If you’ve dabbled in martial arts, you may have already realized how pricey––and obscure––most of the instructional videos are. After experiencing this frustration for years, Peter Maddrell founded Bushido DVD. (Bushido means “way of the warrior,” which, according to Wikipedia, “is an ethical code of conduct, analogous to the European concept of chivalry.”)

The company has more than 900 films in its stores ranging from instructional to documentary to classic kung fu to anime. And though mainstream martial arts features like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Kill Bill aren’t here, BushidoDVD is clearly informed by their presence. The site itself is appropriately darker than Netflix––the “Most Popular” disc right now is >12 Shots to Escape Any Street Fight, a film that teaches how “to defend and counter the most common and most powerful type of punch you are likely to encounter in a violent assault.” Not exactly The Aviator (the most rented DVD on Netflix today).

In addition to genre, you can search the site alphabetically––from Aikido Defense to Zatoichi: The Festival of Fire, a 1970 movie starring Japanese cult star Shintaro Katsu. Not surprisingly, female specific offerings are slim here. I could only find Women’s Self Defense with Cynthia Rothrock. This, like most of the contemporary martial arts scene, is definitely a boy’s world. But a fun one, no doubt, when you can dip into everything from Israeli techniques to Brazilian jujitsu for only $16.95 a month in the one-DVD-at-a-time Ronin Plan. The “Review” section of most (if not all) of the films appears blank, so rent titles like Shito Ryu Karate Vol. 6: Katas Part 5 at your own risk.

bushidodvd.com