So I really like some recent martial ars films like Wo Hu Cang Long (Crouching Tiger), House of Flyinf Daggers, and Hero. I want to watch more old karate movies from either Japan or China. My only requirement is that it be available subtitled.

I recently watched the American film Fordbidden Kingdom and thought it was horrible. So do you have any favorites you recommend?

Um, I would certainly recommend Ip Man and Ip Man 2. Ip Man is loosely based on the wing chun master Ip Man, Bruce Lee's sifu. I dunno if you like people flying everywhere and stuff like that, because that's not in Ip Man.

Drunken Master with Jackie Chan and Enter the Dragon with Bruce Lee are my two absolute favorites.

I don't mind people flying around the place but I prefer if they didn't, its one of the more ridiculous parts of thsoe movies.

One of my personal favorites is "The 36th Chamber of Shaolin." Simply a masterpiece.

Many of the older Jackie Chan movies (mostly those with Samo Hung and/or Yuen Biao) are very good. "Wheels on Meals" has one of the best fighting scenes ever:

Enter the Dragon with Bruce Lee is great, too.

All Bruce Lee movies, and some of Jackie Chans movies. and.. KILL BILL part 1 and 2. (sort of martial arts)

Then Ip man and Ip Man 2 are the perfect movies for you. Mostly realistic kung fu fighting. Here's a video of a lil fight at the beginning.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvtMY4p4Dsk

as someone with martial arts background, I watched quite a lot of these movies. two of my all time favourites: Fist of Legend and Drunken Master II. both were made in 1994, but waaaaaaaaaay better than the crap they make today imo. you can easily find them on youtube, with subtitles or english double. check them out if you haven't already.

Edit: this one is pretty good too

You just stumbled into the kings palace. I am abnormally knowledgable in the arts of martial arts movies. I'll start off with some recent favourites.

IP Man - Starring Donnie Yen and it's based on the life story of Bruce Lees master.

The Legend of Chen Zen - Starring Donnie Yen, it has an amazing cast, interesting plot and fighting choreography is intense.

Fearless - Starring Jet Li, it does the whole late 1800s China thing and shows a country under British rule and how a man who has lost everything, brings hope back to the Chinese republic. Great fights, great acting and the settings are breathtaking.

Drunken Master - One of Jackie Chans best movies, it contains a variety of fighting styles and holds true to Jackies quirky and quick method of fighting.

Kung Fu Hustle - It's a funny take on martial arts movies, but it's extremely entertaining, probably one of my favourites.

Hero - If you liked House of Flying Daggers and Crouching Tiger, then you'll love Hero. It stars Jet Li and it's one of the greatest and most popular martial arts epics in history. It looks amazing and it's highly recommended.

Thats just a few. I could go into the obscure, but that'd get weird for a newcomer, Stick to the movies I listed and you should be set.

Also, The Forbidden Kingdom was horrible, none of the movies I listed contains the cheesiness or the absurdity thats found in that movie.

Well, I like most of them the same that I've seen. Meaning I think they're really similar. But I like them alot

My favorites are Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. And Drunken Master. Kinda at other ends of the spectrum.
But I pretty much like almost all of jackie chan's movie. I was amused with the forbidden kingdom but they got  the lamest kid possible. D:

The Legend of the Black Scorpion. Also called the Banquet Depending on which country. Is good. It has Zhang Ziyi Like some of the ones you watched.

The Curse of the Golden Flower is good too.  And that's similar to the Legend of the black scorpion. I don't really recall much though.

I like the ones you listed. I'm not the biggest fan of this stuff. Though one of my favorite movies ever is Crouching Tiger.