New karate kid tv series

Oily Dragon

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Love Cobra Kai. I usually mute Brittany Spears when she is on though.
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Kemposhot

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Season 4 was pretty good. Definitely enjoyed it more than season 3. Without spoiling it, Iā€™m curious to see what direction theyā€™ll go in for the next season.
 

_Simon_

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Well I did decide to rewatch the whole thing from the very start haha.

Just finished watching season 4... WOW. Loved it. So jam packed. Here are some things which popped up for me

*WARNING: Spoilers.* Which I have appropriately covered, as I hate things being spoiled for me :p

-Found it really cool Daniel and Johnny working together and learning from each others' styles. Didn't really last, but still interesting seeing the collaboration and openness to the other approach. Well, it DID last in the end actually.

-Johnny's great haha. Still love his character and the arc of his development.

-Interesting other stories (Daniel's son being the bully etc).

-Oh Robby... A shame about Robby going "bad guy". Secretly hoping he comes back round haha, but perhaps he needs to explore his dark side to see the consequences more clearly. Add-on: he sort of came around in the end!

-Clearly heard Korean from Terry silver (junbi for ready stance etc) which strengthens the idea that Cobra Kai is Tang Soo Do.

-Really cool seeing a Kyokushin club in the tournament, one even doing what seemed to be Pinan Go kata.

-Daniel's karate just doesn't really seem to improve haha. Maybe a little in fight scenes but still seems stiff and awkward.

-Miyagi-do is a weird mishmash of styles.. still practicing Kanku (dai) kata alot.

-the tension between Terry Silver and John Kreese has been fascinating, not being on the same page, having different views and mindsets regarding training etc...

-actually loved when Sam did that subtle shift in stance and demeanor in her match in the tournament. AND found it funny that Daniel said she didn't do it the "right way" when she switched to a more Eagle Fang style and won her bout. She didn't win dishonestly or unethically at all, yet he had issue with her adapting. And how he said earlier to Robby that it's not about winning. Well, they've entered a tournament which they are planning on winning... he can't make up his mind!

-LOVED the addition of the forms division and "special skills". Just brought a new element to the tournament and the overall arc of how to win it.

-Liked how they did the All Valley over the last 2 episodes. Everything about the tournament was sooooo dramatic though haha. Such a cool moment Eli winning.

-Daniel coming up to Johnny near the end of the tournament... YES. Remembering Miyagi's lesson that your karate always grows with strong roots, and you find your own way.. I pumped my fists in the air at that moment haha.

-Tori vs Sam in the tournament... wow, was on the edge my seat, absolute chills. And really quite impressed with the fight choreography! I don't understand however why that last kick that Tori did was controversial (why they both looked shocked and Tori asking if Sam was okay).

-Terry Silver... ugh. What a snake... I don't see what exactly was rigged in the tournament, there didn't seem to be any clear signs of wrong calls or favouritism made unless I missed something... ?

-Robby opening up to Johnny at the end and the moment they had... tears šŸ˜¢šŸ˜­

Loved this season!
 

_Simon_

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This video offers a really great breakdown of the different themes interwoven through Season 4, quite insightful actually!

 

Gyakuto

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I really wanted to like this, but I didnā€™t make it through the first episode of S4. The first couple of series were OK (in comparison with the usual, dire output from Netflix, so the bar was set very low). But I found the fourth series so juvenile and unnuanced. The characters were two dimensional and the plots predicated on misunderstandings or incorrect assumptions. But, more fundamentally, for a martial arts-based series, the action is truly awful - I mean, I havenā€™t seen worse than this! The actors are such poor performers of ā€˜koroddyā€™ it wouldā€™ve probably been better to put a wig on Jackie Chan and use clever, fast edits!

On a slightly serious note (possibly inappropriately so, since this is a throw away, trivial, programme), I feel martial arts are being misrepresented here. Would you, as a parent, be happy to let your child train within either of these dojo? Does it show this noble art in a good light? We already have a bit of an image issue with the public.

Bring back ā€˜Kung Fuā€™ !šŸ˜ƒ
 

Instructor

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I really wanted to like this, but I didnā€™t make it through the first episode of S4. The first couple of series were OK (in comparison with the usual, dire output from Netflix, so the bar was set very low). But I found the fourth series so juvenile and unnuanced. The characters were two dimensional and the plots predicated on misunderstandings or incorrect assumptions. But, more fundamentally, for a martial arts-based series, the action is truly awful - I mean, I havenā€™t seen worse than this! The actors are such poor performers of ā€˜koroddyā€™ it wouldā€™ve probably been better to put a wig on Jackie Chan and use clever, fast edits!

On a slightly serious note (possibly inappropriately so, since this is a throw away, trivial, programme), I feel martial arts are being misrepresented here. Would you, as a parent, be happy to let your child train within either of these dojo? Does it show this noble art in a good light? We already have a bit of an image issue with the public.

Bring back ā€˜Kung Fuā€™ !šŸ˜ƒ
Martial arts are usually misrepresented in popular culture and media, nothing new there. But no as soon as the trouble started my kid would be out of there.
 

Gyakuto

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Martial arts are usually misrepresented in popular culture and media, nothing new there. But no as soon as the trouble started my kid would be out of there.
The problem is that abusers like thatā€¦****-Krease (whatever heā€™s called) hide their ways very carefully and teenagers are naturally rebellious to the authority of their parents šŸ¤·šŸ½ā€ā™‚ļø A dangerous set of circumstances!
 
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