Strike First, Strike Hard, No Mercy

"Everyone has come to this martial arts school because of its recent fame from a martial arts tournament. Some of you know this, and some do not. Others were brought here by their mothers, hoping you would learn discipline and values." Max walked around the center of the dojo and said, "The reason you're here isn't far from the truth."

"However, there are cases where some of you are here to learn how to defend yourselves, and others might just want to hit the bully who picks on you at school."

There were many reasons to learn martial arts, some more innocent than others. Regardless, each one had to be addressed in the first class, as misunderstandings could have serious consequences on a student's mindset—and that would be the school's failure for not teaching properly.

Max approached a boy with a bruised cheek and said, "It's not wrong to defend yourself, but if your plan is to use martial arts to achieve what you couldn't before, you'd be better off leaving this school."

"Life doesn't work that way. Sure, you can defend yourself now, and maybe they'll stop bothering you. But there will be times when they come back with twice as many friends. Even if you're a martial arts expert, you might take a beating you'll never forget."

Max paused and then added, "But if you're here to learn, I'll teach you the right way to win a fight—and better yet, the right way to decide when to fight and when not to."

Martial arts were incredible, but nowadays, anyone could carry a knife or a gun. Strutting around, knowing you're good at fights, was just asking for a quick death.

Hoping to win a one-on-four fight was foolish. Street fights were never clean—there were no codes of honor in such situations.

Max wanted to make this clear to ensure no Cobra Kai student misunderstood the purpose of learning martial arts here.

"Now then, some of you might wonder, what does our motto mean?" Max pointed to the black words displayed on the wall behind him and explained, "Strike first; strike hard; no mercy. This is Cobra Kai's motto and discipline starting today. For an inevitable fight, remember to strike first. If you know the fight won't end until one of you is on the ground, strike harder. And if the enemy outnumbers you, show no mercy."

When Devon heard Max's lecture, she nodded in agreement. She had discussed this with him before. Fights weren't a good idea outside of tournaments, especially when you didn't know what your opponent was capable of.

But sometimes, there was no choice. In those situations, Cobra Kai's code was the strategy everyone should rely on to win—or at least not get crushed.

Devon knew Max might not always enforce these principles perfectly. However, situations were often unavoidable, though that didn't mean everyone found themselves in such situations all the time.

"Don't get cocky, though—some people might have something like this!" Suddenly, Max, who had been speaking seriously, pulled a black object from behind his back.

When everyone saw it, they fell silent. Their hearts tightened with fear as they exchanged nervous glances.

"What the hell is he doing?"

"I want out of here."

"He's crazy."

Max frowned and said, "Devon, step forward."

Following his instructions, Devon stood in front of Max under the watchful eyes of the other students.

Some might have noticed that the gun in Max's hand was fake, so there was no real danger.

Max looked at Devon for a moment, then raised the fake gun toward her and said, "Class, what do you do when faced with a gun?"

"Run, Sensei!"

"How do you avoid this situation?"

"By not fighting recklessly, Sensei!"

"And if the situation is unavoidable?" Max asked in a firm voice, scanning the class.

"By carefully analyzing our surroundings, leaving dangerous areas, and not provoking those around us, Sensei!"

The new students were stunned. Many who hadn't understood what was happening finally realized this was part of the lesson.

Max shouted, "Respect, discipline, and inner peace are what we teach in this dojo. If you're angry, channel all your fury into training. If someone bothers you, we'll teach you the best way to make sure it doesn't happen again—and if you can't handle it, an older student will take care of it for you. Got it?"

"Yes, Sensei!" the students shouted in unison.

Many felt a surge of inspiration. Some of them, who had come here because of recommendations from other kids' mothers, now realized how valuable this place could be for young people's education. Max had given them a meaningful first lesson.

Those who thought martial arts were a joke quickly changed their minds after this realistic introduction. There were no gimmicks or over-the-top motivational speeches about becoming lions in life—just straightforward lessons.

At least they felt the dojo was grounded in reality. Belonging to Cobra Kai didn't seem so bad now. They just hoped the training wouldn't be too harsh moving forward.

"All yours, Miguel. Start the basic class until the sensei arrives." Max smiled as he finished his lecture, leaving the rest to Miguel to begin warm-up exercises.

"Alright, class, we'll start with warm-ups. If you're here, at least have confidence in your physical condition," Miguel instructed, organizing the students into their designated spots.

For Miguel, this was the best part of the first class—watching those who overestimated their physical abilities collapse from exhaustion.

The first class was designed to push students to their mental and physical limits before starting martial arts training.

This wasn't just for the dojo's benefit but also to weed out students who wouldn't last long. Sometimes, quitting early was better than doing so later.

If they couldn't handle today's training, it was better for everyone if they left Cobra Kai now—because this would never be their home.