Based 34 years after the events of The Karate Kid movie and the infamous 1984 All Valley Karate Tournament, the hit Netflix show Cobra Kai was a surprise success on the streamer.
With both original stars (Ralph Macchio and William Zabka), the show has created fantastic dialogue, one-liners, and iconic Cobra Kai quotes.
In addition to the snappy dialogue between Daniel and Johnny, the Cobra Kai cast is joined by newcomers Miguel, Samantha, Hawk, and Robby, who have some of their iconic dialogue, which I’ll share below along with some context.
Now, let’s look at some of the best Cobra Kai quotes.
1. “Pain does not exist in this dojo.”
From Season 1, Episode 6 “Quiver”:
Johnny finally got his Dojo class up and running, and it turned out to be a pack of misfits. But that’s no matter because the whole point of Cobra Kai is that anyone can “become Badass.”
This quote refers to this part of Cobra Kai’s mantra: Fear and pain do not exist in this dojo and can be overcome.
2. “That’s just black paint on a white wall.”
From Season 2, Episode 8 “Glory of Love”
Sometimes, even in Cobra Kai, you need to admit your faults to adapt and grow as a fighter. Johnny admits this in this monologue when he addresses the flaws of the slogan “Strike hard. Strike fast. No mercy,” which is written on the walls of his dojo.
Johnny ultimately has to defect from the teachings of John Kreese, his former Sensei, because of the harm inherent in this strategy.
3. “You can’t let the mistakes of your past determine your future.”
From Season 1, Episode 4, “Cobra Kai never dies”
Miguel’s mom, Carmen, says this to Johnny when she first meets him and invites him to dinner.
She says it about herself, but it’s advice Johnny needs to hear himself, as she can see that he is a man still run by his past.
Another great scene that’s all about editing and less about the iconic lines is where Johnny finally tells his side of the story after discovering Miguel is dating a Larusso daughter.
5. “Kicks get chicks.”
From Season 4, Episode 6, “Kicks Get Chicks”
In this episode, Johnny and Miguel must recruit a new female fighter to their new Eagle’s Crest dojo to compete in the All-Valley tournament.
6. “Change that ringtone. Get some Guns N’ Roses or something.”
From Season 1, Episode 2 “Strike First”
Miguel and Johnny’s relationship is core to the new Cobra Kai series, as it builds from the first episode of Season 1. However, it’s not without its growing pains, like this funny scene where the two generations clash culturally over Miguel’s ringtone.
Johnny Lawrence: “And change that ringtone. Get some Guns N’ Roses or something.”
Miguel: “What’s Guns N’ Roses?”
Johnny Lawrence: “I’m going to pretend you didn’t say that.”
Since fans of the original Karate Kid are probably Gen Xers who remember the 80s hair metal band Guns N’ Roses being one of the biggest bands in the country, as if it were only yesterday, this joke is for 80s kids.
Check out the scene above where Miguel listens to Guns N’ Roses for the first time. He seems to like it!
7. “I still live with the fear, Sam, we all do on some level. I just try to not ever let it win”
From Season 3, Episode 7, “Obstaculos”
This Cobra Kai quote is from a great scene between Daniel Larusso and his daughter Sam. She’s experiencing some fear from a traumatic fight, and so he takes her to his lowest moment (from Karate Kid II), where he almost loses his fight to fear.
8. “The best defense… is more offense”
From Season 1, Episode 2, “Strike First”
This line is from Johnny Lawrence to Miguel in Season 1 of Cobra Kai. It’s one of Johnny’s first lessons to Miguel when they begin training together.
9. “How are you gonna do that? They strike first, you strike firster?”
From Season 4, Episode 5 “Match Point“
When Johnny and Danny Larusso finally team up in Cobra Kai season 4, they strategize how to defeat the new Cobra Kai, which has been taken over by John Kreese.
Danny throws this line at Johnny, pulling from the “Strike first. Strike hard.” Cobra Kai mantra.
10. “The human’s response to danger is fight or flight, but an eagle’s response is fight and flight.”
From Season 4, Episode 2 “First Learn Stand”
This line comes from Johnny when he trains Daniel in the art of the Eagle Fang. The whole scene is awesome.
11. “Sometimes the scars you can’t see are the ones that hurt the most.”
From Season 3, Episode 8: “The Good, The Bad, and the Badass”
Samantha LaRusso says this in Season 3, Episode 8 of Cobra Kai. Check out the spoiler-filled montage above of Sam’s best moments from Cobra Kai season 3.
12. “What’s a facebook.”
Johnny and Daniel bond together over their past and mutual love for their mutual ex, Alli. Daniel shows him her profile on Facebook. While at it, check out some of the funniest lines from Season 2 in the clip above.
13. “If your enemy insists on war, then you take away their ability to wage it, eh?”
From Season 3, Episode 9 “Miyagi-Do”
This quote is from Chozen Toguchi, one of Daniel’s former rivals in the Karate Kid franchise. Daniel meets him again in Okinawa, and they begin training together.
The quote is about Miyagi’s pressure points that neutralize an opponent. As former rivals coming together despite their differences is a huge part of this show, Chozen’s appearance is another example.
14. “You see what I just did there? That’s called de-escalation.”
If you want to see a kick-ass scene of Daniel LaRusso taking down a whole hockey team, I highly recommend this clip.
15. “Stop drinking the butter!”
This quote is just hilarious. Check out this highlight reel of some of Cobra Kai’s funniest lines.
16. “I’m going to be stomping all these weak-ass Bitches next year!”
From Season 4, Episode 9 “The Fall”
Devon, Eagle Fang’s first and only female student, says this after being eliminated in her All-Valley Tournament fight.
She’s not disappointed that she didn’t win her fight after only six weeks of training; instead, she’s excited to crush the competition next season!
17. “I spent months terrorizing a teenager over a high school karate tournament. It sounds insane just talking about it.”
from Season 4, Episode 1 “Let’s begin”
This Cobra Kai quote is when Terry Silver realizes his plotline in Karate Kid Part III was pretty over the top and out of control, which is partially the franchise’s way of addressing the criticism of that third movie.
It’s the perfect send-off for the character and the way to acknowledge its flaws without taking its “canon” status too seriously. After all, this whole show is about redemption.
Speaking of…
18. “I now realize that some of what you teach can be good sometimes. And I’m sorry I didn’t realize that sooner.”
From Season 4, Episode 10, “The Rise”
This is when Daniel and Johnny squash their beef – by acknowledging their differences and coming to terms with the balance between their two different teaching styles.
19. “I wasn’t taught the difference between mercy and honor and I paid for it. If I’m extra hard on you, its because you have the potential to be better than I ever was.”
From Season 1, Episode 9 “Mercy”
Johnny Lawrence says this to Miguel before his big fight at the end of Season 1 to justify his harsh training technique.
It’s a key to their relationship—Johnny is both the father figure Miguel doesn’t have and the father to Miguel that he never was to Robby.
It pairs nicely with Daniel’s scene with Robby, explaining how Robby can’t let his relationship with Johnny hold him back from living in balance with himself—two great scenes.
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