Cobra Kai Season 3: 5 Best Cobra Kai Students (& 5 Best Miyagi-Do Students)

While it would usually take years for someone to hone their karate skills, somehow, the kids on Cobra Kai managed to become pro martial arts experts in about a year. Unbelievability aside, and despite the short passage of time, the fact of the matter is that many of the teenagers have become really skilled fighters.

Chalk it up to raw talent, dedication, hard work – whatever reason – some have come out on the other side of training better than others.

While some students have gone back and forth between the Miyago-Do and Cobra Kai dojos as well as the new Eagle Fang, each is best associated with a particular one.

10 Miyagi-Do: Sam

Sam is by far one of the best Miyagi-Do students, if not the best. The only one who actually trained before, she did karate for many years when she was younger but quit when she was in grade school.

Nonetheless, she managed to pick right up where she left off and dutifully listened to her father so she could learn more. Having known Mr. Miyagi when he was alive, she also has his driving force behind her and understands how and when to fight.

9 Cobra Kai: Hawk

Despite his terrible attitude and willingness to “strike first” along with his propensity for unnecessary violence, even after his opponent was already down, Hawk really does have a natural talent.

He picked up on the principals of karate quickly when Johnny first began training him in the early days of the resurrected Cobra Kai. He applied himself and put in the work to improve. Always looking for affirmation, he did whatever Johnny or Kreese asked of him and was always the first to volunteer for a difficult task. Because of this dedication, he became one of Cobra Kai’s most skilled students, if not the best.

8 Miyagi-Do: Demetri

While Demetri had a difficult time in the beginning, not able to pick up on the concepts of karate and lacking the physical strength to take anyone down, he wins the award for the most improved student.

After delivering a swift kick that took down Hawk, Demetri started to feel more confident in himself and was more receptive to Daniel’s teachings. Now fully on board, he can only get better from here.

7 Cobra Kai: Miguel

The main young protagonist, Miguel’s story mirrored that of Daniel’s in the original Karate Kid movies. He was an outcast from a low-income neighborhood who was being bullied at school. When Johnny got wind of this, he became inspired to teach the young man how to defend himself, which led to Johnny becoming the early hero of the series.

Armed with plenty of one-on-one sessions with Johnny before anyone else joined the dojo, combined with his natural talent, drive, determination, and a need to protect himself, Miguel is easily the best member of Cobra Kai. Even though he left Cobra Kai long before, he remains one of the most talented students ever to be a part of the 2.0 version of the dojo.

6 Miyagi-Do: Chris

Only a recurring character, Chris has become an inspiration to viewers. He was one of the first to leave Cobra Kai and join Miyagi-Do. And in several of the group fights, he faced off with his former best friend Mitch.

In the third season, Chris called for reinforcements when Hawk and his Cobra Kai friends began to torment him at work. This led to a massive fight in an abandoned area of the arcade where Chris got to show his skills and was able to throw Mitch to the ground. Even though Chris ended up getting taken down afterwards in both that fight and the penultimate one at Sam’s house, he never backed down.

5 Cobra Kai: Tory

Despite her violent nature, Tory came in with previous training and even Kreese recognized not only that she was a lost soul he could easily manipulate, but also that she had serious raw talent.

She is arguably the only one who could fight head-to-head with Sam and has indeed done so many times including that epic battle at the end of season 3. She could easily take out anyone else in either dojo, male or female.

4 Miyagi-Do: Nathaniel

While Nathaniel isn’t one of the best fighters compared to the others, he is one of the best students in another respect. Despite his much smaller size, he is able to pack a punch and defend himself when needed.

He has faced off many times with his former best friend Bert after leaving Cobra Kai and joining Miyagi-Do. After Bert broke his glasses during their first showdown, Nathaniel attacked Bert and got him pinned to the ground, punching him repeatedly until a security guard broke up the fight.

3 Cobra Kai: Robby

Robby has natural talent and is as broken as Tory due to his fractured home life, which attracts Kreese to him. Before joining Cobra Kai, Robby was trained by Daniel, for a while one-on-one with Sam, as one of the first members of Miyagi-Do.

But after the big fight with Miguel and his stint in juvenile hall, Robby made the decision to join forces with Kreese and become a member of Cobra Kai. While much of his training didn’t come from Cobra Kai, he has both the teachings of Daniel and that of Kreese, which will make him a formidable opponent and versatile student.

2 Miyagi-Do: Miguel

Yes, Miguel makes the list twice because while he began his career with Cobra Kai, by the end of season three, he became a member of the combined Miyagi-Do/Eagle Fang dojo. As the hands-down best student of Cobra Kai, Miguel automatically became the best student in Miyagi-Do.

While he might not be able to accomplish what he did before his serious injuries, Miguel’s drive and determination to be able to walk again, and his ability to use his karate teachings to help him recover, makes him a student who goes above and beyond just using what he learns in class. He’s easily the most intelligent of all of the students.

1 Cobra Kai: Kyler

Kyler only joined Cobra Kai in season three, and while he’s a mean bully, he possessed something that many of the other Cobra Kai students did not: natural athletic ability. Because he played a lot of sports, including wrestling, he had the strength to take down an opponent, even without any formal karate training.

Chances are, if he applies himself and continues with the dojo, he will quickly prove himself as being among the best. It’s an ironic position since that would put him in direct competition with Hawk, whom he bullied relentlessly prior to the latter’s transformation.

About The Author