Cobra Kai solves the mystery of Mr. Miyagi’s criminal past

Cobra Kai has been delving into Mr. Miyagi’s potentially criminal past, and thanks to the show’s final few scenes, we now know the truth about that rumored robbery and assault.

Mr. Miyagi was Daniel LaRusso’s friend and mentor across the three Karate Kid movies, teaching him both martial arts and life lessons. The character passed away between the films and Cobra Kai, but Daniel continued his teaching through his own dojo, which he named Miyagi-Do.

But then he found a secret box that belonged to Mr. Miyagi, with clues that his former Sensei competed at the Saika Taikai tournament, and even potentially killed someone. This was confirmed during Season 6 Part 2 of Cobra Kai.

But there was also evidence to suggest that Miyagi was involved in a violent theft which left a man hospitalized. Now Cobra Kai has revealed the truth, meaning SPOILERS ahead.

Who did Mr. Miyagi beat and rob in Cobra Kai Season 6?

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Mr. Miyagi assaulted and stole from the prison guard who took his dead wife’s necklace, a fact comes to light in the very final episode of Cobra Kai, titled ‘Ex-Degenerate.’

The revelation occurs during a family dinner at the LaRusso home. Daniel mother’s Lucille gives Sam her graduation gift, which is a beautiful pearl necklace. Then she reveals the object’s backstory.

Lucille: “Mr. Miyagi gave it to me… it belonged to his mother. When he had to leave Okinawa, his father gave it to him to sell in case he ever needed the money. Mr. Miyagi didn’t sell it. It had too much sentimental value.

“So when he got married, he gave it to his wife, and during the war, she passed away at Manzanar, at the internment camp, and a guard stole it. It was terrible.”

When Miguel asks what Miyagi did next, Daniel flashes back to the newspaper article about the attack, and says: “He did what he needed to do – he found the guard and took it back.

Lucille continues: “The guard attacked Mr. Miyagi, so he had to knock the bastard’s lights out. Before he passed away he asked me to give it to Samantha when the time was right.”

So now we know the full truth about Mr. Miyagi’s eventful past – he killed a man during a match at the Seikei Taikai tournament, and beat up the guard who stole his wife’s necklace, which Miyagi reclaimed, and now belongs to Daniel’s daughter Sam.

All six seasons of the show are streaming on Netflix, meaning you can now check out out our Cobra Kai Season 6 Part 3 recap and ending explainer, as well as articles on the amazing Rocky homage, the hilarious Back to the Future joke, and the truth about Mr. Miyagi’s criminal past.