Is Martin Kove a real martial artist? What martial arts did Martin Kove take?

Martin Kove is a real martial artist. Has black belts in all of the following martial arts: Kendo, Okinawa-te, and Tiger Kenpo.

Martin Kove studied Okinawa-te Karate under prominent black belt Gordon Doversola Shihan. In 2019, Martin Kove parodied his Karate Kid character in a QuickBooks commercial.

Martin Kove was brought up in a Jewish-American family. From 1982-88, Martin Kove appeared in the main cast of Cagney & Lacey as New York City Detective Victor Isbecki.

Martin Kove appeared in the 1984 hit film The Karate Kid as Cobra Kai sensei John Kreese. Kove returned as Kreese for the 1986 sequel The Karate Kid Part II and the 1989 sequel The Karate Kid Part III.

Martin Kove appeared in the 2007 music video for the song “Sweep the Leg” by No More Kings as a caricature of himself and John Kreese from The Karate Kid.

In 2018, Martin Kove returned to the character of Kreese for the YouTube Premium web series, Cobra Kai, a continuation of The Karate Kid franchise set 34 years after the 1984 film.