Karate Kid recap: the story so far

No. 01 · 1984 · Film

The Karate Kid recap

Daniel LaRusso and his mother Lucille move from New Jersey to Reseda, California. Daniel falls for Ali Mills, which angers her ex-boyfriend Johnny Lawrence, the star of the Cobra Kai dojo, whose sensei John Kreese teaches his students to strike first and show no mercy. Johnny and his friends beat Daniel up repeatedly, until on Halloween they nearly kill him and the apartment building's quiet handyman, Mr. Miyagi, fights them all off. Miyagi goes to Cobra Kai to call a truce, and Kreese agrees to leave Daniel alone until the All Valley Karate Tournament, where Daniel must fight. Miyagi trains Daniel by making him wax cars, sand floors and paint fences, which turn out to be the basic blocks of karate. On the anniversary of his wife's death in an internment camp, Miyagi gets drunk, and Daniel learns of his past as a decorated soldier.

How The Karate Kid ends

Daniel wins his way to the tournament semi-finals, where Kreese orders a Cobra Kai student to injure his leg. Miyagi uses a healing technique to dull the pain, and Daniel returns to face Johnny in the final. Kreese tells Johnny to sweep the leg, but Daniel, standing on one foot, wins with the crane kick. Johnny hands him the trophy himself.

Post-credits scenes

No. There is no post-credits scene.

No. 02 · 1986 · Film

The Karate Kid Part II recap

In the parking lot after the tournament, Kreese attacks Johnny for losing, and Miyagi humiliates Kreese. Six months later, Ali has left Daniel, and Miyagi learns his father is dying in Okinawa. Daniel goes with him. Miyagi left Okinawa decades ago to avoid a duel with his best friend Sato, after both loved the same woman, Yukie, who was promised to Sato. Sato, now a rich businessman who owns the village, still wants his fight. Miyagi's father dies, and Daniel falls for Yukie's niece, Kumiko, while Sato's nephew Chozen bullies Daniel and runs a scam on the villagers. When a typhoon strikes, Miyagi and Daniel save Sato from the ruins of his dojo, and Sato makes peace, giving the village back to its people.

How The Karate Kid Part II ends

At the village's festival, Chozen, disgraced for exposing his cheating, takes Kumiko hostage and challenges Daniel to a fight to the death. Daniel uses the drum technique Miyagi showed him, defeats Chozen, and spares him, tweaking his nose instead of killing him. The festival crowd joins in with hand drums, Daniel and Kumiko are together, and Miyagi and Sato are friends again after forty years.

Post-credits scenes

No. There is no post-credits scene.

No. 03 · 1989 · Film

The Karate Kid Part III recap

Kreese is broke and his dojo is empty. His old army friend Terry Silver, a rich toxic waste businessman, swears to help him get revenge on Daniel and Miyagi. Back in California, Daniel uses his college money to open a bonsai shop with Miyagi and befriends Jessica, who works at a nearby pottery shop. Silver hires Mike Barnes, a vicious karate fighter, to make Daniel defend his title. Miyagi refuses to train Daniel for another tournament, so Silver pretends to be a kind mentor and trains him himself, teaching him violent techniques. Daniel grows aggressive, and Barnes and his friends keep harassing him, at one point making him climb down a cliff to save a rare bonsai tree. At a club, Daniel hurts a man in a fight and realises what Silver has done.

How The Karate Kid Part III ends

Silver reveals the plan, and Miyagi rescues Daniel and fights off Silver and his men. Miyagi then trains Daniel again. In the final, Barnes is told to rack up points and hurt Daniel badly, but Daniel uses a kata Miyagi taught him and wins. Kreese and Silver's plan collapses, and Cobra Kai is finished, at least until the TV series Cobra Kai brings Silver back decades later.

Post-credits scenes

No. There is no post-credits scene.

No. 04 · 1994 · Film · optional

The Next Karate Kid recap

Mr. Miyagi attends a ceremony at Arlington for Japanese-American veterans and meets Louisa Pierce, widow of his old commanding officer. Her granddaughter Julie, angry and withdrawn since her parents died in a car crash, is in trouble at her Boston school, where she secretly cares for an injured hawk on the roof. Miyagi stays in Boston to look after Julie while Louisa house-sits for him in Los Angeles. At school, a group called the Alpha Elite, a security club run by the bullying Colonel Dugan, harasses Julie, and their member Ned frames her when she rejects him. Julie reveals her father taught her karate and asks Miyagi to train her. He takes her to a Buddhist monastery, where she learns balance and respect for life. Ned has her hawk taken away, and she and Miyagi free it.

How The Next Karate Kid ends

After the prom, Ned and the Alpha Elite burn the car of Julie's date Eric and beat him at the docks. Julie challenges Ned and beats him, and when Dugan orders his boys to keep fighting, they refuse. Miyagi defeats Dugan, and the Alpha Elite abandon him. Julie has learned to let go of her anger, and the film ends with her hawk flying free over the water.

Post-credits scenes

No. There is no post-credits scene.

No. 05 · 2010 · Film

The Karate Kid recap

Twelve-year-old Dre Parker and his mother Sherry move from Detroit to Beijing for her job. Dre falls for a young violinist, Meiying, which provokes Cheng, a student at a kung fu school run by the cruel Master Li. Cheng and his friends beat Dre up, and the building's quiet maintenance man, Mr. Han, saves him. Han takes Dre to Li's school to make peace, but Li insists Dre fight his students at an open tournament. Han trains Dre by making him take off, hang up and put on his jacket over and over, which he learns builds kung fu moves. Han takes Dre to the Wudang Mountains, and Dre learns that Han's wife and son died in a car crash he was driving. Dre and Meiying grow close, but her parents keep them apart until Dre apologises in Chinese.

How The Karate Kid ends

At the tournament, Dre reaches the semi-finals, where Li orders a student to injure his leg. Han uses fire cupping to ease the pain, and Dre returns to face Cheng in the final. Standing on one leg, Dre uses a move he saw at Wudang to win. Cheng hands him the trophy, and Li's students bow to Mr. Han as their teacher.

Post-credits scenes

No. There is no post-credits scene.

No. 06 · 2018 · Series

Cobra Kai recap

In season 1, thirty-four years after the 1984 tournament, Johnny Lawrence is broke and drinking when he defends his teenage neighbour Miguel Diaz from bullies and reopens Cobra Kai. Daniel LaRusso runs a car dealership, and his daughter Sam befriends Miguel, while Johnny's estranged son Robby starts working for Daniel and learning Miyagi-Do. Miguel wins the All Valley tournament with a dirty move, and Kreese returns. In season 2, Daniel reopens Miyagi-Do, Kreese takes Cobra Kai back to its brutal ways, and a school fight ends with Robby kicking Miguel off a balcony. In season 3, Miguel recovers with Johnny's help, Robby leaves juvenile detention for Cobra Kai, and Daniel goes to Okinawa and reconciles with Chozen. Johnny and Daniel team up against Kreese, who calls in Terry Silver. In season 4, Silver returns and Cobra Kai wins the tournament after Silver bribes a referee, and Silver frames Kreese for assault. In season 5, Silver expands Cobra Kai across the Valley, Johnny and Robby go to Mexico to bring back Miguel, and Daniel, Chozen and Johnny take down Silver, who is arrested, while Kreese escapes prison. In season 6, the dojos merge as Miyagi-Do to compete in the world championship, the Sekai Taikai, in Barcelona. Kreese takes over Kim Da-Eun's dojo, Daniel uncovers Miyagi's violent past, and Tory switches to Cobra Kai. A brawl at the tournament leaves the Cobra Kai fighter Kwon dead.

How Cobra Kai ends

Silver persuades Daniel to finish the tournament in the Valley. Johnny takes back Cobra Kai, and Tory and Miguel win their finals. Silver plots to kidnap Johnny's family; Kreese fights him on his yacht, and both die in the explosion. Johnny then beats Sensei Wolf to make Cobra Kai the champions, moves into a new home with Carmen and their baby, and he and Daniel train students in both dojos together.

No. 07 · 2025 · Film

Karate Kid: Legends recap

In 1985, Mr. Miyagi tells Daniel that his family's karate came from kung fu taught by the Han family. Years later, Li Fong, a kung fu student of his great-uncle Mr. Han in Beijing, moves to New York City with his mother, a doctor, who makes him promise to stop fighting after his older brother Bo was killed after a fight. Li befriends Mia, whose father Victor, a former boxer, runs a pizzeria and owes money to O'Shea, a loan shark who also teaches karate to Mia's ex-boyfriend Conor. Li saves Victor from O'Shea's thugs, then trains him for a comeback boxing match, but Victor's opponent fouls him on O'Shea's orders and puts him in hospital, and Li freezes. Mr. Han arrives to persuade Li to enter the Five Boroughs Tournament and brings Daniel from Los Angeles to train him.

How Karate Kid: Legends ends

In the final, Li faces Conor. Conor leads early, but Li fights back and wins with a new dragon kick that Han and Daniel designed together. Conor attacks him after the match, Li beats him and shows mercy, earning his respect, and Li's mother accepts his kung fu. Victor opens a second pizzeria, Han returns to China, and in Los Angeles Johnny pitches Daniel a karate-themed pizza chain.

Post-credits scenes

No. There is no post-credits scene.