Cobra Kai Season 6 Twist Explains A Key Detail About Mr. Miyagi 38 Years Later

Warning! This article contains spoilers for Cobra Kai season 6.

Cobra Kai season 6’s big Mr. Miyagi twist finally answers a 38-year-old The Karate Kid question. As the final season of the Netflix series, it’s no surprise Mr. Miyagi’s story has been pulled back into the spotlight. Cobra Kai season 6, part 1, came with a lot of big reveals about the sage sensei, and the final twist leading into the Sekai Taikai connects to a significant Karate Kid detail. It’s precisely this kind of connective tissue between the TV spinoff and the original 1980s movie that makes Cobra Kai so great— it creates more mysteries while answering lingering questions from decades past.

Part 1 of Cobra Kai season 6, which contained five episodes, saw Miyagi-Do preparing for the global karate tournament known as the Sekai Taikai. Daniel LaRusso’s dojo qualified for this massive tournament back in season 5, and though Terry Silver is no longer a threat, it’s clear the students are still eager to compete. However, as the Sekai Taikai grows ever closer, it has become evident that the events will push Miyagi-Do to its limits. This fact is reinforced by the reveal that Mr. Miyagi himself had once competed in the Sekai Taikia, and based on his bloody headband, it was a pretty rough experience.

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Mr. Miyagi’s Problem With Tournaments In The Karate Kid Movies Explained

The Karate Kid Movies Established Mr. Miyagi’s Dislike Of Formal Karate Tournaments

Daniel uncovered a secret chest inside Mr. Miyagi’s home in Cobra Kai season 6, and hidden within was a bloody headband that he eventually realized was a garment specific to Sekai Taikai captains. This was a significant surprise since, back in 1986’s The Karate Kid Part 2, Mr. Miyagi made his dislike for formal karate tournaments very clear. He had helped Daniel win the 1984 All-Valley tournament in The Karate Kid as a means to dealing with John Kreese and Cobra Kai, but he urged Daniel in the following years to leave his victory at that and compete in no further formal competitions.

Mr. Miyagi’s reasoning behind this was somewhat vague. He said there was no meaning behind fighting for a trophy and that defending a championship title would bring no honor. In all, this simply set up the kind of fight Daniel would find himself at the end of The Karate Kid Part 2—a to-the-death match with Chozen Toguchi. However, Mr. Miyagi’s reluctance to participate in tournaments continued into The Karate Kid Part 3, causing Daniel to turn away from his sensei to begin training at Cobra Kai instead.

Mr. Miyagi’s Sekai Taikai Participation Helps Explain Why He Didn’t Like Tournaments

Something Horrible Must Have Happened At Mr. Miyagi’s Sekai Taikai

Mr. Miyagi’s long-established dislike for tournaments made Daniel’s discovery of the Sekai Taikai headband all the more surprising. However, the fact that this garment was stained with blood may explain why the old sensei had been so adamant that Daniel not compete formally. It appears that Mr. Miyagi was seriously injured in the Sekai Taikai, whenever it is that he participated, likely suffering a head wound that left his captain headband soaked in blood. Precisely what happened is still unclear, but Daniel is sure to discover more answers in Cobra Kai season 6, parts 2 and 3.

Why Did Mr. Miyagi Compete In The Sekai Taikai?

Cobra Kai Season 6 Parts 2 & 3 Will Need To Provide More Answers

Another big question that Daniel’s Cobra Kai season 6, part 1, discovery presents is why Mr. Miyagi competed in the Sekai Taikai to begin with. Of course, the bloody headband wasn’t the only thing that Daniel found in the hidden chest. He had also found artifacts indicating that Mr. Miyagi had once lived a very different life, committing armed robbery and changing his name to avoid the repercussions of the crime. If Daniel’s sensei and friend had once been the kind of man who would hurt someone else for personal gain, it could certainly be true that Mr. Miyagi had once felt differently about karate tournaments.

Of course, none of this changes the fact that the Mr. Miyagi of the Karate Kid movies was a gentle and wise man who only fought when he needed to. It’s clear that the man learned a lot of important lessons between his crime, competing in the Sekai Taikai, and meeting the young Daniel LaRusso. It’s likely that whatever happened during this global karate tournament helped shape who Mr. Miyagi would one day be. While Cobra Kai still has to reveal what really happened, it can be assumed that the Sekai Taikai will come with similar lessons for Miyagi-Do’s current students and senseis.

Cobra Kai

Set decades after the events of the Karate Kid franchise, Cobra Kai shifts gears and puts viewers into the perspective of a former rival/antagonist, Johnny Lawrence. In his 50s and down on his luck, a chance encounter with a bullied young man leads Johnny back to Karate. Agreeing to help him, Johnny takes the opportunity to revive his former home, the Cobra Kai dojo – becoming a refuge for outcast teens.

Cast

Tanner Buchanan , Xolo Mariduena , Mary Mouser , Connor Murdock , Ralph Macchio , Nichole Brown , Jacob Bertrand , Griffin Santopietro , William Zabka

Seasons

6

Writers

Josh Heald , Jon Hurwitz , Hayden Schlossberg , Michael Jonathan , Mattea Greene , Bill Posley , Stacey Harman , Joe Piarulli , Bob Dearden

Directors

Jon Hurwitz

Showrunner

Jon Hurwitz

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