Do you want to "Show No Mercy"? This Ultimate Free guide shows you every move you will need to know to master
Cobra Kai Karate. Any Karate Kid movie and Cobra Kai Netflix series fans will love this FREE Guide. If you enjoy it, stick around for more free Karate at the end.
In the famous words of Johnny Lawrence, "you don't need a dojo to be a dojo", and in this spirit let's get you mastery of Karate from home or outside so you can crush the Cobra Kai.
If you're eager to get right into the moves, feel free to skip the amazing story of how Eagle Fang Karate was created, and what it is in real life.
Cobra Kai Karate was created by Sensei Jon Kreese after returning from Vietnam and opened in California near Reseda.
Cobra Kai is a mix of traditional karate moves designed to take down the opponent mixed with some Tang Soo Do for more Kicks.
Johnny loves to fight and was the best Cobra Kai fighter, he has used his Karate to win the All Valley Championship multiple times.
Johnny Lawrence was taught the "no mercy" way of Cobra Kai by Sensei John Kreese, and is teaching honor and ethics in combination with winning Karate Kicks and Combos.
The two best Cobra Kai Karate Kids were Johnny Lawrence and Terry Silver.
Amazon has some great Eagle Fang shirts on Sale with free shipping. Check it out after the article.
Cobra Kai Karate is it's own style derived from Shotokan and Tang Soo Do.
It uses lot's of side kicks, knee kicks, round house kicks, and Sweeps in combination with straight punches, backfists, and chops.
Cobra Kai is a derivative of American Tang Soo Do, popularized by Karate Champion Chuck Norris.
Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka), is basically the new Chuck Norris.
Billy Zabka learned Tang Soo Do from Pat Johnson (the number 1 student of Chuck Norris in the early 80s).
Tang Soo Do means Chinese Fist and is a combination of several fighting arts that were combined and advanced by Korean Masters.
Unlike it's Japanese Karate Counterpart (hence Miyagi Do Goju Ryu Style) it uses more Korean Based Kicks and Sweeps.
Check out some of Johnny's Original Cobra Kai Moves in this Compilation I found:
Starting with Kicks, moving on the Punches, Strikes, then to Blocks, and finishing with Stances use this helpful FREE guide to master Cobra Kai Karate.
This Karate Move is used to jump over and opponents sweep and kick to the face.
Start by gathering your energy in a deep squat, then exploding upward bringing your body into a curled ball.
This helps protect vital targets.
Then use your front leg to perform a snapping kick while in the air, and recoil your leg to original position prior to landing.
This Karate Move is used to kick into the opponents knee and disable them from fighting.
It is a brutal move that is illegal in Karate tournaments.
The Camel Kick can be delivered to the back of the knee in order to drive your opponent to the ground in self defense techniques.
This Karate Move is a favorite of Johnny Lawrence and he uses it on Halloween in The Karate Kid to knock Daniel in the face against the chainlink fence.
The Kick is delivered by loading the knee to the center of the body and then snapping the foot in a maximal wheel like pattern outward.
The circle connects the outside blade of the foot to the opponents head and recoils back to a fighting stance.
Gyaku Mawashi Geri - Inside Round House Kick
This sneaky kick is great for blocking an incoming kick to the mid section, kicking into the inner thigh, or snapping to the inside jaw line of your opponent.
It loads in the middle like a front kick but can pivot to come from an unexpected direction.
Soto Mikazuki Geri - Outside Crescent Kick
This Karate Kick is a powerful way to disarm an opponent or to strike into their arms or head over the top of their block, and often out of range of sight.
This technique was used several times in the All Valley Tournament in The Karate Kid movie as well as the Cobra Kai series so far.
Ushiro Geri - Back Kick
The Back Kick is an awesome move that strikes hard into an incoming attacker. Feinting turning to run away, the powerful leg muscles can be utilized to deliver huge stopping power with the heel of the foot to either the ribs, solar plexus, or face of the opponent.
Fumikomi Geri - Front Stomp Kick
This powerful stomp kick was used by Johnny and Cobra Kai members against Daniel in the Halloween scene where they stomped him on the ground.
This kick can be practically applied to cripple and opponent by stomping the front or side of the knee.
Front Stomp kick can also be a way to deliver power damage to a fallen opponent, or defend against a grappling technique as it shoots in for the leg.
Yoko Geri - Side Kick
This Karate technique is one of the most famous and most effective karate moves of all time.
It can be delivered from close range with a powerful heel thrust to low, middle, or high targets with huge impact.
The heel strike offers maximal damage. The kick can also be used to push an opponent into another opponent when fending off multiple enemies.
Mawashi Geri - Round House Kick
Made popular by Chuck Norris, this is no doubt the quintessential Karate Move.
The High Roundhouse kick to the face is a classic Karate Kick that delivers huge impact and speed. The knee acts as a fulcrum for the kick, and when aimed properly helps create great accuracy.
The support leg is pointed in the opposite direction for balance, to open up the hips, and to offer an retreating option.
Mae Geri - Front Snapping Kick
The front snapping kick differs from the teep or front thrust kick.
The Snapping kick uses the top of the foot to kick upwards to a low target such as the groin or face if the opponent is rendered low enough.
Cobra Kai tend to show no mercy, so a technique like this is likely to be used in many scenario.
Hiding the kick behind the loaded knee is a way to defer any potential blocks or quickly change the kick's target at a moments notice.
Hisa Geri - Knee Kick
The Knee kick is used by Johnny Lawrence in Cobra Kai in several fight scenes, including the one in front of the liquor store when he beats up the gang of bullies.
The knee kick offers huge power at a close distance.
Grabbing an opponent and pulling them into the rising force of the knee generates a lot of damage with minimal exersion.
It also creates a loaded leg ready to fire off a second kick.
Kake Geri - Hook Kick
This Karate move is a kick designed to avoid and circumvent an opponents guard.
The hook kick can be delivered up and around the opponents back to the head where blocking becomes extremely difficult.
The hook kick can also be used to the back of the calve to sweep an opponent to the ground.
Tobi Yoko Geri- Flying Side Kick
Only the coolest Karate action movie stars use the flying side kick. Popularized by the explosion of Hollywood martial arts films in the 70s and 80s, the flying side kick remains iconic today as a martial arts right of passage.
This Karate move uses a high jump to avoid a sweep as it tucks the body into a ball storing the kinetic energy for a powerful release.
Once the opponent is in range, the side kick is fired to the head or chest which delivers massive damage due to the body weight addition to the kick force.
The kick needs expert timing due to the ease of parry.
Tobi Mae Geri- Flying Front Kick
The Crane Kick, popularized by Daniel in The Karate Kid is a Miyagi Do adaptation to the Flying Front Kick.
The Crane Kick uses a special Crane like guard position (Kamae), that distracts the opponent momentarily to allow a surprise kick to land.
Renzoku Kage Geri Mawashi Geri- Combination Hook Kick Round Kick
This Karate Combination of kicks uses a high hook kick to the interior guard of the opponent and then utilizes the recoil to fire a second round house kick to the exterior guard.
The Hook Kick round kick combo is a favorite of many sport karate athletes and can be a very fast and effective move in competitions.
Renzoku Geri No Naka Ni Mizuku Geri Mae Geri- Combination Inside Crescent Kick Front Kick
This Karate Kick uses a high kick to knock away the guard of the opponent to expose their stomach to the second kick of the combination.
The Inside Crescent kick can also be used to go on the offense as an attack to the head and then a follow up attack to the mid section, making it a versatile point scoring choice for tournaments.
Renzoku Geri Soto No Naka Ni Mizuku Geri Yoko Geri - Combination Outside Crescent Kick Side Kick
The Outside Crescent Kick Side Kick Combination is a powerful barrage of kicks meant to disarm or off guard an opponent and strike a powerful kick to the ribs or gut.
The first outside crescent kick can also make a great offensive start, bringing the opponents arm up to block the kick before quickly diverting your energy fully into a mid section side kick.
Uraken Uchi- Combination Outside Crescent Kick Side Kick
The Backfist strike is very popular in mixed styles of martial arts like Tang Soo Do and Karate.
The speed of the backfist makes it very difficult to block and it works as an awesome diversion.
Backfist or Ura Ken Uchi is a great start to any offensive combination because it quickly returns to the guard position. It also makes a great quick point in karate competitions.
Tate Tsuki- Vertical Fist Punch
The vertical fist punch is very similar to the Seiken Tsuki straight punch, but it uses a different muscle group.
The vertical fist is more practical in several situations, and is often preferred by boxers and wing Chun Kung Fu users.
Haito Uchi- Ridgehand Strike
The ridge hand strike is a very quick and powerful circular chop that goes around an opponents guard to strike the jaw line or the back of the skull.
This karate move is fired from the hip in a straight line towards the opponent before breaking direction and swooping in a circular motion around the guard.
The wrist and bone under the thumb are used as a blunt force object to create shock damage upon impact.
Taisho Uchi- Palm Heel Strike
This Karate Move is famous for the rumor that if you strike to the nose you can drive the bone into the brain and cause your opponent to perish.
While it would probably not happen, this is still a very powerful and useful karate technique.
The Palm Heel Strike uses a hand tightly packed and tensed with fingers retracted so they don't get damaged. The heel is driven outwards and upwards at a high speed to the chin or nose of the opponent.
Daniel Russo from The Karate Kid and practitioner of Miyagi Do Karate, was famous from using the Palm Heel Strike as a Kamae Guard.
Many Karate Practitioners prefer to use this technique when breaking boards.
The Okinawan Karate Style of RyuieRyu is well known for it's use of heavy palm techniques in Kata.
Shuto Uchi- Knife Hand Strike
The famous Judo Chop is known around the world. The Knife Hand strike is not used in Judo, but in Karate it is a great choice in many self defense applications.
The powerful karate strike is first seen in The Karate Kid by Mr. Miyagi as he breaks the tops off of three glass bottles.
He later shows mercy to Creese, the Cobra Kai Leader as he loads a knife hand strike before showing mercy and honking his nose.
The Knife Hand Strike is loaded at the ear level and delivers a twisting body movement that adds force to the swinging blade hand.
In Japan, the wrist is thought to resemble a blade, so the translation turned into knife hand strike. The strike is done with the lowest bones of the hand and wrist, so that the fingers are not damaged.
This karate move typically strikes to the neck or base of the skull.
Seiken Tsuki - Forefist Punch
The traditional karate punch is said to be the ultimate punch, and with Zanshin, can kill a man in one blow.
While this may sound like a tall tale, it does not distract credit from the destructive power of the forefist karate punch.
The punch is delivered on a straight line, the quickest way to reach it's target. As the punch leaves the load at the hip, it begins to twist over, and this adds kinetic energy to the punch.
Upon reaching it's target, this karate move focuses all of it's power into a small surface area of just two knuckles. This makes it akin to getting stabbed with a spear rather than a log.
Tetsui Uchi - Hammerfist Strike
The hammer fist strike is widely used for breaking boards and bricks throughout the Karate world, it is no surprise that this karate move is extremely powerful and useful.
Loading high at the ear level, the body weight is dropped as the fist strikes downward making it contain amazing force.
The hammer fist strikes into the Clavical, or collar bones, the nose, and several practical joint applications.
Ura Tsuki - Close Punch
The close punch is great to defend against a grappler. This karate move is often used as an offense by bullies.
Striking upwards from the hip at a close range, the technique is aimed at the diaphragm, which is the muscle that proceeds the stomach.
The stomach and diaphragm are wrapped with a web of nerves that control muscles associated with breathing, called the Solar Plexus. This network of nerves includes the Vagus nerve, a major target for combat.
When done correctly, the close punch will cause the opponents diaphragm to contract, resulting in the sensation of a loss of breath.
Ippon Nukite - One Finger Spear
The One Finger spear is a Karate move that uses soft tissue strike targets such as the eyes and throat. Classically, the fingers would be conditioned to withstand heavy impact force in preparation of using this technique in combat.
The nomenclature comes from the technique shooting straight outwards from the hip and stabbing the opponent with a spear like finger.
Yama Tsuki - Wide U Punch
Yamatsuki, or wide u punch, delivers simultaneous punches to the midsection and face. It uses a combination of close punch and forfeits punch.
This karate move is seldom used in real combat scenarios, however it can make a very effective attack that is hard to block when timed correctly.
Ippon Ken Tsuki - One Knuckle Punch
One of my personal favorites, and extremely effective! The One knuckle punch concentrates all of the power into a single point by locking the knuckle into the fist. This can deliver devastating damage to soft tissue and nerve areas.
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About the Author:
Colton Woodard is a 7th Degree Black Belt in Kuniba Kai Karate Do and holds the title of Kyoshi as well. He loves to teach Karate, Kobudo, and Iaido and considers himself a lifetime student in pursuit of self improvement in both Martial Arts and in Character. Colton loves to visit Japan and speaks conversational Japanese and can write quite a few Kanji. He is a Karate competitor and coach and loves to exercise and make new memories with people all over the world.
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