Cobra Kai's 5 Strongest Senseis, Ranked

As with any good Shonen battle anime — or, uh, live-action Netflix "Karate Kid" spin-off — the power rankings of "Cobra Kai" are always in flux. When it comes to the sensei specifically, things get even more contentious. Not only are they the most powerful of the bunch, being, you know, adults with years of practice, but they also don't get as many duels against each other on camera as the younger characters, making each fight a big event.

With "Cobra Kai" season 6 part 2 in the rearview, it's a perfect time to check in on how the show's various karate masters currently stack up against each other. But before we get to the top five, let's do a bit of housekeeping.

While Mr. Miyagi's secrets factor heavily into "Cobra Kai" season 6, he's not eligible for inclusion here, as he's not actually a character on the show. And while Kim Sun-Yung surely would have qualified earlier in life, he's too far past his prime during the events of the show to be considered. Additionally, with season 6, John Kreese has formally fallen out of the top five. Martin Kove still has the signature snarl and growl that make the character an icon, but let's be honest about the choreography Kreese has gotten over the last few seasons. It's not great, and he gets picked apart by Terry Silver at the end of season 6 part 2. In short, Kreese is washed. Lastly, there's a strong argument to be made that Kim Da-Eun should be on this list, but since the show refuses to give her one-on-ones against the other primary sensei characters, there unfortunately isn't enough data to support that claim.

With all that out of the way, let's look at the five strongest sensei in "Cobra Kai."

In the past, I've struggled to place Johnny this high on the "Cobra Kai" power rankings. Yes, he's still the core protagonist of the show, though that role has become less and less central as the ensemble has grown over the years. But Johnny's point as a character has never been that he's the strongest, the most naturally gifted, or the most enlightened. He's a fighter in the truest sense, persevering even in the face of, let's be honest, inferior talent. But by this point, he's also become a far more well-rounded sensei, embracing core tenants of Miyagi-Do and balancing defense with his signature offense.

Johnny has some impressive wins, most recently fighting off Terry Silver to help save Kreese at the end of "Cobra Kai" season 6 part 2. That fight's a little sus, though, as it's incredibly short, not quite decisive, and features some highly questionable choreography. Of course, Johnny has also stood his own against Kreese, Daniel, and other notable fighters, and there's no question that he's grown a ton over the course of the show.

All that said, though, the bottom of the top five is as high as I can put Johnny right now. "Cobra Kai" has become incredibly crowded with top-notch, lifelong karate practitioners, and Johnny still has trouble measuring up against the absolute best. He's like if Yamcha was the main character of "Dragon Ball Z." Okay, that's overly harsh, but you get the point.

Yes, yes, I disqualified Kim Da-Eun for her lack of onscreen fights against other ranked senseis, so how could I possibly put Sensei Wolf on here when he's only been around for a few episodes? And over Johnny Lawrence no less? Well, for one, Wolf already has one "ranked" fight on the books, as he goes against both Johnny and Daniel in a 2v1, marking himself as one of the strongest fighters in "Cobra Kai" season 6 part 2. They don't fight for long before being interrupted by the surrounding brawl, but even in that short amount of time, Wolf lands several big hits and seems to have little trouble fending off two opponents at once.

Again, this is mainly a matter of good vs. bad booking. It's highly questionable that after three seasons on the show, Kim still has yet to get a real spotlight duel moment. Maybe season 6 part 3 will give her a triumphant showdown against Terry Silver, and maybe Johnny will demolish Wolf in a one-on-one, but that's a world we don't live in yet. Wolf has emerged quite high on the list, and that's where he'll remain for now.

There's also a small behind-the-scenes consideration for his placement this high. Lewis Tan, the actor who plays Wolf, has established himself over the last several years as one of the absolute best true actor/martial artists in Hollywood, with big roles in stunt-heavy projects like "Mortal Kombat," "Into the Badlands," and "Shadow and Bone." He's easily the most impressive real-life practitioner of the sensei actors, so it would simply be wrong not to rank him here.

Yes, Terry Silver takes an embarrassing loss against Johnny Lawrence at the end of "Cobra Kai" season 6 part 2, and he's dropped a bit from where I might have placed him a year ago, but he still deserves a top-three spot. For starters, as previously stated, that loss to Johnny is iffy to say the least. Terry seems completely bewildered in the fight and barely gets any moves off before a pair of (admittedly impressive) strikes leave him down for the count. Still, a loss is a loss, and that's a pretty big one. But up to that point, Terry's only real loss was to the combined efforts of Daniel LaRusso and Chozen Toguchi. And if you've read this far, you probably have a good idea of where those two are ranking.

For much of season 4 and most of season 5, Terry stands tall (literally and figuratively) as the final boss of "Cobra Kai," and the writing around him supports that idea. He's brutal in his fights, laying waste to foes like Johnny and Kreese, and he demonstrates remarkable skill with weapons as well as in hand-to-hand combat.

It's unclear where Terry will wind up by the end of "Cobra Kai," but he's yet to be supplanted as the biggest villain on the show. That said, he's clearly fallible, and the top two entrants on this list both definitively outrank him at this point.

Yes, the Karate Kid himself has slowly worked his way up the rankings and now sits at the silver medal spot among the sensei. While Daniel was plenty strong early on in the show, it was easy to put Terry and Kreese above him. Not anymore, though. Through learning new techniques and upping his training, Daniel has become a true master, and he's vanquished his various demons along the way.

You can pick and choose from a range of impressive victories when it comes to Daniel. He beats Kreese at the end of season 3 and Terry at the end of season 5, always matches up well against Johnny, and rarely has trouble against the background grunts who occasionally pop up in other "Cobra Kai" fights. His discipline serves him well, but he's also learned how to embrace his aggression from time to time, making him even more formidable.

You could argue that Johnny and Daniel shouldn't be this far apart from each other on the list, as the show has made a point of keeping them pretty evenly balanced against each other. But that's more a character to character thing than it is a larger judgment on both fighters holistically. Rivals will always get the best out of each other — that's the point of rivalries. But Daniel still holds the title over Johnny, even if he's still not the strongest sensei on the show.

Ever since being reintroduced to the world of "The Karate Kid" on "Cobra Kai," Chozen Toguchi has been sitting at the top of the pole. He is the truest disciple of Miyagi-Do on the show, and if "Cobra Kai" has one rule, it's that proximity to Miyagi is basically proximity to god. That said, Chozen also has a vicious streak that lets him compete against much more dangerous opponents like Terry.

Because he isn't as central to the main story as Daniel or Johnny, Chozen doesn't have quite as long of a resume. But there is one thing about his writing that makes an even stronger case for him topping this list, and that's how the show insists on making him depressed or drunk more often than not when big moments come up. If you need to get a character inebriated beyond measure just so his fight against the show's final boss is somewhat even, then that character is overpowered. It's like when the Marvel Cinematic Universe had to take Hulk and Thor out of the action so that "Captain America: Civil War" would feel somewhat balanced.

Imagine a sober, measured Chozen going up against basically anyone else on "Cobra Kai," and you'll be imagining a very short fight. He may not be the main character, and there's still room for someone else to take the top spot before the show ends, but right now, the throne still safely belongs to him.

"Cobra Kai" season 6 part 3 will premiere February 13, 2025, on Netflix.