Cobra Kai has been praised for its fight choreography and stunt work, but all those karate moves are tough to pull off, according to Sam LaRusso actress Mary Mouser. The Karate Kid sequel series is packed full of martial arts brawls, which have become increasingly complex and brutal over the course of the first three seasons. Cobra Kai season 4 is currently in development at Netflix for an unannounced release date.
Like most fight-heavy TV shows and films, Cobra Kai relies on stunt doubles for a good portion of its action. That doesn’t mean the lead actors don’t also have to get their hands dirty, however. Clearly, the series has struck that balance pretty well, as Cobra Kai’s first two seasons were nominated for Emmy Awards in stunt coordination. The show’s stunt coordinator, Hiro Koda, has worked on many prestigious projects too, including Stranger Things and The Outsider.
During a 2021 interview with Elite Daily, Cobra Kai star Mary Mouser - who plays Sam LaRusso on the series - revealed the one karate move that has been the hardest for her to nail so far, and that's the tornado kick. Sam uses this technique in season 3’s abandoned laser tag warehouse brawl between Cobra Kai and Miyagi-Do, but it was tricky for Mouser to execute the move. "For some reason, my body does not want to do a tornado kick,” Mouser said. “There's something about the timing – about the first foot hitting the ground – that my body doesn't want to do.”
The tornado kick – also called the triple crescent – is far from a simple move to pull off, requiring the fighter in question to perform a full aerial spin before lashing out with their back leg. Cobra Kai has brought in a lot of flashy yet authentic maneuvers for its various fight sequences, and the show has continued to one-up itself as it’s gone on. With Cobra Kai season 4 currently in the works, it should be interesting to see how Hiro Koda and the cast and crew try to top themselves the next time around.
The Karate Kid franchise has relied on stylish signature moves since its inception, like when Daniel used the iconic crane kick on Johnny in the All-Valley tournament. It makes sense Daniel’s daughter would have some fun kicks of her own to pull out in battle, and the tornado kick is a particularly flashy one. With luck, viewers can look forward to plenty more exciting karate action in Cobra Kai season 4.