A/N: To the guest reviewer who asked if Jason will be following the same footsteps or will break the cycle, I will say that I have more or less planned where the story will go and where Jason ends up. Jason was heading down a bad path prior to his arrest and incarceration, and Silver's offer was the way out of it. This chapter is where the story will properly start. I did use the training scenes in Vaporwave Fan01's story "Defeat Does Not Exist" as a frame of reference for Jason starting his training, so I will be giving him credit for that.
Disclaimer: I don't own the Karate Kid movies, Cobra Kai or anything else that I might reference.
Training Begins
Jason woke up feeling refreshed and energised after a good night's sleep.
He got dressed and made his way downstairs after grabbing his wallet, phone and key to the house.
Jason was still getting used to how big, and spacious, his new house was in comparison to some of the group homes that he had been in and the different places where he'd slept before his arrest.
He was contemplating ordering something to eat when he heard the doorbell ring followed by knocking.
Jason went to open the door and noticed that the limo driver was standing outside.
"Hello, sir. I'm going to be driving you to meet with your grandfather, as per Mister Silver's instructions." The driver looked at him.
Jason looks at the driver. "So, I guess we'd better get going. Right?"
"Precisely, sir." The driver smiles.
Jason closes the door behind him and locks it. "Alright."
They walk over to the limo.
The driver unlocked the limo and got into the passenger seat.
Jason gets into the back of the limo and put on his seatbelt.
The driver turns on the ignition and drives off.
Jason wasn't sure what being trained by his grandfather would entail, but he knew that it would be fairly intense.
And pretty arduous.
Or, it was a lucky guess.
….
The limo pulled up to a building.
"We're here, sir." The driver says.
Jason looks out the window. "Really? I thought we were going to a gym or something?"
"This is a gym, sir." The driver responds.
Jason shrugs his shoulders. "Fine."
He opens the door of the limo and gets out.
Jason closes the door behind him.
He walks towards the building and stops when he gets to the door.
There is a part of him that wants to turn around and walk back to the limo but he stuffs that part of himself deep down into himself until it disappears.
Jason opens the door and steps through it, watching as it closes.
He walks into the building and looks around.
It looks like how a gym is supposed to look.
There are weights and different kinds of gym equipment around the room to make it look more like a gym.
John Kreese is standing in the centre of the room.
"I was almost beginning to think that you wouldn't show. But I knew better than to doubt you. You're not as weak as your father was." A smile made its way across the old man's face.
Jason nods. "Yeah. Well. I wasn't going to let you down by not showing up."
"Good. First, you will address me as Sensei. Or Sensei Kreese. Or sir. Is that understood?" Kreese asks.
Jason understands. "Yes, Sensei."
"Start by doing fifty push ups on your knuckles." Kreese orders.
Jason drops down to the floor and starts doing push ups on his knuckles.
A silence descended on the room as Jason finished doing the push ups before standing up.
He looks over at Kreese. "So, what now, Sensei?"
"Cardio. I want to see if you can truly handle being trained in the way that I was trained." Kreese answers.
Jason kind of gets it. "So, it's like an initiation?"
"Precisely. I want to see if you have what it takes. Because learning Cobra Kai isn't going to be something that's easy. It's going to be difficult. Take it from someone who has not only taught Cobra Kai but also learned the martial art that Cobra Kai was based on." Kreese replies.
Jason had a feeling that there was a story about how the old man came to teach Cobra Kai, but he didn't feel like saying anything at that moment.
He proceeded to run laps around the room until Kreese told him to stop. Which must have been around half an hour to forty-five minutes.
Jason walked over to where Kreese was standing.
He came to a stop. "So, what's next, Sensei? Are you going to tell me about how you learnt the martial art that you based Cobra Kai off of? Or is that a story for another day?"
"Do you want me to tell you that story?" Kreese asks.
Jason nods. "Yes, Sensei."
"Good. I will tell you that story, but there are some lessons that I need to teach you before I do that." Kreese replies.
Jason looks at him. "What kind of lessons?"
"The lessons I taught all of my previous students." Kreese's answer was fairly blunt.
Jason smiled slightly. "Alright."
He gets into a fighting stance.
Kreese moves in quicker than Jason expected an old man to move.
Jason blocks a punch and throws a punch of his own, catching Kreese in his face.
He watches as the old man takes a step back and smiles.
"Do you know what the first lesson is?" Kreese asks.
Jason thinks about it. "Uh… Don't pull your punches?"
"Not quite. The first lesson is "Strike first." People will tell you that karate, along with any other martial art you can think of, should only be used for the purpose of self-defence. But they're wrong." Kreese answers.
Jason looks slightly confused. "Huh? Why's that? Isn't that the whole point of karate or whatever?"
"A real fight is different to a sparring match or a fight for points. Your opponent could have a knife or a gun. Or, he could be part of a group. Why make yourself vulnerable? It is far better to strike first." Kreese replies.
Jason nods. "So, what's the second lesson?"
"I see you know how to get into a fighting stance. That will save some time. The second lesson is "Strike hard." Show me just how hard you can strike." Kreese says.
Jason grins. "Yes, Sensei!"
He throws a hard punch to Kreese's solar plexus.
The old man is barely winded by the punch.
"Good. Do you want to know what the third lesson is?" Kreese takes a step forward until he is almost in Jason's face.
Jason nods. "Yes, Sensei."
"The third lesson is "No mercy." There is no such thing as mercy, whether that is on a battlefield or on the streets. Or in life. Your enemy will not show you mercy. So, why should you show them mercy? Remember the three lessons, or rules, and you won't put a foot wrong. Trust me." Kreese looks directly in Jason's eyes.
Jason nods. "I'll try to remember those lessons, Sensei."
"Good. Your training is not over yet. So, keep going." Kreese says.
The old man takes a few steps back and silently observes Jason throwing punches and kicks.
Jason pauses after throwing a punch. "So, will I be training here every day?"
"You'll be training from Monday to Friday. Terry believes that it would be a good idea to "blend in" when you're not training, so you won't be training on Saturday or Sunday. You will be spending those days as you see fit. Whether that is exploring the Valley or some other pursuit. And, I didn't say you could stop." Kreese replies.
Jason gets back into a fighting stance. "Yes, Sensei!"
He keeps throwing punches and kicks until Kreese eventually tells him to stop.
"You did good for your first day of training. It's obvious that you know how to throw a punch, at least. Terry told me that you had gotten in your fair share of fights when you were in juvenile detention. And, he told me that you had won most of them. Which means that this is not going to be a pointless endeavour." Kreese seemed almost proud.
Jason takes this as a compliment. "Thank you, Sensei."
"You don't need to call me "Sensei" when you're not training." Kreese responds.
Jason has an idea. "So, can I call you Kreese then?"
"I don't see why not." Kreese remarks.
Jason scratches his head. "Cool. So, you want to get something to eat? I didn't have breakfast, so I've been training on an empty stomach. And I'm not entirely sure I had any water breaks either."
"I know a place we could go to get some food." Kreese has a slight smile on his face.
Jason smiles. "Awesome."
They walk out of the building.
The driver of the limo has been in the limo for the full duration of time that Jason had been training with Kreese.
Jason and Kreese both get into the limo.
Kreese tells the driver where he wants to go and, wordlessly, the driver starts the limo and drives off.
Jason opens the fridge in the limo and takes out a soda.
He opens it and starts drinking until there's nothing left.
Kreese doesn't seem to be in much of a mood to talk at that moment.
So, they don't say anything.
….
The limo pulled up outside of a diner and parked.
Jason and Kreese got out of the limo and walked into the diner.
A waitress points them to an empty booth.
Jason sits on one side and Kreese sits on the other.
They watch as a different waitress walks over to the booth they're sitting at and hands them menus.
"I think you might be ready to hear the story of how I learned the martial art that Cobra Kai is based on. Your first day of proper training went far better than I expected it to." Kreese remarks.
Jason isn't quite sure what to say. "Thanks, I guess?"
"I tried to train your father, but it was a pointless endeavour on my part. And I was already training a champion." Kreese replies.
Jason looks a little confused. "Who was that champion?"
"Johnny Lawrence. He was my best student until he lost in the finals of the All Valley back in 1984." Kreese almost snarls.
Jason can tell that this was still a sore subject for his grandfather.
So, he had to change the subject. "Weren't you going to tell me about how you learned the martial art that Cobra Kai is based on?"
"I first learned Tang Soo Do from an army captain of mine in Vietnam. After his death, Terry and I travelled to South Korea in order to train under Master Kim Sun Yung. We took what we learned from him out into the world. And, eventually, we founded Cobra Kai together in 1975. We connected Cobra Kai back to the Shotokan Karate that Tang Soo Do itself is based on. Cobra Kai might have only lasted for ten years, but it was very successful." Kreese told a slightly abbreviated story of how he learned Tang Soo Do.
Jason nods. "Cool. That means I'm not just learning Cobra Kai, right?"
"Precisely. You might be a beginner, but you have a lot of potential. And I'm going to help you realise it. Because you could be a champion too. Or maybe I'm getting a little ahead of myself." Kreese says.
Jason shrugs. "I think you might be getting a little ahead of yourself. But thanks for the compliment."
They keep talking until a waitress comes by to take their orders.
Jason orders a cheeseburger with extra bacon, fries and a Coke while Kreese just orders corned beef hash well done.
They have time before their food arrives, so they keep talking.
There is a lot that they would have to catch up on. After all.
….
When their lunch had finished, the limo driver drove Jason and Kreese back to Silver's house.
Kreese left, presumably to inform Silver about how the first day of training went.
That just left Jason in the limo.
"Where would you like to go, sir?" The driver asks.
Jason thinks about it. "There's got to be an army surplus store or something in the Valley, right? Maybe one of those?"
"Yes, sir." The driver answers.
Jason smiles. "Fantastic. Oh, and would you mind turning the radio on?"
"Of course." The limo driver turns on the radio as he drives off.
Jason grabs another soda from the fridge in the limo and drinks it.
He listens to the radio as the limo drives on.
The limo eventually does park outside of an army surplus store.
Jason gets out of the limo and walks in.
He looks around and notices a pair of black boots and a camouflage jacket.
Jason takes off his shoes and discreetly tries on the boots.
He notices that the boots fit him and he takes off the boots and puts his shoes back on.
Jason goes to pay for the boots and the camouflage jacket.
He walks outside and walks back to where the limo is parked.
Jason gets back into the limo and puts the boots and camouflage jacket on the floor of the limo.
He doesn't really have anywhere else to be so he tells the limo driver to drive around a bit before driving him home.
….
The limo driver drops Jason off at his house.
He gets out of the limo and walks up to the door of his house.
Jason unlocks the door and opens it before stepping inside and closing the door behind him.
He walks down the stairs to the basement of house and looks around.
In one room of the basement, the main room, there is a sofa and a wide screen TV that takes up a decent chunk of the wall that it's mounted on.
Jason walks through that room and gets to a door.
He opens the door and walks into the room behind it.
This particular room is a gym. There are weights and exercise equipment in the room that look very new. And expensive.
Jason walks back out of that room and walks into the main room of the basement.
He walks back up the stairs.
Jason has a few hours to kill, so he decides to watch TV.
He turns on the TV and flicks through the different channels.
There's a commercial for LaRusso Auto that's just ended.
He recognised the man in the commercial from billboards that he'd seen throughout the Valley prior to his arrest and stint in juvenile detention.
But he couldn't help but feel as though there should be other reasons to know of him.
And he wasn't sure if asking Silver or Kreese about him would be a good idea or not. Particularly if they had history with him.
He changes the channel to watch something else.
Tomorrow's training would probably be more intensive than today's now that Kreese had an idea of what he could do. Maybe he'd learn how to kick tomorrow.
He watched TV and put the thought out of his mind.