The wave of nostalgia that followed when everyone heard theKarate Kidmovies were being expanded into a TV series was astronomical.Cobra Kaihas been a massive success in its own right spawning three seasons of excellent entertainment for fans to enjoy.
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Whether on YouTube or Netflix, martial arts shows are an absolute blast to watch. Some are extremely over the top, others are more realistic, but all of them have exciting action and storylines.
10The Legend Of Bruce Lee
A biographical retelling ofone of the greatest martial artists of all timeis sure to thrill anyone that watchedCobra Kai!The Legend of Bruce Leeis a 50-episode series that featured tons of famous martial arts actors like Mark Dacascos, Ray Park, Gary Daniels, Ernest Miller, and Michael Jai White. Bruce Lee’s daughter was also the executive producer of the series which lead to it being an accurate yet exciting telling of his life story.
9Seis Manos
The first original property of Powerhouse Animation Studios,Seis Manosreleased onNetflixand has maintained a 100% Tomatometer scoreon Rotten Tomatoes since. It’s both profane and violent, following the story of three orphans trained in martial arts that live in Mexico. It gets incredibly intense and even has some supernatural elements from Mexican culture that make it wholly unique as a martial arts show.
8The Wild Wild West
With a title likeThe Wild Wild West, it might be easy to just expect this show to justbe a western. That simply isn’t the case. The show has been cited as a defining series that inspired the steampunk genre and had Robert Conrad fighting in scenes with everything from Kung Fu to Savate depending on the episode.
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The fight scenes in the series are particularly unique, as back in the 1960s when this series was made it wasn’t common for actors to do their own stunts during fight scenes. Robert Conrad bucked that trend and the entire show was filmed to show how he did every action scene without replacements giving it unique cinematography.
7A Fist Within Four Walls
A Fist Within Four Wallsis a popular 28-episode martial arts action television drama that had phenomenal amounts of success when it aired in Hong Kong. It was the highest-rated drama in 2016 and received multiple awards. The series follows Chor Au-kuen while they use their martial arts skills to protect the Kowloon Walled City from evildoers. This one might be harder to track down to watch outside of Hong Kong and China, but it’s worth the effort.
6Ranma ½
Based on the manga by Rumiko Takahashi,Ranma ½is one part comedy, one part martial arts, and one part emotional story. The story follows Ranma Saotome, a trained martial artist who due to a curse he gained during a training accident is turned into a girl whenever he is splashed with cold water, only turning back when splashed with hot water.
Ranma ½andRanma ½ Nettōhenwere among some of the first anime shows to gain popularity in the United States and are still widely considered to besome of the best anime ever created. It’s absolutely worth checking this one out.
5The Whirlwind Girl
Based on the popular novel of the same name by Ming Xiaoxi,The Whirlwind Girlis an excellent martial arts show. It has 2 billion views on Mango TV and was the most popular show in its timeslot back in 2015. Seeing Qi Baicao go from a sad orphan to a seasoned Yuanwudao competitor is sure to keep anyone watching glued to the screen.
4Warrior
Not only isWarriorbased on a concept by Bruce Lee but his own daughter, Shannon Lee, was the executive producer for the project. It hadtwo seasons aired on Cinemaxback when they were still making original programming and was well received by critics.
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Warrior is set in 1870s San Franciscoduring the Tong Wars— a series of violent disputes between various gangs of Chinese immigrants. Al Sahm is a martial arts prodigy that emigrates from China to search for his sister in America. This gets him involved with one of the Tongs and sets off a thrilling action-packed adventure.
3Ikki Tousen
Ikki Tousenis loosely based on the famous Chinese novelRomance of the Three Kingdomsbut is set in the modern era. The story centers on Hakufu Sonsaku, a fighter that transfers to the Nanyo Academy during an all-out martial arts turf war between seven schools for supremacy in the area. It had a total of 49 episodes that spanned four seasons and is absolutely worth watching today.
2Wu Assassins
Wu Assasinshas been highly praised for the amazing fight choreography within the show. InWu Assasins, A young Chinatown chef named Kai Jin gets tangled up with the Chinese Triad in San Fransisco as they attempt to track down the deadly power known as the ‘Wu Xing’. The plot might bea bit weird at times, but it’s still absolutely good enough to recommend.
1Dragon Ball Series
There’s no way we couldn’t mentionDragon Ball! The entire series has been overwhelmingly popular — even with people who are not normally anime fans. Following Goku from a young boy, all the way through his adventures in saving the universe through martial arts battles is an absolute joy that everyone should experience at least once in a lifetime.
