The actor also reveals the line he added to Barnes' big speech to the Miyagi-Do students.
Warning: This story contains spoilers forCobra Kaiseason 6, part 1.
Actually, “training” might be the wrong word.
Mary Mouser, Tanner Buchanan, Peyton List, and Sean Kanan in ‘Cobra Kai’.Netflix
Tell us about shooting that first scene.
SEAN KANAN:Barnes is very much Barnes.
I think that demonstrates the self-awareness and evolution in the character.
William Zabka and Sean Kanan in ‘Cobra Kai’.Netflix
Its everything from catching a chicken to fighting to something akin to flag football.
He’s got some out-of-the-box thinking.
He is a 10th-degree black belt.
William Zabka and Sean Kanan in ‘Cobra Kai’.Netflix
He is as good as it gets, and he’s a guy that doesn’t fold under pressure.
In my mind, he’s absolutely not getting paid to do this for Daniel.
This is kind of his way of saying, “I’m going to atone.
We had this whole discussion about what kind of martial arts Mike chose.
That being said, what Mike studied was not completely dissimilar from Miyagi-Do.
I mean, Miyagi-Do is more geared towards defense.
What I studied was very close to what Daniel teaches.
Hopefully this means he’s no longer banned from competitive karate.
Do you think he’s now practicing regularly?
Mike can still handle himself.
My guess is that whether he admitted it or not, he kept up with it.
Look, if youre a 10th-degree black belt, it’s not something [you forget].
What would Barnes think of how Devon secured her victory over Kenny?
Do you think he would say it’s cheating or that a win is a win?
He said anything goes.
I think he would applaud that.
Look at the subterfuge that Chozen used to insert himself into Terry Silver’s life under false pretenses.
I mean, that epitomizes asymmetrical warfare.
In that episode, Mike and Johnny have a real throwdown in the wood shop.
First of all, I absolutely adore Billy Zabka.
I met Billy in 1988, so I knew Billy before I had ever even doneKarate Kid Part III.
He’s just a spectacular guy.
He has got brilliant comedic sensibilities.
I love working with Billy, and I knew it was going to be fun.
For me, it was a little challenging because on July 11th I’m having rotator cuff surgery.
I’ve had a longstanding injury.
Oh, so did you put the surgery off to shoot the show?
I put the surgery off.
My concern was, can I get through this fight scene?
One thing I really like is that Johnny and Mike Barnes absolutely do not dislike each other.
Theres a lot of similarities between them.
And you even saw in season 5, Johnny says, The bad boys right!
and I like this guy.
I mean, we don’t know what happened to Mike’s wife.
She presumably divorced him… What was the training like for that scene?
Were very fortunate that Billy is very adept with his martial arts.
And at 57 years old, I guess I can still do a thing or two.
We got the choreography, and we didn’t have a ton of time.
A lot of it was because Billy was working so much.
It changed several times.
So, you’re always having to accommodate for new information.
I expected that there were going to be changes.
The biggest thing was to verify that nobody got hurt.
And I did, but that’s okay.
I took a little fall, but it was no big deal.
And we work with Don Lee, who is an absolutely spectacular fight choreographer and ensures our safety.
I felt like we were in very good hands.
Have the Big 3 ever talked to you about a Mike Barnes spinoff?
They have not, but I’ll tell you, the fans sure seem to be enthused about that.
Listen, I’m a thousand percent game.
I would race to work with any of these people anytime, anywhere.
It was just so much fun.
I like where your head at!
Let’s get Netflix on the same page.
[Laughs]
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Cobra Kaiseason 6, part 1 is streaming now on Netflix.
