Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence are both a couple of flawed heroes. The best sensei in the Karate Kid universe is definitely Mr. Miyagi. Neither Daniel nor Johnny have yet lived up to the reputation set by Mr. Miyagi, but they are both becoming more and more like Mr. Miyagi with each passing season.

There is a debate about which of them is the better sensei. Truth be told, I think that there are intelligent points to be made for both sides of that debate.

First let’s go over some arguments I usually hear from people who believe that Johnny is the better sensei. TBC, I am not saying I agree with these arguments necessarily, simply that these are the arguments I typically hear from those who view Johnny as the better sensei.

1. Johnny did not forbid Miguel from seeing Sam. In other words, he was not as controlling as Miguel's love life as Daniel was of Sam's love life.

Daniel did not approve of Sam dating a Cobra Kai, he forbid Sam for going near any Cobra kai students. Johnny warned Miguel to be careful, but he did not go so far as to forbid Miguel from dating a LaRusso. I know Daniel had good reason to fear Cobra Kai, but it wasn't fair for him to assume every Cobra Kai student was bad, especially when he used to be a Cobra Kai himself.

2. Johnny did not give up on Miguel like Daniel did to Robby.

After Daniel discovered that Robby was Johnny’s son, Daniel lost his cool, kicked Robby out of the house and fired him. When Daniel found Robby and Sam at Johnny’s house, Daniel flipped out and put all the blame on Johnny and Robby, he failed to give Robby proper credit for taking care of Sam.

1. Daniel was the one who wanted to “take over” the training.

After Hawk built the sparring deck, Daniel and Johnny agreed to work together. After Terry Silver showed up, Daniel was hell bent on taking over the training. Johnny did retaliate by insisting that he was the better teacher, but Daniel was the one who made the conversation a debate about which sensei should be taking over the training.

There are many good arguments in favour of the position that Johnny is better; but there are just as many good arguments for the positon that Daniel is better.

1. Daniel is a better father.

We are comparing them based on who is the better sensei. Two things can be true at once. You can be a good father and a bad teacher or vice versa. However, once you consider that teachers are supposed to act as a role model to their students much like parents are supposed to exercise authority over their children, there is no doubt that being a good parent and being a good sensei are correlated.

I don’t see either of Daniel’s children kicking anyone over the railing and ending up in juvie.

1. Johnny mocks people appearances.

When Eli and Demetri first join Cobra Kai, Johnny makes fun of Eli’s facial deformity and is abusive of Demetri. He does improve later on, in season 4, his sensei student relationship with Demetri is slightly better. There is still room for improvement, but he has improved as a sensei since season 1.

1. Johnny let Kreese back into the dojo.

Johnny knows that Kreese is not above abusing teenagers. Sure, he probably just wanted to help Kreese redeem himself, but there are ways to do that that don’t require him to let Kreese near the teenagers.

When Johnny forced his students into a cement truck, I only wish I could blame Kreese for that, but Johnny was still having his student leaps buildings even after he cut Kreese out of his life.

1. Miguel, Hawk and Aisha made some bad choices because of Johnny.

Miguel and Hawk fought dirty during the tournament and Aisha was involved in the school fight. The Mall fight and the destruction of Miyagi-Do can be balmed on Kreese for obvious reasons, but all the dumb choices the students made before Kreese even came back to the dojo, that is Johnny’s fault.

All that said, Johnny did redeem himself, because seeing his son fall victim of the no mercy win at all costs mentality made him realize that every person who has ever fallen victim of Cobra Kai’s wrath is someone’s child. These mistakes are the main reason why Johnny Lawrence is a relatable flawed hero, becoming better and better with each passing season.

Verdict:

The reason why I would ultimately have to say that Daniel is the better sensei is because of Johnny’s dangerous teaching methods. He’s having kids jump over buildings and putting them in cement trucks. If all other factors were still the same but he just hadn’t used such dangerous teaching methods, Johnny Lawrence would be just as good of a sensei as Daniel LaRusso. It is so ashamed that Johnny Lawrence came so close to being equally as good as Daniel, but his reckless disregard for safety is what ultimately prevents him from being as good as Daniel.

While Johnny’s incredibly dangerous teachings methods are one of his worst character flaws if not his single worst character flaw, he has already changed and improved quite a bit since the pilot episode, he could improve some more in seasons 5 and 6, learning ways to teach karate that don’t involve endangering anyone’s life.

What do you think? Do you agree with me, why or why not?