Also known as

Description

American actor best known as Johnny Lawrence in The Karate Kid (1984), its sequels, and Cobra Kai (2018-2025), which he also co-executive produced. He had no martial arts training before being cast in The Karate Kid - he was a high-school wrestler - and was trained for the film by Pat E. Johnson, Chuck Norris's chief instructor. He continued training with Johnson after the film ended and returned to karate and taekwondo training to prepare for Cobra Kai, crediting karate conditioning with healing a wrestling back injury.

Teachers (1)

• 
  Pat E. Johnson

  linkAmerican Tang Soo Do 2

  Probable

  The relationship itself is certain, resting on Zabka's first-person accounts in two independent interviews (Men's Health 2019; Hollywood Reporter 2023 quoting him and Sports Illustrated) - 'He built me up from nothing... I trained with him after the film was over.' The American Tang Soo Do attribution is an inference from Johnson's own art and his role as Chuck Norris-system chief instructor; neither source names the style Johnson taught Zabka, so the assertion as a whole is Probable rather than Confirmed.

  (1984)

  expand_morefact_checkassessed by FSMverified

  Frederico Muñoz

  Researcher, Martialis

  2 sources

  fact_check

  The relationship itself is certain, resting on Zabka's first-person accounts in two independent interviews (Men's Health 2019; Hollywood Reporter 2023 quoting him and Sports Illustrated) - 'He built me up from nothing... I trained with him after the film was over.' The American Tang Soo Do attribution is an inference from Johnson's own art and his role as Chuck Norris-system chief instructor; neither source names the style Johnson taught Zabka, so the assertion as a whole is Probable rather than Confirmed.

  assessed by FSMverified

  Frederico Muñoz

  Researcher, Martialis

  "He's a legend in martial arts. He built me up from nothing. I didn't know anything about it when I first started. I was a wrestler in high school and very limber and athletic. The discipline that he gave physically, mentally and technically was incredible; so much so, that I trained with him after the film was over."

  — Hornik, Susan. (2019-04-11). How Karate Training Helped Cobra Kai's William Zabka Get Back in Fighting Shape at 53 linkinfo

  "In the Sports Illustrated piece, Zabka said he "got the attitude for my character from Pat. I used his Ki-yahs. I used the way he stood with his hands in his belt.""

  — Barnes, Mike. (2023-11-06). Pat E. Johnson, 'Karate Kid' Choreographer, Trainer and Referee, Dies at 84linkinfo

Sources