Cobra Kai Season 6 Part 3's Sekai Taikai Referee Is A Karate Kid Veteran
This article contains spoilers for "Cobra Kai" Season 6 Part 3.
What better way to end "Cobra Kai" than to bring things back to the San Fernando Valley for one last tournament? As Terry Silver (Thomas Ian Griffith) convinces the Sekai Taikai to continue after Kwon's (Brandon H. Lee) death in "Cobra Kai" season 6 part 2 brought it to a halt, Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) gets to pick the new venue. He uses the opportunity to bring the action from Barcelona to his place of power from the 1985 All Valley Karate Tournament — the All Valley Sports Arena.
With this significant change, we get to see a whole bunch of "Cobra Kai" characters together for one last time, instead of the majority of the cast having to watch the handful of Sekai Taikai participants on TV as is often the case in Season 6 Part 2. It also allows the show to bring back a truly surprising character: Darryl Vidal (played by ... Darryl Vidal), a former All Valley Tournament notable who acts as the guest referee.
Darryl Vidal brought acrobatics to the Karate Kid franchise decades before Cobra Kai
A truly deep-cut character, Darryl Vidal of Locust Valley Karate is the 1983 All Valley Tournament champion. As such, he holds a lot of sway in the "Cobra Kai" universe and several characters remember him well. This is easy to understand when you see his fighting style in "The Karate Kid." He's the only major combatant in the 1984 movie who uses the sort of acrobatic leaps and spin-kicks that "Cobra Kai" characters like Hawk (Jacob Bertrand), Kwon, and Zara Malik (Rayna Vallandingham) rely on decades later.
While Season 6 Part 3 marks Darryl's first non-flashback appearance in the series, "Cobra Kai" has made sure to mention him every once in a while. In the All Valley tournament from 1984's "The Karate Kid," the Locust Valley team's superstar is soundly beaten by Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka), who receives a modicum of redemption from his 1983 loss to Darryl. Johnny still remembers the match fondly, and briefly discusses it with Tommy (Rob Garrison) in season 2. Also, during his talk with Robby Keene (Tanner Buchanan) in Season 3, Episode 5, titled "Miyagi-Do," the villainous John Kreese (Martin Kove) himself commends Darryl's karate prowess and reveals that his family's black belt-level skills go back generations.
In other words, Darryl is precisely the kind of karate celebrity referee that a Valley-based tournament would want to recruit. Of course, it doesn't hurt that he's pretty much the only notable former All Valley winner available, seeing as Johnny, Daniel, and all younger champions are far too connected to Cobra Kai to impartially referee the finals.
The real-life Darryl Vidal helped create the iconic Crane Kick
Behind the scenes of "The Karate Kid," Darryl Vidal the actor was a surprisingly instrumental presence. Not only did he portray the young martial artist of the same name, but he also stepped in to help when the famous Crane Kick from "The Karate Kid" became such a headache that no one else could make it work. After numerous martial artists and stuntmen failed in their attempts to execute the complex maneuver smoothly, Vidal took the reins and showed them all how it's done.
Daniel's iconic Crane Kick as we know it is the result of a collaboration between Vidal, Ralph Macchio, and choreographer Pat Johnson. Vidal actually got to perform the move in the film, too. When we see Mr. Miyagi practice the Crane technique on the beach in "The Karate Kid," it's not actually Pat Morita but Vidal playing the character.
The Crane Kick's creator team is also connected to Vidal's "Cobra Kai" cameo in a heartwarming way. Much like Vidal, Johnson — who passed away in 2023 — got his on-screen flowers with a part in "The Karate Kid." He played the tournament's referee in the film, which is the very role Vidal takes over in "Cobra Kai" Season 6 Part 3.
"Cobra Kai" is now streaming in its entirety on Netflix.