Cobra Kai

Sensei John Kreese: Mr Lawrence.
Johnny Lawrence: Yes, sensei.
Sensei John Kreese: Warm them up.
--The Karate Kid

I've never watched a premium internet TV channel...until this week. A post crossed my Twitter feed that included an image of a 50 something who looked a lot like Johnny from the original Karate Kid movie. Turns out it was, and he (William Zabka) has been co-producing a reboot of the original film with, yep, Daniel-san (Ralph Macho). Better yet, they both play leading roles reprising their original characters 35 years after the famed All Valley tourney where Daniel upset Johnny in the finals.

The series is called Cobra Kai (how can a KK aficionado not like that title?) and appears on the YouTube premium network. With Season 3 just lifting off, YouTube has been offering free episodes from Season 1 (first aired May 2018) and 2.

The show's proposition was so compelling that viewing S1E1 was, of course, irresistible. Within minutes I was hooked. Interesting story lines, frequent references to the original film, plus the credible projection of original character profiles multiple decades into the future.

Beyond Johnny and Daniel, the show is pulling in other original players as well. So far, we've seen Daniel's mom and, naturally, Kreese.

The original KK film ignited a martial arts boom that lasted the better part of two decades. While a premium YouTube series does not have the same reach (or budget) as a mainstream motion picture, Cobra Kai's underlying themes of perseverance, discipline, and achievement as countermeasures to bullying, lack of self-confidence, and oversensitivity to political correctness might once again raise awareness of the benefits of traditional (non MMA) martial arts training.