- "Mercy is for the weak."
- ―John Kreese[src]
John Kreese, known mononymously as Kreese, is the main antagonist of The Karate Kid franchise.
Kreese is a cruel, vicious, and unhinged Vietnam War veteran and sensei of the 1970s/1980s karate dojo, Cobra Kai. He instilled a dangerous philosophy of "no mercy" in his students and encouraged generations of bullies. Most notably, Kreese taught karate to a teenaged Johnny Lawrence and feuded with his karate rival Mr. Miyagi. After repeated losses at the hands of Daniel LaRusso and Mr. Miyagi, Kreese fled the valley and lost contact with his students.
Over thirty years later, Johnny Lawrence reopened Cobra Kai, triggering Kreese to make a surprise return to the valley. He eventually acquires the dojo through nefarious means, becoming the Sensei to an entirely new generation of students. With his rivals teaming up, Kreese seeks out his old army friend Terry Silver to help Cobra Kai prepare for the All Valley Karate Tournament. As hostilities continue to flare between the rival dojos, Kreese plays the angles to get into his opponents’ heads. After Cobra Kai's victory in the tournament, Kreese is betrayed by Silver, and framed for the assault of Stingray. He is sentenced to prison for assault.
Kreese tries playing good soldier in prison to secure an early release, only for that plan to fail. He is still able to pull the strings behind the scenes, by having Tory Nichols, one of his star students, remain at Cobra Kai as a spy. He eventually manipulates and deceives his way into escaping prison.
After escaping prison, he reunites with Kim Da-Eun and his old master Kim Sun-Yung, and helps train their students for the Sekai Taikai tournament. He takes an interest in one of the rebellious students Kwon, whom he corrupts even more. When all the dojos arrive for the Sekai Taikai, it is revealed that Tory has joined Kreese.
As if Miyagi-Do were not enough interference, Kreese discovered to his shock and rage that his former best friend Terry Silver avoided prison and became the manager of the Iron Dragons dojo also competing in the tournament. During the brawl between all dojos, he fights him in revenge for betraying him, only for the battle to come to an end with the accidental death of Kwon through Kreese's eunjangdo, for which Kreese feels remorse.
Roles[]
He is the main antagonist of the Karate Kid film trilogy, serving as the main antagonist of the original The Karate Kid film, the opening antagonist of The Karate Kid 2, and overarching antagonist of The Karate Kid 3.
He is the secondary antagonist of the TV series Cobra Kai, serving as the overarching antagonist of season 1, main antagonist of seasons 2, 3 and part 1 of season 6, secondary antagonist of season 4, one of the two secondary antagonists in part 2 of season 6, and one of the two overarching antagonists of season 5.
Biography[]
Early Life[]
John Kreese was born in 1946 in the San Fernando Valley where he was also brought up. When he was young, his father abandoned the family leaving his mother to raise him alone. His home life became unstable and marred by the decline of his mother's mental health. In 1965, his mother committed suicide and left Kreese alone to fend for himself. He was bullied by his peers for his mother's actions, and labeled a freak due to the stigma around mental health. He acquired a job at a local diner, and one day, he was busily wiping the counter as a couple of jocks entered the establishment, one of which had his arm wrapped around the shoulder of a pretty young lady by the name of Betsy. The jock, David, bumped into Kreese on their way past him without apologizing, prompting him to give them an angry glare, before going back to work. Quickly composing himself, he dutifully proceeded to provide them with silverwares; and briefly caught the eye of Betsy, much to the chagrin of her boyfriend David.
Kreese is tripped over by David
Almost immediately after, a uniformed military officer patronized the diner as well. He made a brief conversation with the jocks, saying he attended the football game they played in. The Army officer praised the young men for their atheticism and said they are the perfect "all-American" mold for a career in the military; then gave David a recruiting pamplet adversizing enlisting in the Army. David accepted and promised that he and his friend would consider it, only to curl it into a ball with a mocking laugh and throw it on the floor the moment the officer left. Kreese picked up the pamphlet and unfolded it, intrigued by the idea. He hurriedly stuck it in his pocket as his manager scolded him and demanded that he get back to work. Kreese went back to work, but as he went to carry a tray full of dirty cutlery into the back, David tripped him, leaving Kreese humiliated as everyone laughed at his misfortune, with his manager giving a disappointed look, but Betsy being the only one who looked at him with pity and disgusted by her boyfriends actions.
Shortly thereafter, Kreese was taking out the trash when he saw David and Betsy arguing. David was angry that she had made eye contact with Kreese in the diner. He grabbed her firmly and told her never to do it again, but she quipped back to let her go, prompting David to smack her. Kreese came to Betsy's defense despite David's friend being present. David ridiculed Kreese for his crush on Betsy and his mother's death. David and his friend then attacked Kreese while Besty was telling them to stop fighting. While Kreese did land some hits, the other two gained the upper hand, as they outnumbered him. After David's friend threw Kreese into a group of trash cans, David began beating him, and even berated him. However, just as David was about to kick him again, Kreese regained his bearings and successfully incapacitated the pair of them, and even retorted to David that he had been fighting bullies all his life. Betsy then came over to make sure his was alright and Kreese replying that he has had worse. He than offered Betsy a ride home, which she happily accepted.
Military Career[]
In the time that followed, Kreese dated Betsy, and enlisted in the military. By 1968, Kreese has graduated from basic training and advanced school, and has already served multiple tours of duty in the Vietnam War. Kreese became known among his fellow patriots for his willingness to take risks, with his commanding officer speaking highly of his actions. He volunteered to walk point on foot patrols and readily joined an ambush unit at great personal risk. As a member of the unit, Kreese befriended fellow soldier Terry Silver and a brother-in-arms they affectionately called Ponytail.
One day, Betsy had sent him a photograph of her, earning the envy of his fellow soldiers. At that moment, he was approached by a Sergeant, who informed him that their Captain wished to speak with him in the command's tent. The Captain, named Turner, explained that he was forming a special task force that would go on direct action missions in the north of the country. He warned that they would be going "sterile into triple canopy jungle. No insignias, no ID." The team would be led by the Captain Turner himself, and otherwise comprised of Kreese and a couple of other specialists. Allowed to have a say in who these specialists were, Kreese immediately nominated Silver and Twig as candidates for the task at hand.
The unit was trained extensively in guerilla tactics, demolition and hand-to-hand combat by Captain Turner. Turner had previously served in the Korean War and was trained in the art of Tang Soo Do under the tutelage of master Kim Sun-Yung of Korea. Kreese was taught everything that Turner knew, for the purposes of close quarter combat. During this time, Turner would often berate Kreese for his apparent inability to "shed his humanity" during physical confrontations. At one point during a sparring match, Turner made a point of showcasing this in front of the unit. Kreese had briefly lowered his guard after landing a solid punch on Turner. Turner reprimanded Kreese and warned him to not to lose concentration when he faced an opponent, and to leave no room for hesitation, second thoughts, and to show no mercy to their enemies.
The following day, the task force embarked on their long-awaited reconnaissance mission. They canvassed a compound belonging to the The People's Army of Vietnam. As Silver tried to get hold of air support, Kreese monitored the campsite with a pair of binoculars. He watched as his fellow comrade and friend Ponytail snuck to the edge of the compound to set explosives. Silver's radio erupted and Kreese was ordered by Turner to blow the compound to avoid being caught. Kreese hesitated as Ponytail was still inside and thought his friend could escape in time. Ponytail and the rest of the unit were spotted and taken capture by the Vietnamese enemies.
The unit was subjected to several forms of torture and punishment, including being locked inside a bamboo cage. The captors made an example of Ponytail by executing him, a casualty that horrified Kreese. Turner blamed Kreese for Ponytail's death and their capture. The unit was then made to fight one another on a platform suspended over a pit full of venomous snakes, all for the amusement of the Vietnamese soldiers. Kreese tried to look to their commanding officer for leadership, who simply remarked on the unlikelihood of their survival and told him that there were no ranks anymore, with there being every man for himself. When one of his fellow soldiers threw another into the pit, Kreese became uncomfortable. When Silver began to panic, it fell to Kreese to be the one to talk him down. Silver was picked to fight Turner, and Silver refused due to his panicked state. Kreese volunteered to take his place which the captors allowed.
As they approached the pit, Turner, who had still not forgiven Kreese for their capture, voiced his certainty that he was going to win. Turner claimed that unlike Kreese, he had as he, something to fight for. Kreese objected to the insinuation, only for Turner to inform him that Betsy had died. A letter had arrived to their camp before their deployment informing Kreese that Betsy had been in a fatal car accident. Overcome with grief, Kreese initially fell to his knees but forced up by the captors and onto the platform. Captain Turner overpowered Kreese, having him on the ground and at his mercy. He mocked Kreese once more for his perceived weakness as this was a matter of kill or be killed. Despite on the verge of being thrown into the pit, Kreese was able to stab Turner in the leg with a broken piece of bamboo, and then gained the upper hand and defeated his Captain. Turner hung from the platform, just as the American military support arrived at the camp to save the unit. Turner told Kreese the fight was over and to pull him up, but Kreese coldly replied that he hadn't taken Turner's lessons to heart, but that he would never make that mistake again. Kreese resolved to show Turner "no mercy" by sending Turner to his death in the cobra pit. He freed the rest of the soldiers, with Silver being the only one to stop and acknowledge him for it; embracing him like a brother and vowing to always be there for Kreese for the rest of their lives.
1970-1972
With the mission completed and his military superiors unaware of the full details regarding Turner's death, Kreese received recognition for his contribution to the war. The surviving members of their unit earned berets as well as battlefield commissions as officers in the US Army. Kreese proceeded to serve in a Green Beret unit of the United States Army Special Force for the rest of the war, attaining the rank of Captain himself. Kreese and Silver continued to serve together, with Kreese saving Silver's life several times between 1969 and 1975.
They continued their rigorous workouts and sparring matches throughout the remainder of the war, along with others in their infantry company.
Karate Beginnings[]
Kreese became the U.S. Army's Karate champion; a title he held from 1970 to 1972. He eventually retired from the military and returned to the valley hardened and embittered by the numerous bereavements he suffered in the war, but not least of all, the loss of his beloved Betsy. He vowed to never lose again, and his mind and heart stayed on the battlefield while the rest of him returned home. After returning back to the valley, Kreese and Silver were met by hippies who berated them and called them killers for fighting in the war. The two decided they need to teach people to learn respect and decided to do it by instilling strength and discipline through karate. With the help of Silvers wealth, Kreese opened a karate dojo upon returning to The Valley in 1975, whose name and symbol was inspired by his victory over the snake pit - Cobra Kai Dojo. Terry Silver however was not able to partake in the day-to-day operations of the dojo, as his father insisted Silver to take over the family business, but continued to assist Kreese financially in operating the dojo and would one day help Kreese in teaching to. For the next decade, Kreese trained young men in "the way of the fist", and instilled in them the creed that Turner had once taught him. He donned a motto for this creed, "Strike First, Strike Hard, No Mercy".
By 1979, Cobra Kai had a respectable number of students. In 1980, he and Silver traveled to Korea to train under Kim Sun-Yung. Silver bought Cobra Kai for John, who insisted on still paying him rent. He didn't want to compete in the world karate tournament yet, as he wanted to focus on his students. Particularly, a new student who was Kreese called his star student. The boy, a twelve-year-old Johnny Lawrence, had discovered and joined the dojo. One day after a session where Johnny had just been awarded his blue belt, Kreese found Johnny crying over the difficulty of his home life and the strained relationship he had with his stepfather. Kreese was completely unsympathetic, telling Johnny that the moment he cried, that he would become a loser and that he did not teach losers. He then forced Johnny to renounce his previous ways, forcing Johnny to shout several times that he was a winner. This would serve to have Johnny shed any semblance of the timid, meek kid he had been into what he would eventually become, an arrogant bully.
Cobra Kai competed in the 1981 All Valley Karate Tournament, though Johnny lost in the quarterfinals to the eventual champion Darryl Vidal. Johnny fought hard against Darryl, so Kreese gave Johnny the inspiration to never lose again. Kreese was proven right when Johnny won the tournament on behalf of Cobra Kai Dojo in 1982 and 1983. The dojo had also won the tournament two times prior to Johnny's first victory, giving Cobra Kai a total of four titles under Kreese's leadership.
Film series[]
The Karate Kid[]
In 1984, Kreese is first seen teaching his students, which includes Johnny Lawrence and the latter's gang at Cobra Kai when Daniel LaRusso walks in the dojo. The morning after Mr. Miyagi beats up Johnny and his gang for harassing Daniel, Miyagi and Daniel walk into Cobra Kai, where Kreese is instructing his students to be merciless to their opponents. When Kreese notices Johnny staring somewhere else, he asks Johnny what his problem is, to which Johnny points to Daniel and Miyagi. Kreese and Johnny go to Miyagi and Kreese tells Miyagi he heard about Miyagi jumping his students. Miyagi tries to make peace with Kreese and convince him to have his students leave Daniel alone, but Kreese isn't having it and wants to settle this. Miyagi decides to settle this by having Daniel compete against the Cobra Kai in the All Valley Karate Tournament, which Kreese gladly accepts. Miyagi then requests Kreese to tell his students to leave Daniel alone until the tournament, which Kreese obliges to. Kreese then threatens to hurt Miyagi and Daniel if they do not show up for the tournament.
Kreese and his students are present at the All valley tournament. Prior to the start of the semifinals, Kreese shows how cruel and unethical he is by instructing his second best student Bobby Brown to put Daniel out of commission, even though Bobby insisted he could beat him. When Johnny is down 0–2 against Daniel in the finals, Kreese once again, shows how unethical he is by instructing Johnny to sweep Daniel's leg, shocking Johnny. Kreese then tells him to show no mercy. Johnny reluctantly follows through with Kreese's instructions out of fear, but ultimately loses to Daniel.
The Karate Kid Part II[]
Following Johnny's loss to Daniel in the All Valley Karate Tournament, Kreese violently shows up when he looks upon Miyagi and Daniel before he proceeds to Johnny and his gang. Kreese berates Johnny for losing and tells him he's off the team. Johnny argues with Kreese and says he did his best and calls him a loser, causing Kreese to break his second-place trophy. Johnny yelled that Kreese is sick, and Kreese attempted to strangle him by putting Johnny in a chokehold. When Bobby and Tommy attempted to stop him, Kreese hit them both. Miyagi intervened and instructed Kreese to let Johnny go, Tommy agree's with him and demands that he lets Johnny go but Kreese smacks him to the ground, Kreese then threatened Miyagi and called him a racial slur. An angry Miyagi pulled Kreese off Johnny. Kreese attacked Miyagi who dodged the strikes. Kreese punched two car windows and damaged his hands. Miyagi was ready to deliver a blow to Kreese and also says one of his of no mercy, only for him to tweak his nose and lets him go leaving Kreese humiliated. Kreese's students, now finally seeing who their sensei really is, abandoned the lot and the dojo.
The Karate Kid Part III[]
8 months after the 1984 All Valley Tournament and the aftermath of the tournament, Kreese has become depressed and broke, as his actions in the aftermath led to all his students leaving the Cobra Kai Dojo and nobody enrolling in Cobra Kai since. A defeated Kreese visited his war buddy Terry Silver, who had originally given him the money to start Cobra Kai dojo. Kreese came to tell Silver goodbye and decided to give Silver the dojo keys back. After hearing Kreese's story, Silver decided to help Kreese. He conducted a plan to hire Mike Barnes to defeat harass Daniel and ultimately defeat him in the upcoming All Valley Tournament. Kreese retreated to Tahiti where Silver had arranged for Kreese to hide and recover. Silver lied to Miyagi and Daniel about Kreese dying after losing his students and his dojo, as part of his plan. Silver recruited Daniel to train with him at Cobra Kai.
Daniel visited the dojo one day, with a plan to tell Silver he wouldn't compete in the All Valley Karate Tournament. After the revelation, Silver revealed his betrayal and true motives by having Barnes and Kreese showing up, with the latter revealing to be alive, much to the shock of Daniel. Barnes attacked Daniel until Miyagi appeared, having followed Daniel. Kreese, Barnes, and Silver attacked Miyagi. Miyagi incapacitated the trio and escaped with Daniel.
At the All Valley Tournament, everything seems to be going as planned, as Kreese, Barnes, and Silver win multiple matches. Prior to the finals, Silver and Kreese order Barnes to win a point and then lose it by committing an illegal move to prolong the fight and cause Daniel the utmost pain, before winning in the sudden death. However, in the sudden death round, Barnes loses when Daniel uses the Kata move against him. Daniel is named the champion for the second straight year, and Silver left the arena disgusted and humiliated. As the crowd cheered for Daniel, Kreese became enraged and threw a shirt at them. He almost assaulted the audience or their cheering but was restrained. Barnes, Silver, and Kreese had made a deal to own multiple branches of Cobra Kai Dojos, a franchise that was called off and never came to be after Barnes lost to Daniel.
Interim Years[]
- "Things got rough after I lost the dojo. I tried reenlisting but they wouldn't take me."
- ―Kreese to Johnny[src]
In the aftermath of the 1985 All Valley Karate Tournament, the executive committee would place a lifetime ban on the Cobra Kai dojo for the unethical actions of John Kreese, Terry Silver, and Mike Barnes. After losing Cobra Kai a second time, Kreese lost the dojo and without the dojo which was his main source of income he became broke again. Kreese attempted to re-enlist in the army since that is only thing left he can do best, only to be turned down as they wanted younger recruits. It was also implied that the Army did not want him back as it had been determined that he had psychological issues. He was offered a job by "an old friend" but turned it down as he felt it was a handout. Kreese began working odd jobs to support himself as he did not have any other way to make income. At some point, Kreese fell into a very bad financial state and due to his old age, and since he did not have any money to retire or live in a retirement home, or had any other living relatives, he began living in homeless shelters.
Cobra Kai[]
Season 1[]
33 years after the 1984 All Valley tournament and 32 years after the 1985 All Valley tournament, Johnny Lawrence decides to reopen the Cobra Kai Dojo, unknowingly restarting a decades old feud with Daniel LaRusso. Daniel is confused as to why Johnny would reopen Cobra Kai after everything Kreese did. Johnny insists that he doesn't plan to teach like Kreese did. Regardless, the lessons from Kreese still work even if the methods don't. Johnny later learns that Cobra Kai was permanently disqualified from the All Valley tournament following repeated rule breaking from Kreese, Silver, and Barnes in 1985. When the board asked Johnny his relationship with Kreese, he relays his belief that Kreese had died.
- "Congratulations, you did what I always thought you could do, you won. Cobra Kai is back where it belongs. Back on top. Everyone closed the book on us. They thought we were done. But now they see, that the real story has only just begun."
- ―Kreese to Johnny[src]
Kreese later learns that Johnny went on to lead Cobra Kai dojo to victory in the 2018 All Valley Karate Tournament, as his prize student took the championship, but did so in unethical ways, which disheartened Johnny. As he closed Cobra Kai for the night, Johnny heard commotion in the dojo and thought that it was Miguel. A voice from the darkness congratulated Johnny for bringing Cobra Kai back and reclaiming their championship title after everyone closed the book on them. The man emerged from the darkness to show himself as John Kreese who was still alive.
Season 2[]
- "I founded Cobra Kai. It belongs to me. It always has... and it always will."
- ―Kreese to Johnny[src]
Johnny, like Daniel in The Karate Kid Part III, is extremely shocked to learn that Kreese is still alive. Kreese congratulates him for training his student to be a champion. Kreese then tries to shake Johnny's hand but he slaps it away and then proceeds to attack Kreese, but is kicked to the ground by Kreese who then laughs and reminds him that he taught him all his moves. Johnny tells him "not everything" and kicks Kreese's face, knocking the cigarette out of his mouth, making Kreese impressed. Johnny attacks Kreese again and while managing to hit him, Kreese gains the upper had again and kicks him into the glass window. Kreese then tells Johnny he does not want to fight, but to talk. Johnny reminds him of what he had done to him, such as teaching him to fight dirty, breaking his second place trophy and trying to kill him, due to having received second place. Kreese states that he did not try to kill him, but this enrages Johnny who tackles him to the ground and successfully puts him in a choke-hold, the latter being similar to what Kreese did to him when Johnny lost to Daniel in the 1984 tournament. However, after realizing that he is doing the same thing Kreese did to him, Johnny shows mercy and lets him go, only for Kreese to exploit his weakness by kicking his foot, causing Johnny to fall down. He also shows he could care less for political correctness.
Kreese reunites with Johnny
The following morning Kreese and Johnny meet at a diner per Kreese's request, where Kreese lies and says that he went back to his old profession as a marine and military instructor in the US army to make a living as he needed to keep fighting to stay alive, and that he participated in Operation: Desert Storm and trained Navy Seals in Afghanistan. He continued his story to say that after retiring from the military, he becomes disillusioned with the current generation as he sees them as a bunch of feeble show-offs and ass kissers. This makes him attempt to join Johnny's Cobra Kai dojo by persuading Johnny to join his cause, only for Johnny to furiously push him away. Kreese then comes back to the dojo and apologizes to Johnny for what he had done and how it upset him for seeing Johnny losing. He also showed he fixed Johnny's second-place trophy from the All Valley tournament in 1984. Johnny then decides to give him a chance and lets Kreese come to one of his classes to observe it. The next day Johnny introduces Kreese to the class. However the class goofs of a bit and Kreese gives Johnny a disappointed look. Johnny decides to show Kreese that he is tough and he orders everyone to come to a location. The next day all the students are are a construction site working with cement and Kreese tells him that this is not going to work but Johnny that he already has a plan and then a cement truck pulls up. Johnny then orders them to get in but the students refuse to until Kreese shut them up and gives them a lecture and makes them obey Johnny. The students follow through and they all work together to push the Mortar Mixer making both Kreese and Johnny happy.
Later, Kreese is telling stories about his time back in the army and Miguel gets confused and tells Kreese that some parts of his stories were wrong. He then tells Johnny that some parts of Kreese's story doesn't make sense as Kreese cannot distinguish the fact Mogadishu is part of Somalia and Rwanda is a country, not a city. Johnny gets suspicious and trails Kreese to find that he's actually been living in homeless shelters over the past 10 or so years and had worked various multiple jobs. Kreese revealed that while he did attempt to re-enlist, the military didn't accept him as he may have failed a psych evaluation and alluded to having PTSD. One of his old Vietnam friends offered him a job, but he felt that it was just a hand-out. Now seeing the man's humanity and vulnerability, Johnny puts his full trust in Kreese.
Now a sensei at Johnny's Cobra Kai, Kreese takes advantage of his position to begin teaching Johnny's students to be more aggressive and to show no restraint in fights. When Johnny leaves the dojo to deal with a dying friend's final days, Kreese secretly makes arrangements with Armand Zarkarian, the owner of the strip mall that Cobra Kai is in to obtain ownership of the dojo. He claims to get on top of invoices and other business issues that Johnny had neglected as well. He also begins conditioning Johnny's students to be more aggressive in fights in a brutal tracking and hunting game much like how he originally trained the members of Special Forces during his service in Vietnam. Under his orders, Eli and two other students vandalize and thrash the Miyagi Do Karate Dojo. After Johnny returns and finds out what Kreese has been teaching his students, he kicks Kreese out of the dojo and gives his students a speech on when to show mercy.
However, after Miguel is severely injured by Robby Keene after showing mercy to him in a fight, a handful of Johnny's students which include Eli, Tory, Raymond and Mitch leave him and go to Kreese, who has now become the full owner of the dojo. When Johnny goes to confront Kreese, his students block him, loyal only to Kreese now. Upon seeing what his dojo has turned into and realizing his grave mistake for trusting Kreese and bringing Cobra Kai back in the first place, Johnny tells Kreese if he wants Cobra Kai, he can have it. Johnny then storms out in anger & Kreese has now become the dojo's sole sensei, he tells his students to turn around and keep continuing to fight while watching Johnny walk of.
Season 3[]
- "We won't just dominate the tournament. We'll melt this whole snowflake generation. This is really your last chance Johnny, are you in or are you out?"
- ―Kreese to Johnny[src]
Kreese later finds Daniel, who was looking for Johnny, in Cobra Kai dojo. During their meeting, Kreese taunts Daniel by telling him how much he failed, making fun of Mr. Miyagi and claiming their fight is "inevitable". Kreese also tells Daniel that he and Johnny will finish the rivalry and fight against him together.
Kreese's cruelty and ruthlessness reaches extreme levels. He continues to encourage his students to be ruthless and merciless to their enemies. His first action is to identify and kick out several students who he doesn't believe are Cobra Kai material, most notably Bert for being unwilling to feed a mouse to the snake and seeing Bert's love of pets and animals as weakness. He then starts recruiting local bullies like Kyler and well as athletes known for bad attitudes. He then sets his new untrained students against established members of Cobra Kai kicking out those who lose. He later puts a snake in LaRusso Auto Group due to Daniel and his wife Amanda trying to get him evicted.
At several points, there are flashbacks of his time in the army and in Vietnam, where he was shown meeting Terry Silver, training, fighting, and being exposed and eventually corrupted to the ruthless and no mercy mentality that he would not let go of. He experienced several traumatic events, such as being captured in Vietnam, watching Ponytail be executed by the Vietnamese, watching two of his fellow soldiers fight to death under the Vietnamese's order, and learning that his girlfriend Betsy died, with the latter likely upsetting and infuriating him the most. After being captured by the Vietnamese, his group was forced to fight one on one to death. It was during his one on one match with his captain when Kreese finally accepted the no mercy mentality, and committed his first ruthless act by killing his captain, despite the American Forces arriving to rescue them.
One day, Kreese meets Johnny in a bar, Johnny gives Kreese three minutes to talk. Kreese tells Johnny he had to kick Johnny out because he was being soft, and then says it's time for him to come back to the dojo. Johnny however, refuses because he can't trust him. He attempts to get him back again after learning about Johnny's new dojo, but once again, he refuses. Kreese tells Johnny that he will regret that decision before walking away.
Kreese meets Robby at juvie
Some time after his conversation with Johnny, Kreese visits Johnny's son Robby in juvie. He first talks to Robby about when he found out when Johnny was tough and a winner, but Robby tells him that he doesn't care. Kreese then says he doesn't deserve to be here, and even reminds him that he tried to break up the fight, but Miguel attacked him. Robby, however tells him that he is wasting his time, and that he doesn't want another sensei. Kreese decides to leave, but not before telling Robby that he should act more ruthless and strike first. Robby follows his advise by attacking his juvie goons that have been harassing him shortly after his conversation with Kreese.
When Robby is released from juvie he visits Cobra Kai and begins his training with Kreese, who also lets Robby live in the dojo as he's been outcast from his father and Daniel. Kreese installs his ruthless mentality into the impressionable boy. On one night, Kreese orders Tory, Eli and some of his students attack the Miyagi Do and Eagle Fang Karate students who had just formed a truce at the LaRusso household. Unbeknownst to him however, Eli would realize that his teachings are wrong, leading to him defecting and siding with Miyagi Do in the fight.
After learning about the fight, Johnny goes to Cobra Kai to confront Kreese, but is shocked to see Robby training with him. Kreese gives him one last point to join him, with Robby telling Johnny to listen to him. Upon hearing Robby's request, Johnny becomes enraged and attacks Kreese. Kreese fights back, but is bested by Johnny. Robby watches on helplessly. Then eventually, Robby defends Kreese and attacks Johnny, but Johnny doesn't want to fight his own son and Robby continually attacks Johnny and even attempts to sweep his own father's leg but misses. Johnny then ends up unintentionally making him unconscious.
While tending to Robby, Kreese tries to murder Johnny by choking him from behind. He is stopped by Daniel who is angry for sending his students to his house and attacking his daughter and tells Kreese that he wanted a fight so now he has one. Kreese grabs Daniel and throws him through the glass pane on the front door. Grabbing a glass shard, Kreese attempts to murder Daniel by stabbing him. He warns him that it's time for Miyagi and Daniel to reunite, though Daniel temporarily disables him by using pressure point techniques he learned from an old friend. Daniel is about deliver the final blow with consent from Johnny, but ultimately spares Kreese after Sam and Miguel arrive. Robby, who awakens, stands next to Kreese and shows his loyalty to him. Kreese agrees to cease hostilities until the upcoming tournament, and promises to leave if Cobra Kai loses. Kreese retreats into the dojo where Robby ultimately follows.
The morning after the fight, Kreese remembers Terry promising him that he owes him for the rest of his life, after saving Terry and the other prisoners in Vietnam. Back in the present, Kreese makes a phone call to an old pal.
Season 4[]
Kreese seeks to make an alliance of his own by convincing his former war buddy, and the original Cobra Kai dojo owner Terry Silver, to return to the valley and help him be victorious at the 2019 All Valley Karate Tournament against Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence. Kreese calls Silver but he hangs as he did not know who that was. He then decides to go meet Silver in person. When he arrives at Silvers house, Silver is shocked and angry to see him and demands to know why he is here. Kreese tries to tell him why he is here but finds out there is a party going on and Silvers girlfriend invites him to join. There he learns that Silver is not the same man he was in the 1980s, the last time they saw one another. He's found therapy, a good woman, and a stable mindset. He refers to their antics in the 1980s against Daniel to be insane. Kreese reminds him of their time in Vietnam together, hoping that the reminiscing will make Silver remember why they started the dojo. Silver still refuses, with Kreese returning to his dojo in an attempt to prepare his students the best he can for the upcoming tournament. He convinces Robby Keene to stay at Cobra Kai by giving him an outlet for his anger and hatred.
Kreese learns of Tory's struggles now that she's lost her job. He later goes to a supermarket and runs into Amanda LaRusso where he confronts her over the incident where she had gone to Tory's work to ensure that the latter left Sam alone, which also caused Tory to get fired. He reveals the truth of Tory's home situation to Amanda, then threatens what would happen if he reported their close proximity to the authorities. He agrees to let things settle themselves on the mat, as he does admire her protective nature when it comes to Sam.
During a training session, he notices a boy named Kenny Payne visit the dojo. He tells Kreese that he's looking for Robby Keene at his brother's request. When the two are talking, Kreese reminds him that he's interrupting his class but Robby talks about his brother and his experiences with him when he was in juvenile hall. Wanting to see his worth, Kreese has Kenny spar with Kyler Park but ends up backing down. After class, Terry Silver visits Kreese to talk about how he's living a happy life but his past Vietnam experiences came back to him because of Kreese. He adds that this battle isn't his and there are other senseis he can talk to. Despite his pleas, Terry still refuses to come back. Kenny comes back for a rematch and he punches Kyler when he's distracted. Kreese tells him that the punch didn't count but after getting approval from Robby, he gives him a spot in the dojo.
Before class, Kreese explains Daniel and Johnny's alliance and how they are planning to defeat Cobra Kai. In order to help them with their training, Kreese introduces them to Terry Silver and tells the students how they founded Cobra Kai. Kreese and Silver remind the class that the training will be more intense because of the upcoming All-Valley Tournament. He and Silver then come to Miyagi-Do to visit Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence where Daniel has flashbacks from his experiences with Terry Silver and Kreese from 1985.
Kreese and Silver return to Cobra Kai where Silver tells them that there will be no fighting until the tournament. After another class session, Kreese seems concerned with how Silver has been running the dojo. The two have dinner where Kreese tells him how happy he is that Silver rejoined him but his students are confused about his methods. Kreese adds that Cobra Kai never backs down from fighting regardless of having a tournament. Silver counters with Kreese about Robby Keene. He tells them that Robby's father is his former student Johnny Lawrence and explains how he added him and his students to his drama. Silver adds that he's wanted his second chance in gaining victory in which Kreese agrees. Kreese and Silver learn about the new updates for the All-Valley Tournament and Kreese notices the new gear for the dojo. He agrees with Silver that they should have the Cobra Kai logo on the backs of both the boys champion and the girls champion.
During a training session, the two teach the Cobra Kai students about weakness. Kreese explains that their enemy's weakness must be exploited. Before the students begin sparring, Kreese and Silver split the students and whoever wins will earn a 6-pack of beer. Back at the dojo, Kreese and Silver order Robby and Kenny to spar. Kenny wins his match and as a result, Silver wins the whole sparring match and tells Kreese that he owes him beer. After training, he sticks to his promise and brings a 6-pack of 333 beer. However, Kreese is upset with Silver when he recaps the lesson about weakness and how Silver was talking about how he has a weakness. Silver explains it was a lesson for the class but Kreese tells him he's afraid to explain his weakness. He brings up the time they were imprisoned in Vietnam and that he was the one who freed him and the soldiers. He also told Silver about his personal cage and that how he's been there for him for a long time. Kreese ends the conversation telling Silver that he needs to get back on track and takes a bottle of beer.
Kreese and Silver start a new lesson on their own version of balance. He explains to the students that they need to manipulate their enemies and throw them off. Stingray comes back to the dojo but Kreese insults him in front of the whole class and explains he'll never be Cobra Kai. He then orders him to leave the dojo. Silver takes Kreese to the old Cobra Kai dojo where he talks about relocating there after they win the All-Valley. Later, Kreese witnesses Silver beat up Johnny Lawrence. Kreese is shocked and horrified about how Silver lured him. He tells Silver to focus on the tournament and reminds him about not fighting.
On the day of the All-Valley, Kreese tells his students that their training got them ready and they will earn glory after they win. He also explains that he's had students waste their moments and not get distracted with their emotions or they will repeat history. During Robby and Kenny's match, Kenny scores the first point but Kreese tells Robby to fight like a champion. He takes his word and wins the match. Before the finals, Kreese talks to his former student Johnny about Miguel but Johnny didn't want him to care. He also explains how he did not know Silver was going to beat him up at the old dojo but Johnny didn't want to talk about it. Kreese adds that he and Robby should've teamed up with him. Johnny rebuttals saying he never cared about Robby more than Johnny, but Kreese states that he cared about Johnny more than anyone. Johnny counters with Kreese about how he taught him to fight dirty and how he needed to sacrifice himself but Kreese reminded him that losing would affect him. He adds by saying Robby can be the one to bring Cobra Kai glory but Johnny ends the conversation saying Cobra Kai will die.
During the finals for the girls division, Silver encourages Tory to fight dirty after she accidentally hits Sam in the eye, but Tory says to him that she doesn't need to cheat to win. After hearing what Tory said, Kreese now realizes that this is exactly what he put Johnny through. He has a change of heart and tells Silver to let her do what she wants. Kreese advises Tory to fight how she feels is right. In the end, Tory wins the tournament for Cobra Kai, which wins Cobra Kai the bet, but Kreese is unaware that Silver had bribed the referee to help Cobra Kai win, which reveals that Sam would have won if Silver did not bribe the referee. During the trophy presentation, Kreese is given the grand trophy by one of the referees and bows to him in respect while Silver gave a speech about his intention to open up Cobra Kai dojos throughout the valley.
After the tournament, Silver and Kreese are celebrating their victory back at Silver's home. Kreese confesses that he only told Tory to fight the way she wanted at that moment after she accidentally hit Sam in the eye. Silver tells him that Johnny is his weakness, and then accuses him of lying about them teaming up for the glory days. Kreese denies Silver's accusation, but Silver does not believe him, and states that he fell for it because Kreese is his weakness. Kreese argues that he has been Silver's strength since Vietnam, but Silver gets annoyed at Kreese for constantly bringing up Vietnam to guilt him. The cops then arrive, which causes a shocked Kreese to ask Silver what he did. Unbeknownst to Kreese, Silver had assaulted Stingray to the point where Stingray required medical aid. Silver would allow Stingray to enroll in Cobra Kai if he falsely accused Kreese of being the assailant. Silver reveals to Kreese that he is shedding his weakness. Kreese is betrayed by his former best friend, who has the cops arrest him for allegedly assaulting Stingray, charging Kreese for aggravated assault and attempted murder. Despite not assaulting Stingray, unbeknownst to Silver, the charges are accurate as Kreese aggressively assaulted and almost murdered Johnny and Daniel six months prior to the tournament. When the police arrive and tell Kreese that he is under arrest Silver puts on a act, pretending to be shocked. Before Kreese is handcuffed, he tries to break free by elbowing one of the police officers in the face which likely added an additional charge of assault on a law enforcement official, obstruction of justice, or resisting arrest. As he is taken away, Silver reveals that he'll enlist an old friend to help him out and that he'll also take care of Johnny Lawrence as well. Kreese then swears revenge on his former friend, telling Silver "You're gonna regret this! I am Cobra Kai!" before the officers throw him in a police car and Kreese is seen in the police car and is very upset of what happened. With Kreese now arrested, Silver usurps the dojo.
Season 5[]
Kreese is found guilty of aggravated battery with serious bodily Injury and is sentenced to 2 years in prison. Because his lawyer was a public defender, Kreese blamed him as well as Stingray for his conviction. Kreese quickly concocts a plan to con his way out of jail. He starts by smooth-talking his psychiatrist, making it seem as though he's cooperative and reformed. He simultaneously works with Tory, under the rouse of being grandfather and granddaughter to trick the guards. She is behind enemy lines at Cobra Kai, now being heralded as Silver's top student. She delivers a message to Daniel - a newspaper clipping from Kreese's sentencing with the word "LIAR" written across Stingray, and his new address written underneath the picture. Daniel finds out that the house is bought and paid for by Silver, who has given Stingray an assortment of consolation prizes for playing his part perfectly. Meanwhile, Kreese's attempts to sway his psychiatrist fails, as she sees through his act. She doesn't recommend that the parole board considers his proposal for an early release. Now trapped in his cage longer than he thought, he stops complying with the younger prisoners demands for Jell-O. He stands up to them and partakes in a prison fight, defeating his enemies by himself with ease, as though he were a young man again. He gains respect and fear from the inmates including Gabriel, who call him "sensei" out of both fear and respect. After Silver badly injures Daniel for finding Stingray's new house, Kreese cautions Tory to be patient and keep pressing on with their plans. He doesn't care that Daniel is hurt, even viewing it as a small victory.
A surprise visit from a physically healed Daniel and angry Johnny provides Kreese with an opportunity to leverage his knowledge about Silver's plan in exchange Daniel's help in securing legitimate legal counsel. While Daniel makes the arrangements, Kreese tries to manipulate Johnny by pushing his idea that everything he's ever done has been for Johnny but Johnny isn't interested in his bullshit. He wants to defeat Silver and erase every aspect of Kreese from his life, the valley, and the karate world for good. He wants nothing more from his old sensei and believes he should be in jail, even if the charges don't fit the crimes. Daniel returns and Kreese explains how he and Silver trained under Kim Sun-Yung in 1980 in Korea.
They had a plan to further their knowledge, with Kreese even showing kindness to Kim's granddaughter by taking the blame for a vase she breaks. After training, Silver tells Kreese he's decided to buy the man Cobra Kai Dojo because he deserves it. He shares his plan to enter in the world karate tournament, the Sekai Taikai, which will take the teachings of Cobra Kai globally. At the time, Kreese declined the offer as he wanted to focus on his students, including a new student that he thinks could be something special - they even have the same name. With his story over and the men aware of Silver's grand plan to enter Cobra Kai in the global tournament, Kreese asks Daniel to uphold his end of the bargain. Daniel slides him a piece of paper that is supposed to have the lawyers number on it. Instead, the words, "NO MERCY MOTHERFUCKER!" are scrawled across the paper. Kreese snickers that they don't have a chance to defeat Silver without him, but Daniel and Johnny plan to do just that. They hope he rots in his jail cell.
Johnny's desire to erase Kreese echoes in the inmates mind, and he finds it difficult to move past that idea. He has a breakthrough of sorts in therapy, admitting that he never had children but wanted to show Cobra Kai to all the kids in the valley so they could learn to be strong. He treated Johnny like his own son. He meets with Tory again, and the girl tells him that Silver's plan is escalating as she's meant to compete against Sam LaRusso tomorrow in front of the Sekai Taikai board to determine which dojo will compete in the tournament. She doesn't know what to do now - if she wins Cobra Kai is closer to their goal, but if she loses, she'll miss out on opportunities that could further her future. Kreese tells her to do whatever she needs too, confusing her as she thought their focus was to destroy Silver. He lies that it was never the plan and reveals that he only wanted her in Cobra Kai as a means of fulfilling his revenge against Silver. She storms out of the visitation room and never returns. Kreese has a final session with his therapist where he bears his soul, crying over Johnny and how he had lost him for good. He knows the end is coming and that he'll spend his final days trapped in this cage. She thinks he can make a new life for himself if he chooses, by fighting with his heart and soul instead of his fists. She comforts him as he cries.
He takes her advice and stops Gabriel from starting a fight with another inmate in the lunch line. Gabriel is tired of his crap and stabs Kreese several times in the chest. The man falls to the ground, bleeding, as the guards rush over to his still body. They wheel him into the infirmary so the doctor can call time of death. The doctor doesn't find a pulse, but sees something odd in the stab wound. He examines and finds a chunk, tasting it to confirm his theory - it's red Jell-O. Kreese lurches up in the bed and incapacitates the guards quickly, beating them up and knocking them out with ease. The doctor begs for Kreese not to do this, and Kreese sneers, asking if he's requesting mercy. He disguises himself as the doctor and walks to the door. In a flashback to his most recent meeting with his psychiatrist, he swiped her key card when she was consoling him, which means that his crying over Johnny and being stabbed were all manipulations and deceptions by Kreese to escape prison. He uses her key card to walk out the door as an escaped convict and fugitive from justice.
Season 6[]
John Kreese flees the United States and arrives in a forest in South Korea that he and Silver visited in 1980, discovering a group of karate students in training. He instructs them to tell Kim Da-Eun that Cobra Kai is back.
The students bring Kreese to Kim. She tells him that she was too focused on spreading her grandfather's legacy in America and he tells her that she can still keep the promise, that she has earned a spot in Sekai Taikai through Cobra Kai. She, however, tells him it is not up to her and brings him to her grandfather, Kijm Sun-Yung. He takes Kreese to task for focusing on prizes, saying that he is not focusing on those that stand in the way. After Kreese asks him if his granddaughter told him how one of his students disposed of five of his, he is impressed at the fight he has in him.
Kim sets Kreese a task: to retrieve an ancient family knife from a cave, but warns him he will find more than just the knife there. Inside the cave, Kreese finds and is bitten by a snake. Under the influence of the venom, he has visions of his younger self, Silver, and Johnny Lawrence and declares him to be his weakness and the enemy standing in his way. Waking up, he claims the knife, kills the snake and returns to Kim. "The prize," comments Kim, but Kreese tells him it's not about that, but eliminating that which stands in the way. Kim tells him that he understands and is ready, that nothing will ever stand in their way again.
Kim shows off her students to Kreese, telling him that their training is more intense than anything Kreese went through in America. She shows off Yoon Do-Jin, whom she calls one of her best students, but chastises another, Kwon Jae-Sung, for his insolence. Kreese later speaks with the students, telling them of how Daniel defeated Johnny because he had heart. He asks how they defeat an opponent who has more heart. Yoon answers that it is to have heart yourself, but Kwon answers to kill the heart with a strong kick to the ribs. Kreese tells him that he isn't taking him seriously and that he needs to show him how serious he is.
Kreese makes the students walk laps while carrying heavy bags and Kim asks if they should be wasting a day of training to punish Kwon, but Kreese replies that it is a lesson they will all learn. He, however, ends things when Yoon attacks Kwon. Kim complains about her top student being distracted, but he tells her a champion reveals himself through pain. Later, Kwon comes to Kreese, asking if he is trying to make the other students angry at him, if he thinks he's afraid of them. Kreese tells him he doesn't think he's afraid of anybody, that he's cocky and disrespectful, but could be a terrifying fighter if he combined it with his skills and strength, which Kwon does not understand. He then tells him take his anger and give it purpose, to prove to the others he is the best fighter in the class, and by this he must fight the others in order to prove himself. Kwon then defeats Yoon becoming the new top student. The next day, Kreese tells the class that the only way to defeat an opponent fighting with heart is by being heartless, that skill will only go so far. Kim tells Kreese that no dojo stands a chance against them with Kwon in line, but Kreese replies that there's still one more piece of the puzzle left.
Kreese returns to California and approaches Tory Nichols. Not recognizing him at first, she attacks in fear of a mugging or adoption, but he cuts her off. She asks if the police aren't looking for him and he tells her he's not that easy to catch. She complains about him having abandoned her, but he tells her he couldn't involve her in his plans. He tells her she will never belong in Miyagi-Do and that she is his champion. She tells him she may be a champion, but not his and walks away.
When Tory's mother, Grace dies, Tory goes to Miyagi-Do, intending to fight Samantha for the last spot in the Sekai Taikai, but the fight is called off when they receive the news of her mother's death. Upset at being denied the chance to fight and work through her emotions in this manner, Tory walks off in anger. In Barcelona, when the Korean Cobra Kai team enters, Kreese arrives standing next Kim Da-Eun. Tory then takes a spot on the other side of Kreese, shocking the Miyagi-Dos. "Let the games begin" declares a grinning Kreese.
During his time in Barcelona, he encounters his former student Johnny Lawrence and talk about how he'll remind him about Cobra Kai's mantra and Daniel once again de-escalates. He tries to talk to him again but ignores him. He and Kim escort Daniel LaRusso to meet Sensei Wolf but both of them are in shock when they discover that it was Terry Silver who ordered the kidnapping. In revenge for framing him, he fights Silver but is saved by Johnny. When Kwon accidentally stab himself with Kreese's knife, he is visibly shocked and upset despite Kreese's no mercy, no sympathy mentality.
Personality[]
- "A true cobra feels no sympathy for its meals."
- ―John Kreese to Eli Moskowitz[src]
John Kreese was raised by a single, yet mentally unstable, mother. His mother killed herself when John was a teenager, which subjected him to tormenting and bullying in his teen years. He was labelled a freak and an outcast. He hardened to the cruel and unfair circumstances of his life, but still kept hope for the future. He joined the military in search of a second chance; a chance to serve his country and do something honorable with the small life he had been given. He fell in love with a woman, was hopeful for the future, yet kept himself guarded during his time in Vietnam. Kreese was taught martial arts and a merciless mentality was drilled into him at every opportunity. Kreese's outlook on the world shifted when he and his unit were kidnapped in Vietnam and subjected to torture at the hands of their captors. They were forced to fight one another to the death, watch their comrades die, and then repeat the vicious cycle. Kreese had empathy for a frightened soldier named Terry Silver and took his place in the fight against Captain Turner. Turner exploited the vulnerable situation to tell Kreese of Betsy's death, news which devastated Kreese and nearly broke him. During the fight against Turner, Kreese had the upper-hand but also a chance to save Turner's life as American allies had arrived to rescue the captives. Kreese chose to kick Turner to his death, declaring that they show no mercy.
This was a tipping point for Kreese's emotional stability, as his later personality can only be described as cold, calculating, aggressive, and bad-tempered. He created a karate dojo which he poured his life into, but his deep-hatred for outsiders or people who he deemed weak would be his downfall. He instilled the same fear, merciless, and aggressive way of thinking into his students. He subjected them to arguably the worst forms of psychological, and sometimes physical, abuse until they did what he expected of them. He shaped young men into his image; aggressive, sexist, and hateful. Kreese has a deep hatred for his competitor and Japanese sensei Mr. Miyagi, who he called racial slurs and put down at every given chance. His hatred extended to Miyagi's student, Daniel LaRusso, who rivaled that of Kreese's star-student and protégé Johnny Lawrence. As their rivalry escalated, anger became bloodthirsty, and pride became obsession. He pressured Johnny into winning the All-Valley tournament, but when he failed, Kreese angrily kicked him off the team and when Johnny argued with him, Kreese attacked the teenager and tried to choke him to death, but was stopped by Miyagi, who once again, stopped Kreese from following through with what Kreese deemed an appropriate action. His obsession escalated as he recruited an old pal, to hatch a meticulous, vindictive, and cruel plan to crush Daniel's mentality and life. He used under-handed and cheap tricks in an attempt to win the tournament.
This plan also failed, leaving a prideful Kreese once again humiliated. He spiraled into a drunken, drug-addicted, homeless stupor. He began to experience PTSD from his time in the war, but was too proud to accept help when it was offered. Over three decades later, Kreese heard of the reopening of Cobra Kai and returned in search of the glory he had lost before. He enacted a rouse to get Johnny to trust him again, using subvert manipulations and deceptions to eventually steal the dojo back. As the sensei of Cobra Kai once again, he continues to corrupt his student’s minds and manipulate them to go to war with Miyagi-Do. He has shown multiple cruel and sadistic traits towards those he believes have betrayed him or that refuse to conform to his way of behaving. Kreese has no qualms breaking the law, manipulating people, and even attempting murder if it means salvaging his pride. He doesn't care if his opponent is weaker than him, so long as they can be beaten.
In order to help Cobra Kai win the All Valley, he convinces his old friend Terry Silver into helping him and Cobra Kai win the All Valley Tournament, despite the latter having put his past behind him for many years. However, when Silver's style is different from Cobra Kai's, such as not retaliating against Miyagi-Do after the latter pulled a prank on Cobra Kai, Kreese becomes concerned. In order to ensure that Silver is on his side, he tries to emotionally manipulate and blackmail him by reminding him how he saved him in Vietnam.
Despite still being aggressive, ruthless and manipulative, he does show his softer side and also signs of morality. Previously, he showed sympathy to Tory for her mom's sickness, likely because this reminded him of his own unstable mother, who committed suicide. When Tory vents about losing her job because of Amanda, he goes to Amanda and tells her about Tory's home life, in order to convince Amanda to leave her alone. When Silver lures Johnny into the old Cobra Kai Dojo and beats him up, a horrified Kreese (who was unaware of Silver's plan) tells him to let Johnny go. After Miguel's injury at the All Valley Tournament, he asks Johnny how Miguel is going and explains that he didn't know Silver was going to beat him up. When Johnny accuses him of not caring about him, Kreese claims he cared about him more than anyone, but also tries to manipulate him by saying he wanted him to win the All Valley in 1984 to stop him from going down a downward spiral (when in reality, he wanted Cobra Kai to win rather than Johnny himself).
After Tory accidentally hits Sam in the eye in the finals, Silver encourages her to fight that way, during which she replies that she doesn't need to cheat to win. Hearing her words, Kreese begins to realize this is exactly what he put Johnny through. After recalling what he did to Johnny, he encourages Tory to fight how she feels is right (although Kreese was most likely only doing this because of Johnny silently encouraging him not to do to Tory what he'd done to Johnny back then in 1984).
Eventually, despite helping Cobra Kai win the tournament, Kreese is betrayed by Silver, who has him arrested, as Silver feels used by Kreese, who in his mind, was really doing all this for Johnny and not them; similar to how Johnny bringing Kreese back in his life backfired on Johnny, Kreese bringing Silver back in his life backfired on Kreese. Additionally, when Kreese is arrested, he is still vicious in terms of his personality when he elbows a police officer who later handcuffs him.
Desiring to get out of prison early, he plays the good soldier by smooth talking to his psychiatrist and letting himself be bullied by his inmates. However, when his plan fails when his psychiatrist sees through his deception, he stops playing nice with his inmates that were bullying him, and subsequently gains their fear by beating them up. He does appear to make a breakthrough in therapy when he imagines Betsy and a young Johnny, the latter reminding him of the people he hurt. Kreese tells the imaginary Johnny he never intended to hurt anyone. Kreese is still able to pull the strings behind the scenes by having Tory remain in Cobra Kai as a spy. Kreese still desires to get revenge on Silver and having Tory play double agent and subtly reveal to Daniel that he did not assault Stingray were parts of his plans. When Daniel and Johnny visit Kreese in prison, he tells them Silver's plan in exchange for Daniel giving him a good lawyer, but is fooled by Daniel who tricks him into believing he would follow through. In what appears to be his last therapy session, Kreese admits to his therapist that he made mistakes. He then attempts to stop a fight between his inmates which leads to him being stabbed to his apparent death. However, his vulnerability and stabbing were later revealed to be part of his plan to escape prison; he stole his psychiatrist's key card when she was comforting him, and he used Jell-O to protect himself while being stabbed and fake his death. Through manipulation and deception, Kreese orchestrated his escape from prison.
After escaping prison and reuniting with Kim Da-Eun, he helps her train Kim-Sun Yung's students for the Sekai Taikai. He takes an interest in the rebellious student Kwon, whom he corrupts even more and makes him not only more ruthless, but additionally makes him emerge as the top student. He still sees Tory as a valuable asset and attempts to persuade her to re-join Cobra Kai. While she initially refuses his offer, she later re-joins following the death of her mother. Kreese is still shown to have a soft spot for his students, as he was shocked and saddened by the death of Kwon by the knife he had brought when he had tried to kill Axel with it.
Fighting Style[]
Before joining the military, John Kreese honed his fighting skills by standing up to bullies, notably incapacitating David and his friends after witnessing David's abuse of his girlfriend, Betsy, despite being outnumbered. Upon enlisting, Kreese's combat abilities significantly improved through training in Tang Soo Do, a Korean martial art akin to Taekwondo and Karate, under Captain George Turner, who had trained with master Kim Sun-Yung of Korea. This training equipped Kreese with a comprehensive arsenal of techniques, including various punches, strikes, stances, blocks, and powerful kicking techniques, particularly the roundhouse kick, in which he excelled.
Kreese's combat experience was further solidified during a brutal encounter in Vietnam, where he initially found himself overpowered by Turner while they were forced to fight for their lives against North Korean captors. However, he ultimately regained control of the situation by stabbing Turner with a bamboo stick, leading to his captain's defeat and death. Kreese's skill earned him the title of karate champion of the United States Army from 1970 to 1972, after which he continued to refine his abilities under Master Kim and alongside Terry Silver.
As a mentor, Kreese trained students like Johnny Lawrence, Bobby Brown, Jimmy, Dutch, and Tommy, instilling in them the principles of "no mercy." This approach has made him a symbol of ruthlessness, willing to employ any tactic—however underhanded—to win. Despite his all-around fighting proficiency, including solid defenses and effective counters, age has diminished some of his capabilities; his former student Johnny Lawrence, once easily dominated by Kreese, is now able to hold his own in combat.
Kreese's skills, while formidable, have not matched the level of Mr. Miyagi, who was an equal to Master Kim and bested Kreese on two occasions. Even in his seventies, Kreese has demonstrated his strength by subduing opponents, including defeating Tory's landlord and a group of inmates, as well as knocking out two police officers with minimal effort.
In his first confrontation with Johnny, Kreese showcased superior technique, maintaining the upper hand for most of the fight. He initially sought to persuade Johnny to talk rather than engage physically. However, when Johnny's anger surged, Kreese was ultimately overpowered. Despite this, Johnny showed mercy, allowing Kreese to exploit this newfound compassion by sweeping Johnny's leg and delivering an elbow strike to his stomach.
During a second encounter with Johnny, Kreese faced an enraged opponent who repeatedly got the better of him. However, when Johnny diverted his attention to Robby, Kreese seized the opportunity to gain the upper hand until Daniel intervened. It is possible that Kreese held back against Johnny throughout the fight; while Johnny and Daniel had recently reached a stalemate, Kreese quickly overwhelmed Daniel's defensive style in the same skirmish. He might have killed Daniel had he not been caught off-guard by Daniel's newly learned Miyagi pressure points, which allowed Daniel to incapacitate Kreese before he could stab him with a shard of glass.
During his time in prison, Kreese demonstrated his fighting prowess by easily taking out several inmates and incapacitating two officers with just three strikes.
Although Kreese has slowed down with age, he remains a significant threat to anyone who opposes him. He has expressed confidence in his ability to defeat Terry Silver, suggesting that he believes he could best Silver in a fight if necessary. This implies that Kreese and Silver are evenly matched, with Kreese regarding himself as having the upper hand. This notion is reinforced by a flashback to 1980, where Kreese claimed to have defeated Terry Silver in Korea, a time when Kreese believed Silver had grown powerful from his Cobra Kai training before receiving instruction from Kim Sun-Yung.
During the all out brawl at the Sekai Taikai, both he and Silver fight. The two are briefly evenly matched, but after the latter closes the curtains, he uses this opportunity to ambush Kreese, giving Silver the upper hand. However, Kreese is saved by Johnny, who has resorted to exploiting his animosity with Silver.
Appearances[]
Season 1[]
- Ace Degenerate (mentioned)
- All Valley (mentioned)
- Mercy
Season 2[]
Season 3[]
- Aftermath
- Nature vs Nurture
- Now You're Gonna Pay (credit only)
- The Right Path
- Miyagi-Do
- King Cobra
- Obstáculos
- The Good, The Bad, and The Badass
- Feel The Night
- December 19
Season 4[]
- Let's Begin
- First Learn Stand
- Then Learn Fly
- Bicephaly
- Match Point
- Kicks Get Chicks
- Minefields
- Party Time
- The Fall
- The Rise
Season 5[]
- Extreme Measures
- Ouroboros
- Bad Eggs
- Taikai
- Survivors (mentioned)
- Head of the Snake
Season 6[]
- Peacetime in the Valley
- The Prize
- Sleeper
- Best of the Best
- Benvinguts a Barcelona
- Dog in the Fight
- Snakes on a Plane
- Blood In Blood Out
- Eunjangdo
Relationships[]
Terry Silver[]
- "I owe you man, you saved my ass. Anything you need, I'm there for you, your whole life. You hear me Johnny? Your whole life. I owe you."
- ―Terry's promise to Kreese in Vietnam[src]
Terry and Kreese in Vietnam
Kreese and Terry met in Vietnam as they were in the same infantry division of the US Army. They were fast friends and comrades, with both men being recruited into a special task force unit by their Captain. While on a mission, Kreese couldn't detonate the bombs laid by a fellow soldier, due to the soldier not being in the clear, and the unit was kidnapped as a result. The unit underwent horrific torture as they watched their friends either be executed or fight to the death above a snake pit. Silver was selected to fight against their Captain, but the man was terrified of the possibility. Kreese volunteered in his place, saving Silver's life. Kreese beat their Captain just as American forces arrived to rescue the unit. Kreese freed the captured soldiers, with Terry thanking Kreese by making a promise to be there for him for his whole life, no matter what. Following their discharge from the military, they got matching cobra tattoos to celebrate their plan to open a karate dojo using the training they received in Vietnam. Silver was forced to back out of his senseiship, but remained the primary financial backer of the dojo. In 1985, Kreese needed to defeat the teenaged Daniel LaRusso in the All Valley Karate Tournament to restore his reputation and student-base. Silver concocted a revenge scheme, despite Kreese's insistence his friend didn't owe him anything. He felt he owed his life to Kreese many times over. Despite their elaborate plan, they failed and fell out of contact for over thirty years.
After Johnny and Daniel join forces, Kreese returns to Silver to convince him to assist him in winning the next All Valley Tournament. Initially, Terry doesn't want anything to do with Kreese's proposal because he had changed for the better, but Kreese becomes childish when he brings back past trauma. Later, things initially go well between them, though at times, Kreese brings up their time in Vietnam in order to manipulate and blackmail him into following his lead. Unfortunately, Silver gets angry at Kreese when the latter disapproves of him luring Johnny Lawrence to the old Cobra Kai Dojo when he tries to prove his loyalty to Kreese, which makes him believe Johnny is Kreese's weakness and Kreese is his weakness, as well as that Kreese had been using and manipulating him. No longer wanting to be used, Terry betrays Kreese by having him framed for beating Stingray. Unbeknownst to Silver, the charges against Kreese for aggravated assault and assault murder are quite valid as he aggressively assaulted and nearly killed Johnny and Daniel in December 2018.
Kreese and Silver meet again in Barcelona after Silver reveals himself to be working with Sensei Wolf and the Iron Dragons team. Kreese is immediately unhappy to see him, and even tries to murder him in their hotel, only to be restrained by Kim Da-Eun. When all dojos become involved in a brawl instigated by the Russian-based Tiger Strike dojo, Kreese pursues Silver with the eunjangdo dagger he had acquired in a test from Kim Sun-Yung, only to realize it had dropped off his gi during the brawl. A hand-to-hand fight breaks out between the two men but despite Kreese landing a few good blows, Silver relies on his sharp-wit to regain the upperhand. Before Silver could deliver another strike, Johnny comes to Kreese's defense and fights Silver until Kreese and Kim Da-Eun's student Kwon accidentally and fatally stabs himself with the eunjangdo, leaving everyone, including Silver, shell-shocked and Kreese guilt-ridden.
Johnny Lawrence[]
- "You were my best student. You had so much potential, I just couldn't stand seeing you lose."
- ―Kreese to Johnny[src]
Kreese is the closest thing Johnny had to an actual father. Johnny idolized Kreese and sought his approval. After joining Cobra Kai, Johnny quickly becomes Kreese's top student. The two developed a bond, caring for one another, and Kreese viewed Johnny as his best student because he was a useful weapon and tool. He instructs Johnny to be merciless. However, after ordering him to sweep Daniel's leg in the finals of the all valley tournament, Johnny expresses discomfort, while realizing Kreese has gone too far, but reluctantly proceeds. After Johnny loses, an angry Kreese berates him, calls him a loser, and proceeds to choke him. Johnny is saved by Mr. Miyagi. Now, realizing how horrible of a human being Kreese is, Johnny and his friends leave the dojo. Over the span of thirty years, Johnny believes Kreese had died until the man returns to the valley looking to become partners and co-senseis.
Initially, Johnny wants nothing to do with Kreese, due to his past actions. However, when Kreese fixes his second place trophy from the 1984 tournament and apologizes for his behavior, Johnny forgives him and allows him to co-teach at the dojo in his belief of giving others a chance to change. However, Kreese poisons Johnny's students into being more vicious, ruthless, and reverting Cobra Kai back to how it was in 1984. When Johnny finds out, he removes him from the dojo, thought Kreese reveals to Johnny that he made a business a deal with the landlord and has usurped the dojo. Realizing he made a mistake giving Kreese a second chance and re-opening Cobra Kai, Johnny angrily leaves the dojo, but not before telling Kreese that if he desperately wants Cobra Kai, then he can have it.
Kreese tells Johnny he took away Cobra Kai because he was going soft, and then tries to convince him to return, but Johnny angrily refused. Despite their strained relationship, Kreese still had some twisted attachment to Johnny and seemed to genuinely want him by his side at Cobra Kai, but is refused. After learning about the fight at Daniel's house, Johnny goes to Cobra Kai to confront Kreese, and is shocked to learn Robby is his student. Kreese gives him one more chance to join, but a furious Johnny refuses for a final time. The men fight with Kreese getting the upper-hand and preparing to kill Johnny. Daniel saves his life and the two fight Kreese together. The trio make a deal that the loser of the upcoming All Valley Karate Tournament will retire from senseiship forever.
Their first interaction after the deal is when Terry Silver lures Johnny to the 1984 dojo location for an ambush. Kreese stops Silver from hurting Johnny too much, but not out of any care for him, only to stick to his rule of no fighting until the tournament. At the tournament, Kreese insists he cared more about Johnny than anyone. The only reason he forced Johnny to fight dirty against Daniel was to ensure Johnny won for his own sake. When Terry tries to force Tory to hurt Sam, Kreese recalls his 1984 mistakes, and tells her to fight the way she wants instead. When imprisoned, Kreese repeatedly tries to get Johnny back on his side again by using his manipulative tactics such as saying that he cares about him and everything he did was for him, but Johnny sees through his deception and refuses.
During his time in Korea, Kreese is bitten by an albino viper and sees an hallucination of Johnny. Kreese decides to finally shed his weakness and breaks the neck of the Johnny hallucination, vowing to never show him mercy again. The two bicker as their respective dojos compete in the Sekai Taikai, which forces Daniel to de-escalate in order to keep up appearances in the eyes of the chiefs of the tournament. When the newly-returned Silver is ready to take down Kreese, Johnny defends his former sensei and former father figure, seeing Silver as a bigger threat than Kreese.
Mr. Miyagi[]
Mr. Miyagi was Kreese's biggest enemy, due to their conflicting morals and teaching tactics. Kreese's hatred for Mr. Miyagi continued after the latter's death, with Kreese holding a deep resentment for the man. They first met in The Karate Kid, when Mr. Miyagi attempts to convince Kreese to have his students leave Daniel alone, but a stubborn Kreese wants to settle things physically. This cultivates in them agreeing that Daniel will compete against them in the All Valley Tournament. Kreese underestimated Mr. Miyagi and was greatly amused by how confident he was when he stood up for Daniel, showing that he had some respect for him, even if it was very little.
In The Karate Kid Part II, when Kreese is choking Johnny for losing to Daniel in the tournament, Mr. Miyagi tells him to let him go, but when Kreese refuses and uses a racial slur against him, Mr. Miyagi pushes him off. A furious Kreese then attacks Miyagi, only to be severely wounded and immobilized by the latter. Mr. Miyagi shows mercy to Kreese, as he feels that living is a worse punishment than death.
In The Karate Kid Part III, Mr. Miyagi learns from Terry that Kreese has died, though the man is unaware of Kreese's scheming plan for revenge. When Terry, Kreese, and Mike harassed Daniel, Mr. Miyagi arrived to protect him and Kreese stopped Terry from attacking Miyagi initially as he wanted to fight him by himself at first, saying that they were '"old friends". Ultimately, Kreese's desire for revenge doesn't come to fruition as Mr. Miyagi helps Daniel defeat Mike in the sudden death round of the All Valley, to win the title for the second straight year.
Thirty years later, Kreese mocked the deceased Miyagi on a few occasions and was happy to learn that the Miyagi-Do name was dragged through the mud in the aftermath of the high school karate war.
Daniel LaRusso[]
- "Hello Danny boy, nice try but you can't end a war with diplomacy. So I suggest you prepare your students for battle, because now is open season...on them and you."
- ―Kreese to Daniel[src]
Daniel's negative impression of Kreese began in 1984, when his student Johnny Lawrence began to torment Daniel at school. Daniel's kindness, yet hot-headed nature and natural karate talent, posed a threat to Kreese's Cobra Kai Dojo. The societal repercussions of Daniel's fights with Johnny had begun to spread across the valley, and Kreese knew that a loss to Daniel and Mr. Miyagi at the All Valley Karate Tournament would be detrimental to his business. During the tournament, Kreese first told Bobby Brown to take Daniel out of commission, and then later told Johnny to target Daniel's injured foot. Despite the cheap tactics used by Cobra Kai dojo, Daniel defeated Johnny in the tournament. Afterward, Kreese attacked Johnny in the parking lot but was stopped by Miyagi. Cobra Kai dojo closed after the tournament. In 1985, Daniel was taken under the leadership of Terry Silver, who manipulated Daniel into being a more ruthless fighter with little regard for others, abandoning the teachings of Mr. Miyagi. Daniel became a member of Cobra Kai under the tutelage of Silver, who used violent tactics to not only train Daniel, but abuse him. Silver betrayed Daniel when he revealed an alliance with Kreese, beat Daniel, and abandoned the boy. Kreese and Silver had orchestrated the entire partnership to ruin Daniel's chances in the tournament. Once again, under the sway of Mr. Miyagi, Daniel beat Cobra Kai and their prized fighter. The event forced the dojo to close their doors, sent Kreese on a downward spiral, and allowed Daniel the confidence to become a successful businessman.
Kreese resurfaced thirty years later to work with Johnny Lawrence at a newly reopened Cobra Kai Dojo. Kreese's cruelty against Daniel continued, as he belittled Mr. Miyagi and tried to intimidate Daniel repeatedly. Kreese's arrival impacted Daniel greatly, as he became obsessed with beating his childhood tormenters. Most of their feud was reactionary, with one side instigating and the other getting revenge either directly or through their students. After learning Kreese sent his students to attack the Miyagi-Do and Eagle Fang students, which also vandalized Daniel's home, Daniel finally snapped. He confronted Kreese in the dojo and reminded Kreese of the war he wanted at his initial arrival. The fight was bloody and intense, but ended with Daniel saving Johnny and defeating Kreese. The three sensei's agreed to settle their differences on the mat in the 51st Annual Karate Championships.
Even after having been sent to prison, Kreese's animosity towards Daniel has not faded. When Tory reveals to Kreese that their plan to expose Stingray's lies only ended up getting Daniel hurt by Silver, a smug-looking Kreese feels no remorse whatsoever and merely calls Daniel a means to an end. Later on, when Daniel and Johnny go to prison to meet Kreese, he expresses no interest in talking to Daniel and only wished to talk to Johnny. Kreese only agrees to help them so long as Daniel helps get Kreese out of prison with his resources, though Daniel tricks him and expresses no interest in helping Kreese leave prison. However, Kreese would eventually break out of jail and flee from the U.S.A. to help Kim Da-Eun in Korea train her own students to represent Cobra Kai for the Sekai Taikai in Barcelona. Though Daniel initially believed Kreese to have ordered his kidnapping when trying to discover a part of Mr. Miyagi's past, it was actually revealed that the newly-liberated Silver, who had become partners with Sensei Wolf and his Iron Dragons dojo, was behind the kidnapping and left his intentions to humiliate both Miyagi-Do and Cobra Kai in the tournament clear. Throughout the tournament, Daniel, Johnny and Chozen tried to pit Kreese and Silver against one another, only to eventually abandon said mission and focus on preparing their own students for the semi-finals.
Robby Keene[]
Robby is Kreese's new student, though to Kreese he is clearly a weapon and tool, not a student. When Kreese visits Robby in juvie, he convinces Robby to act more aggressively, which he does against his bully Shawn. Preying on the already crestfallen and distraught Robby's anguish and confusion, Kreese corrupts his mind to further turn him against Johnny and Daniel and to join Cobra Kai, which Robby does after being released from juvie later in the season. When Johnny is beating up Kreese, Robby defends him and attacks Johnny, only for Johnny to accidentally knock him into lockers. Robby gets up and stands next to Kreese and tells Miguel, Sam, Daniel and Johnny to get out of here. He then walks back in the dojo with Kreese, as Robby lives in the dojo due to having no home and Shannon being in rehab still. Fortunately, Robby sees the truth behind Cobra Kai's dark motto and return to Miyagi-Do following the All-Valley tournament whilst Kreese was framed by his former best friend and co-sensei Terry Silver for Raymond Porter's attempted murder, which gave Silver total control of Cobra Kai. They eventually see each other during the Sekai Taikai Tournament, with Kreese leading alongside Kim Da-Eun the Korean branch of Cobra Kai, which Robby's then-girlfriend Tory Nichols had joined to become the best fighter in the world in order to honour her late mother, Grace.
Tory Nichols[]
Tory was Kreese's most corrupt student and perhaps one of the few people he has shown genuine concern for. After joining Cobra Kai, she enjoys Kreese's no mercy mentality, considering her life in poverty and the unfairness she and her mother went through in their lives. A few weeks following the war between Miyagi-Do and Cobra Kai in the high school, Kreese asks her if she could return to the dojo but Tory explains her difficult situation involving her two jobs to pay the bills in her home and take care of her brother and mother, whose health has gradually been deteriorating. As if that was not bad enough, her landlord has been targeting her for sexual purposes. Kreese shows some sympathy for her mom, due to his own mom dying years ago. He then confronts her landlord and threatens him to never sexually harass her again. After his confrontation with her landlord, Tory returns to Cobra Kai. He values her highly as one of his most talented students, even sympathizing with her difficult life. He eventually grows to care for her, as during the All-Valley Tournament, when she fights against Sam in the finals, Kreese tells her to fight how she pleases instead of ordering her to fight dirty.
After he is sent to prison, Kreese works with Tory, having her continue to stay at Cobra Kai as a spy to bring down Kreese and showing how much Kreese trusts her. When Tory asks if she's merely just a means to an end for him, Kreese assures her that they're the only two who can trust each other. Later on, when Tory reveals there is another preliminary match against Cobra Kai and knows that Silver will bribe the referee again, Kreese changes his mind about using Tory to facilitate his revenge on Silver and simply tells her to do what she feels best for herself, which Tory is unsatisfied with. She believes her alliance with Kreese was for nothing and cuts ties with her sensei permanently.
Months later, Kreese secretly meets with Tory and offers a spot in his new Cobra Kai team for the Sekai Taikai. Despite his manipulation that she would never truly belong among the rest of Miyagi-Do, Tory refuses to believe in his words and leaves him behind. However, she ultimately rejoins Cobra Kai following the death of her mother and not being allowed to fight Samantha LaRusso for female captain of Miyagi-Do in the wake of it. After they arrival in Barcelona, Tory is still experiencing conflicting loyalties until Kreese reminds her that either she destroys her enemies, or they would destroy her and friends would not help her achieve the status of a champion. After the accidental death of Kwon Jae-Sung with Kreese's eunjangdo dagger, Tory is shown to be devastated and this tragedy fills Kreese with guilt.
Other Relationships[]
- Betsy † (Girlfriend)
- Bobby Brown, Tommy †, Dutch, and Jimmy (Former Students; Enemies)
- Hawk (Former student; Enemy)
- Kyler Park (Student/Ally)
- Armand Zarkarian (Enemy)
Trivia[]
- Kreese's counterpart in the 2010 remake of The Karate Kid is Master Li.
- Colonel Dugan in The Next Karate Kid seems very similar to Kreese, though he is even colder and even more ruthless than Kreese.
- It's left deliberately unclear as to whether Kreese faked his own death twice, or if Johnny was informed he had died in 1985 along with everyone else and never found out otherwise.
- In an article about the 1983 All Valley tournament during season 3, the title said he led Cobra Kai to a 4th victory, which means that he had at least one student that won the tournament before Johnny won his first.
- In the video game adaptation, he is voiced by Brent Mukal.
- In the framed picture of Kreese as the U.S. Army's Karate Champion for 1970-1972, Kreese is wearing the insignia of a U.S. Army captain (pay grade O-3), and the beret flash of the 5th Special Forces Group on his beret, with the distinctive unit insignia used by all U.S. Army Special Forces units superimposed on the flash.
- Malcolm Merlyn from Arrow and Kreese both use manipulation and aggression to attain their objectives, and they share intricate relationships with the protagonists, especially with Robby, Johnny and Tory.
- Regarding the idea of redemption for Kreese, co-creator Josh Heald stated in an interview that it's always a possibility, but that it's a tough nut to crack and that the's like the "dark side" or "the Darth Vader of the series." He notes that Kreese has shown moments of having humanity, but that he's always been smacked in the face with a dose of his own medicine.[1]
Gallery[]
References[]
 Villains
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