided.
In The Karate Kid Part III, however, Mr. Miyagi was resolute that Daniel LaRusso not defend his All Valley championship, which caused a rift between them, and led Daniel to train with Terry Silver (Thomas Ian Griffith) and Cobra Kai. It was only when Silver revealed he was manipulating Daniel to fight Mike Barnes (Sean Kanan) at the All Valley that Mr. Miyagi agreed to train Daniel-san again. LaRusso did beat Barnes, but this was the last time Mr. Miyagi ever led Daniel-san into a tournament. Mr. Miyagi would have preferred Daniel to not fight in either All Valley if it could have been avoided.
Why Daniel Is All For Cobra Kai’s Sekai Takai Despite Miyagi’s Dislike Of Tournaments
Cobra Kai season 6’s Sekai Taikai is an international tournament involving sixteen teams competing to be the “best in the world.” 128 young people battling each other for pride and prizes is something Mr. Miyagi would have found repellant. However, Daniel LaRusso has a different mindset. In Daniel’s mind, Mr. Miyagi deserves recognition, and LaRusso wants Miyagi-Do to win the Sekai Taikai to honor his beloved sensei. LaRusso believes that bringing Miyagi-Do to the world is the best way to pay respect to Mr. Miyagi’s memory.
Although he took a thirty-year hiatus from karate in between The Karate Kid Part III and Cobra Kai season 1, Miyagi-Do has been the defining influence of Daniel LaRusso’s life. He’s also seen how Miyagi-Do has benefitted his children, Samantha (Mary Mouser) and Anthony (Griffin Santopietro). Daniel wants to retire from being a sensei, and the Sekai Taikai is the vehicle for LaRusso to gift Miyagi-Do to the world. Or, that’s what Daniel-san would argue to Mr. Miyagi if he were still alive, and Mr. Miyagi would probably disagree.
