Kwon Jae-Sung

Kwon Jae-Sung (Hangul: 권재성) was one of the two secondary antagonists (alongside Feng Xiao) of Season 6 of Cobra Kai, serving as the tertiary antagonist of Part 1, one of the three secondary antagonists (alongside John Kreese and Feng Xiao) of Part 2, and a posthumous character in Part 3. He was portrayed by Brandon H. Lee. Kwon became the top student of Master Kim Sun-Yung's dojang in Korea after fighting defeating the previous top fighter, Yoon Do-Jin and was part of the newly revived Cobra Kai Dojo. He and his classmates participated in the Sekai Taikai, and he also starts three rivalries with Robby Keene, Axel Kovačević, and Miguel Diaz. However, he died during an all-dojo brawl after unintentionally fatally stabbing himself with Kreese’s eunjangdo while attempting to take out Axel. Biography Kwon was raised in Master Kim Sun-Yung's dojang since he was a child. His parents either died or left him, causing his only family to be, essentially, Dohk Sa. This only made his life harder, as both Master Kim Sun-Yung and Kim Da-Eun were likely harder on Kwon than they were the rest of the students due to him living with them. This may have also attributed to why Kwon was such a rebellious student. Cobra Kai Season 6 Part 1 Not much about Kwon’s past is known, particularly his childhood. He found an outlet in Cobra Kai for his immense aggression, but was a major troublemaker since he was young, as stated by his sensei, Kim Da-Eun. While training in the dojo, he developed a rivalry with Yoon Do-Jin. Not following the ultimate defense breaker technique that Da-Eun tells her students to master, Kwon instead made the board holder raise it, performing a 540 spinning hook kick or a cheat 720 hook kick, snapping the wood in half. Since he didn't listen to Da-Eun's instruction, Kwon was told to clean Grandmaster Kim Sun-Yung's toilet as punishment. During a training session, Kwon states his way of defeating opponents with a bigger heart and resolve without sincerity, leading Sensei John Kreese to turn the other students against him by forcing them all to do an intensive exercise due to Kwon's behavior. Angry at Kwon's antics, Yoon pushes him down, much to the anger of Kwon. John Kreese, who has just found out the main secrets of Cobra Kai's strength through Kim Sun-Yung's guidance, tells Kwon to unleash all of his anger to defeat his opponents after Kwon confronts the sensei about being attacked by his peers. Immediately following their chat, Kwon used his pent-up frustration on the top model student of the dojo, Yoon Do-Jin, and pushes him, catching the student off guard. Yoon asks him if he has had enough, to which Kwon says he has had enough with him. Yoon attacks him but Kwon easily blocks his strikes and then hits his foot. He tells Yoon that while he is formidable due to him always doing what he is told, this also makes him predictable. Yoon attacks him again but is quickly defeated by Kwon. Kwon then uses his strength to defeat the two others who had talked with Yoon. After defeating them, Yoon kicks him. The two fight again, with Kwon attacking Yoon's neck with a two-hand Viper chop (a technique Kwon learned by himself) and uses a trachea strike to make his breath go away. Kwon then dismantles Yoon's legs with his kicks, knocking him out with a flipping kick with one leg. Kwon takes the geum baeji (gold badge), a badge that represents the top student, and claims it for himself, showing he is the better fighter. He then becomes the main leader of Cobra Kai for the upcoming Sekai Taikai in Barcelona. Part 2 During one of the first events of the Sekai Taikai, he faces Miyagi-Do's captain Robby Keene and while the latter initially had the edge, he loses focus, leading to Kwon defeating him to earn a point for Cobra Kai. Then he, Tory Nichols, and Yoon fight Iron Dragons's captains, Axel Kovacevic and Zara Malik, but lose in mere seconds. While at a bar on one night, he intentionally messes with Robby by flirting with Tory in front of him and mocking Robby. (This might have indirectly showed that he used her to mess with Robby.) Afterwards, he, Yoon, and a few other Cobra Kai's briefly get into a fight with Samantha LaRusso and Axel. Later in the tournament, Cobra Kai and Miyagi-Do find themselves in a crucial elimination round, with only one dojo able to advance. After defeating Miyagi Do's Miguel Diaz, he has a rematch with Robby. However, a focused and rageful Robby easily defeats him, causing Cobra Kai to be eliminated at first. The following morning, a furious Kwon accuses Robby of getting lucky and briefly got into it with Tory. However, shortly afterwards, the Russian-based Tiger Strike is disqualified after some of the pupils tested positive for performance-enhanced drugs, causing Cobra Kai to get another chance. He easily wins his subsequent semifinal match, earning Cobra Kai a spot in the finals. During Robby and Axel's match, when Axel taunts Robby and unexpectedly throws him to the Cobra Kai students, Kwon cheap-shots him. A skirmish occurs with Robby confronting Kwon for his move and the tensions lead one of the Tiger Strike to start an all-out brawl between all the dojos. During the brawl, Kwon and Yoon gang up on Robby, with Kwon attempting to get revenge on his earlier defeat, but Robby manages to escape and gain the upper-hand on them. He is later seen defeating a few students. After seeing Robby knocked down, he attacks him. When Sam tries to help Robby, he kicks her. However, Axel then attacks Kwon and knocks him into a camera set. Seeing the knife that Kreese dropped, Kwon laughs evilly. He grabs it and he attempts to murder Axel. As Daniel tries to stop Kwon, both Kwon and Axel leap into the air with Kwon still holding the knife in the hand, but as both remain midair, Axel manages to kick Kwon's foot causing him to fall on the ground and fatally stab himself, as he screams in pain causing the entire brawl to stop. As everyone gathers around to look at Kwon’s body lying on the ground, Daniel goes to check on him, finding him with the knife stuck in his body, shocking everyone. Part 3 Cobra Kai heads back to Korea following Kwon's death and have a funeral for him. Kim Da-Eun mentions to Kreese that he had no family. Prior to the start of the rekindled Sekai Taikai in the San Fernando Valley, a moment of silence is held for him. Following Cobra Kai's victory, Kwon's tragic death is mentioned on the cover of the Black Belt magazine. Personality Kwon was a highly dangerous and violently ruthless student and person due to the rather challenging and painful life he was forced to lead, choosing to fight his own way and not following Kim Da Eun's instructions, and ever since he started training in the dojang, he learned and became more aggressive, merciless, and ruthless. He had a lot of arrogance and learned to be ruthless and show no mercy to anyone. He did not respect anyone but only himself. He in particular had a dislike towards the then top student Yoon Do-Jin. He also had a lot of pent up anger and vengeance in him, and after being advised by Kreese to give his anger purpose, he aggressively beats up Do-Jin and his friends, leading to him becoming his dojo's top student. His lethal, psychopathic and ruthless behavior does seem to mirror a young Mike Barnes, young Chozen and Kyler. Because of being selfish and disrespectful, Kwon made a fatal mistake that costs his life during the Brawl, accidentally stabbing himself instead of Axel, while trying to murder the latter. This was also the result of his behavior mirroring a young Johnny Lawrence when it came to his anger. Because of this, Kwon was unable to control himself, and was reckless with Kreese’s knife, which is partially what resulted in his accidental death. Fighting Style Kwon’s martial arts foundation is rooted in the original Cobra Kai style, developed by Kim Sun-Yung and based on the traditional Korean art of Tang Soo Do. With extensive training in this style, Kwon has honed his skills over many years. His fighting approach showcases advanced kicking techniques; mainly involving multiple combination kicks mid-air, advanced rotation kicks, or both, often demonstrated through impressive board-breaking displays. These powerful kicks are complemented by his defensive maneuvers, which create openings for devastating counterattacks. One of Kwon’s signature moves is the two-handed "Viper Chop," a technique he has refined within the Cobra Kai framework. His punches carry significant force, capable of momentarily incapacitating opponents. In addition to his striking abilities, Kwon possesses remarkable agility and acrobatic skills, executing maneuvers not typically seen among other Cobra Kai students. His aggressive "no mercy" mindset, central to the Cobra Kai philosophy, further amplifies his danger as a fighter. During his fight against Yoon, Kwon effectively channels his pent-up anger, using his skills and awareness of Yoon's predictability to secure an easy victory. He also swiftly defeats two other students associated with Yoon. Despite Kreese's favoritism of Johnny, the former believed that Kwon was superior to the latter in skill, due to Kreese believing Kwon is ready and worthy to be a Sekai Taikai champion, which would put him higher than Young Johnny in skill, whom Kreese said wasn't ready yet. Overall, Kwon Jae-Sung is recognized as the most dangerous, and violently ruthless fighter to emerge from the Cobra Kai dojo since the infamous Mike Barnes in The Karate Kid Part III. His mastery of the Cobra Kai style, creativity in developing new techniques, and sheer physical prowess make him a formidable threat in the ongoing rivalry among the various dojos. In the Sekai Taikai, Kwon proved himself as one of the most terrifying fighters in it, as Kreese previously had stated. In the first event, Captain's War, he was able to effortlessly defeat Demetri, contend with Miguel, and defeat an unfocused Robby. In the Miyagi-do vs. Cobra Kai tag elimination round, Kwon contended with Samantha and Miguel individually, managing to slightly overwhelm the two by scoring a hit, but when he faced a now focused and enraged Robby, Robby's superior defense led to Kwon not being able to land a single hit, and Robby additionally exploited his defense, leading to Kwon being defeated reasonably easily. Despite being defeated by Robby, he was the only Cobra Kai member to score points for the team. In the semi-finals, Kwon easily defeated Diego Aguilar, even knocking out the latter with a kick. He, however, was no match for Axel, who defeated him effortlessly in both their fights, despite Kwon having Yoon aiding him in the first fight, and Kwon couldn't even hand a single hit in their final fight. In the final brawl, Kwon knocked down Samantha with a single kick showing his impressive kicking strength. Kwon does have a minor weakness in his style, particularly in his punches. He possesses more striking speed and strength in his legs than he does in his arms, which is why he prefers using kicks to defeat his opponents. So in the few times he’s tried to land a punch on an opponent, namely Miguel and Robby, the two boys were able to counter Kwon’s attacks. Another weakness is that his mindset, his willingness to become the best ruthlessly and unethically made him vulnerable to bad decisions, as he grabs a knife to kill Axel despite being a teenager, ironically made him blinded to the danger it wields cause him to get himself killed. Kwon is considered to be the five strongest teenage fighter in the whole current modern-day Karate Kid (Cobra Kai) universe, only behind Li Fong, Axel Kovačević, Robby Keene, and Miguel Diaz. He has even surpassed the skill levels of Eli Moskowitz, Yoon Do-Jin, Chung-Hee, Min-Seok, Kenny Payne, Demetri Alexopoulos, Shawn Payne, Zara Malik, Diego Aguilar, Maria Alvarez, Devon Lee, Tory Nichols, Samantha LaRusso, Anthony LaRusso, Chris, Mitch, Nathaniel, Bert, Aisha Robinson, Piper Elswith, Edwin Caldwell, Big Red, Little Red, Abe, Cara McAllistar, Vlad, Draga, Ned Randell, Dre Parker, Cheng, Liang, Wu Ping, and Connor Day. The only four people that are stronger than him are Robby Keene, Axel Kovačević, Miguel Diaz, and Li Fong. Currently, he, Axel, Miguel, Eli, Li Fong, and Robby are considered to be in the top six strongest teenage fighters In the whole current modern-day Karate Kid (Cobra Kai) universe. Relationships: John Kreese John Kreese was Kwon's former sensei. Master Kim Sun-Yung Master Kim Sun-Yung was Kwon's former sensei. Kim Da-Eun Kim Da-Eun was Kwon's former sensei. Yoon Do-Jin Yoon was Kwon's former rival and current friend. Robby Keene Robby is Kwon's new Archrival Tory Nichols Kwon's partner in the Sekai Taikai until Kwon's accidental death. Miguel Diaz Kwon's Rival and Kwon's replacement as Cobra Kai's male captain after Kwon's accidental death. Samantha LaRusso Kwon Jae-Sung's opponent in the Sekai Taikai. Axel Kovačević Kwon's archenemy, attempted victim, and accidental killer. Diego Aguilar Kwon Jae-Sung's semi-finalist opponent in the Sekai Taikai. Trivia The spelling of Kwon Jae-Sung's name in Cobra Kai is widely regarded as incorrect, as the name should be spelled, Kwon "Jae-Sung". In today's romanizations of Korean names, which are used by the United Nations, the Black Belt Magazine and other media, given names that consist of two syllables are spelled without capitalizing the first letter of the second syllable. Despite this, The Karate Kid Fandom documents the franchise as it is seen and credited within the fictional franchise, not by what is considered factually accurate in the real world. Kwon is the fifth deceased character in the contemporary timeline, following Grace Nichols, Nariyoshi Miyagi, Claramunt and Tommy. He is also the first teenage character to die on-screen. He is also the second to meet a violent demise, whereas the other three characters died naturally (excluding Claramunt who also died during the Sekai Taikai by Mr. Miyagi). Kwon is the first Cobra Kai student since the movie franchise to try to kill someone. The previous student was Mike Barnes in the third film.