Arnis

A collection of training weapons used in an Eskrima class. Includes a padded stick, a rattan stick, a wooden training knife, and a collection of aluminum training knives.

Eskrima or Escrima refers in a general way to Filipino martial arts. Other terms which have entered into common usage include Kali and Arnis de Mano; occasionally the abbreviation FMA is used. Eskrima and Arnis are the names primarily used in the Philippines today. The name Kali, although fairly common in the United States and Europe, is virtually unknown in the Philippines. However, for all intents and purposes, Eskrima, Arnis, Arnis de Mano, Kali and FMA all refer to the same family of martial arts.

The teaching of the basic skills in FMA are traditionally simplified. With limited time to teach flashy and intricate techniques, only skills that were proven effective in battle and could easily be taught en masse were used. This allowed villagers, who were generally not soldiers, a measure of protection against other villages, as well as foreign invaders. This philosophy of simplicity is still used today and is the underlying base of the FMA.

Because of this approach, the FMA are often mistakenly considered to be "simple" fighting arts. However, this refers only to its systematization, not effectiveness. To the contrary, beyond the basic skills lies a very complex structure and a refined skillset that takes years to master.

Many different systems of Eskrima exist, many of which can trace their origins to a single tribe or region. Some of the most famous systems from and in the Philippines are San Miguel Eskrima, Doce Pares, Balintawak, Modern Arnis, Kalis Illustrisimo/Bakbakan and the Black Eagle Eskrima, while in the United States Sayoc Kali, Serrada Escrima, Lameco Eskrima and Dog Brothers Martial Art are popular.

Practitioners of these arts are noted for their ability to fight with weapons or empty hands interchangeably. Most Eskrima systems include fighting with a variety of weapons, striking with hands and feet (suntukan, sikaran, panadiyakan/panadyakan), grappling and throwing (dumog), biting and whatever skills needed to complete a warrior's training in the old days of tribal warfare. Perhaps the only major fields lacking in modern eskrima training are skills needed for fighting effectively in groups and hilot - a Filipino system of healing and herbal medicine traditionally taught alongside eskrima but that has now virtually disappeared.

In most systems, skills with weapons and with empty hands (unarmed) are developed concurrently using training methods designed to emphasize their common elements. The most common variations used are single stick (solo baston), double stick (double baston) and sword/stick and knife (espada y daga). Some systems are known to specialise in other weapons such as the whip and staff.

Rattan, a cheap wood from an abundant grass in the Philippines, is the most common material for sticks and staves. Hard and durable, yet light weight, it can be fire hardened. It shreds under only the worst abuse and will not splinter like other woods do - thus making it a safe training tool. Kamagong (Ironwood) is also sometimes used, but generally not for sparring, as it is dense enough to cause serious injury.

An eskrimador or kalista (as some modern practitioners called themselves) is a practitioner of Eskrima, while Arnisador is also used for the variant name Arnis.

Names

The name Eskrima is the Filipino spelling which comes from the Spanish word esgrima, "fencing". Arnis is thought to derive from the phrase arnés de mano, Spanish for "harness of the hand". The origin of the name Kali is not certain, although some suggest it is related to the traditional weapon called a kris, karis, or kalis. Another explanation is that the word is a portmanteau of the Filipino words kamot, meaning hand or body, and lihok, meaning motion. This explanation may be a more recent innovation, retroactively fitting an acronym to the existing name. However, historically there was never a mother or parent art form known as Kali in the Philippines, including the Muslim populated Southern Mindanao. In fact, the term Kali did not exist until the 1960s when two well known eskrimadors in the United States popularized the word to distinguish what they taught from the teachings of other eskrimadors. Unfortunately, many came to believe that Kali represented a parent art form of escrima and arnis, and eventually the name, Kali, took on a life of its own. Today, the term Kali, although seldom used and mostly in few areas in the Southern Philippines, is gaining more acceptance and popularity throughout the country thanks in due part to the influence of visiting foreigners who more commonly use this term to describe the art. Several theories claim that the difference in the name either implied the region from which the art originated, the time period when the art was developed or the primary weapon of training, although in reality these claims are groundless. One will find the terms Eskrima and Arnis used interchangeably in the Philippines regardless of region, time period or weapon emphasis.

Filipino Martial Arts have seen an increase in prominence due to several Hollywood movies and the teachings of modern masters such as Dan Inosanto, Cacoy Canete, Richard Bustillo, Edgar Sulite, Leo Gaje, Armando P. Angeles, Leo Giron, Mike Inay, Ernesto Presas, Remy Presas and Angel Cabales.

History

As with most martial arts, the history of Eskrima is surrounded by legends makng it is difficult to pin down facts. This is specially true for eskrima since a significant amount of its history is anecdotal and oral. Being a martial art for the common folk, most of its practitioners lacked the scholarly education to create a written history. This confusion is further complicated by the fact that there are actually many different fighting systems with different histories that are called Eskrima (or Arnis de Mano). The most commonly accepted explanation for the origin of Eskrima systems is that they were originally the fighting systems possessed by every tribe in the Philippines and used by them to fight and defend against each other.

It is historically recorded, though, that when the Spanish conquistadors arrived, some tribes fought them, using native weapons and techniques. Magellan, in particular, was killed in the battle of Mactan in 1521 by forces of the Mactan tribal chief Lapu-Lapu when Magellan landed in Cebu - albeit by an arrow, not the sword or stick as many eskrimadors promote. From this point sources differ on the history of Eskrima. Certainly by the time the Spanish reached the Philippines, they were extremely experienced conquerors, and had their own highly effective fighting systems, along with higher-quality steel and weapons. The degree to which this affected the practice of the native fighting arts is a matter of debate, but it seems likely that the Filipinos borrowed what worked and discarded what didn't (or at least, the Filipinos that survived to pass on their fighting arts did so). Many Europeans and Americans would like to think of escrima as a Western martial art preserved by an Asiatic people, but this is nonsense. However, there is little doubt that Spanish fencing did influence the development of escrima as a martial system.

Many believe these Philippine fighting systems have strong historical roots from Indonesian martial arts that are Chinese influenced like Kun Tao. Kun Tao (literally the way of the fist) of course finds its roots from Ch'uan Fa (which is a generic word for what westerners would call kung fu, it also literally means way of the fist). Other systems that have similar movements to many Filipino systems also find their roots from Ch'uan Fa. There are even counts of lost Ch'uan and Tai Chi double stick forms that many of the fleeing renegade monks would have trained for that period. These Chinese-based influences to the martial arts are not as powerful as the direct links to the cultural and political ties found in the Philippines even today. Many even believe the systems are totally intact in the way profound Chinese arts once were before events like the Cultural Revolution.

Others believe that since FMA is weapons-based, this suggests its roots and development are independent and autonomous of most foreign "fist" systems. In fact, it can be said that the inevitable similarities are due to the weaponry components of both Filipino, Indonesian and Chinese martial arts. Any exercises or similar hand movements to that of the Indonesian and Chinsese arts were introduced only in recent years to augment the newer eskrima groups - something which is less apparent in the more traditional and established authentic systems.

Although the turbulent and conflict wrought history and environment of the Philippines enabled the FMA to develop into an efficient, albeit violent art, this changed recently in the sense that some systematization allowed easier and quicker teaching for the basics. Except for a few older and established systems, before this change it was more common to pass the art from generation to generation in an informal approach. Regardless of teaching methodology, these arts are considered so effective and easy to learn with sufficient practice that the U.S. military teaches it to some varying degree in all of its branches, particularly special forces groups like the SEALs. Many special operations groups were stationed in the Philippines for some period of time during WWII - the period when these arts first became apparent to the America mainstream.

For the last century, the most important practice of Eskrima has been in dueling, which was common in the Philippines and among Filipinos elsewhere. The founders of most of the currently popular Eskrima systems were famous duelists; legends circulate about how many people so-and-so has killed. Certainly duels did happen and deaths did result. However, to reduce legal problems that arose from injury or death, most duels would later often be fought with hardwood sticks instead of blades. Public dueling has almost all been eliminated from the Filipino society. Althogh, local folk in the Philippines are much more likely to carry knives than guns, and much more likely to use them when tempers rise, than people in North America or Europe. As a result, knife-fighting (and to a lesser extent, fighting with machetes) is still very much a living skill in the Philippines.

For a more precise history, one must distinguish between the different systems of Eskrima (see below).

One must then attempt to trace back the lineage of their teacher as far as possible in order to understand where the techniques came from. Often this is difficult; for example, Antonio Illustrisimo seemed to have learned to fight while traveling around the Philippines (and the rest of the Pacific) as a sailor, while his nephew and student Floro Villabrille claimed to have been taught by a blind princess in the mountains - a claim later refuted by the older Illustrisimo. Both have since passed away.

Secrecy was also a big part of this art and teaching it outside of the Filipino community was considered taboo until the 1980s. Instructors of stick fighting classes in the 1960s and 1970s were reprimanded by Filipino elders for publicly teaching what had been traditionally kept secret.

Eskrima today

In recent years, there has been an increased interest in martial arts from cultures all over the world, including Eskrima, Capoeira, Savate, Muay Thai and others. Arguably one of the best arts for learning to use or defend against knifes, Eskrima has also appealed a lot of people not interested in its cultural aspects. As a consequence, most Eskrima systems have been modified (to varying degrees) to make them more marketable to a worldwide audience. Usually this involves a greatly increased emphasis on locking, controls and disarms, as well as "self-defense" aspects, along with some influence from Asian martial arts (sometimes in just the name). It also tends to decrease the emphasis on careful footwork and low stances. The increased interest also shifted the training methods to techniques based and less on more direct and effective moves that would have instantly ended an encounter.

Eskrima has also begun to be practiced as a sport, although there is as yet little standardization or uniformity. The rules, with their corresponding effect on technique, have yet to be decided upon, although several tournaments have been held with various sets of rules. The most common set is the WEKAF (World Eskrima Kali Arnis Federation) rules that work on a 10 point must system where participants spar with a body protector and helmet. In this particular format, offense is emphasized over defense.

Nowadays it's not uncommon to see Eskrima and Wing Chun (or its derivatives such as Wing Tsun) practised together. The Wing Chun connection dates back to Bruce Lee and Dan Inosanto. The proponents of such training say the arts are very similar in many aspects and complement each other well. It has also become marketable and fashionable to offer stripped down eskrima classes in other traditional Asian martial arts studios in America. In a twist of irony, other arts are borrowing techniques from eskrima and calling it their own. These only point to eskrima's ever increasing popularity and the demand for this beautiful, practical and effective martial art.

Technical aspects

Weapons

The most obvious feature of an Eskrima class is that it is mostly weapon-based. The student is first taught to work with weapons and only advances to empty-hand techniques once the stick techniques have been learned. This is reasonable because most systems have unified their teaching so that the empty-hand techniques are learned through the same exercises as the weapon techniques. This approach of weapons first is unique to the martial arts wherein all others start by developing the years of empty hands proficiency first before being introduced to the weapons component.

The most common weapon used in training is a rattan stick about the length of the practitioner's arm, although the length may very from about 45cm to 70cm. Some schools prefer sticks of a particular length, while others expect students to learn which techniques are appropriate for a variety of lengths. Most North American and European schools use hand and head protection when sparring with rattan sticks.

Other sticks used for training and for some duels are made of hardwood, such as molave or kamagong (ebony), that is burned and hardened. They can also be made out of aluminum or other metals, or modern high-impact plastics. The sticks can also be padded for training purposes, though this practice is usually only used in schools in North America or Europe.

Many systems in fact begin training with two weapons, either a pair of sticks or a stick and a wooden knife (called espada y daga, Spanish for "sword and dagger"). This is sometimes justified by pointing out that warriors would not have gone into battle with an empty hand; another common explanation is that having two weapons forces the practitioner to use both hands, which is valuable even when working with one weapon: the extra hand is used to control the opponent's weapon and to strike when the range is sufficiently close. (Such uses are banned in modern sport fencing, so sport fencers generally hold the unused hand away from danger.) Historically, people all over the world, including Filipino warriors and Renaissance fencers often trained with a long weapon in one hand and a short weapon in the other.

The stick techniques used in Eskrima fall into two categories: the stick techniques that are training for sword fighting, and the stick techniques that are training for stick fighting. As usual, most systems are designed so that the practitioner can adapt their training to either weapon. Other weapons traditionally included in Eskrima training include spears, shields, whips and flails (called nunchaku in the Okinawan martial arts).

Ranges

Most systems recognize that the technical nature of combat changes drastically as the distance between opponents changes, and generally classify the ranges into at least three categories. Each range has its characteristic techniques and footwork. Of course, some systems place more emphasis on certain ranges than others, but almost all recognize that being able to work in and control any range essential.

In order to control the range, and for numerous other purposes, good footwork is essential. Most Eskrima systems explain their footwork in terms of triangles: normally two feet occupy two corners of the triangle and the step is to the third corner. The shape and size of the triangle must of course be adapted to the particular situation. The style of footwork and the standing position vary greatly from school to school and from practitioner to practitioner. For a very traditional school, very conscious of battlefield necessities, stances will usually be very low, often with one knee on the ground, and footwork will be complex, involving many careful cross-steps to allow practitioners to cope with multiple opponents. The Villabrille and San Miguel systems are usually taught in this way. Systems that have been adapted to duels or sporting matches usually use simpler footwork, focusing on a single opponent. North American schools tend to use much more upright stances, as this is much easier for the legs. There are, of course, many exceptions.

Drills

The Inosanto system of eskrima is also notable for its emphasis on flowing and looping drills. Several classes of exercises, such as sumbrada, contrada, sinawali, hubud-lubud and sequidas are expressly designed to allow partners to move quickly and experiment with variations while remaining safe. For example, in a sumbrada drill taken from the Villabrille system, one partner feeds an attack, which the other counters, flowing into a counterattack, which is then countered, flowing into a counterattack, and so on. The hubad-lubad (commonly misspelled as hubud-lubud) taken from the Doce Pares system is frequently used as a type of "generator" drill, where one is forced to act and think while fists are already flying. Initially, students learn a specific series of attacks, counters, and counterattacks. As they advance, they can add minor variations, change the footwork, or switch to completely different attacks; eventually the exercise becomes almost completely free-form. Disarms, take-downs, and other techniques usually break the flow of such a drill, but they are usually practiced beginning from such a sequence of movements in order to force the student to adapt to a variety of situations. A common practice is to begin a drill with each student armed with two weapons; once the drill is flowing, if a student sees an opportunity to disarm their opponent, they will, but the drill will continue until both students are empty-handed. Some drills for practicing disarms use only a single weapon per pair, and the partners take turns taking it from each other. Seguidas drills taken from San Miguel system, are sets of hitting and movement patterns usually involving stick and dagger.

Rhythm, while an essentail part of Eskrima drills, is given more emphasis in the United States. To ensure the safety of the participants, most drills are done at a constant pace, which is of course increased as the students progress. While not a staple in the Philippines, Eskrima elsewhere is practiced to a rythmic beat that serves as a guide for students to follow. This has been commonly mistaken, together with the added effect of a southern Philippine Muslim attire of a vest and sashed pants, to be some sort of tradition when practicing eskrima in the Philippines - perhaps either incorrectly derived and linked to other traditional Filipino rhythm based dances or an attempt to gain some authenticity and ethnicity. Eskrima is usually practiced in the Philippines without rhythm, off-beat or out of rhythm. Although the art existed long before the Spanish influence, the art is "tagged" with the Spanish name for Fencing (Eskrima). Most modern Eskrimadors dress in the modern Matrial Arts attire of their home studio, but the practice of 3/4 length pants and durmmers still has a home with the practitioners of Kali, the art which still claims a connection to its pre-Spanish roots.

Subsections of Eskrima

Special terminology is used to refer to some of the subdisciplines of Eskrima. Some schools teach separate classes in these disciplines, and some schools teach only one.

• Pangamut is the empty hand component.
• Dumog is the grappling component; often it emphasizes disabling or control of the opponent by manipulation of the head and neck (neck breaking is very common). Usually too dangerous to allow free sparring.
• Panuntukan (often misspelled as Panantukan) is the kickboxing component; it focuses on striking with (empty) hands and feet, although it does not assume the opponent is unarmed. Although, in the Philippines panuntukan is always referred to as only hand striking.
  • Pananjakan (also panandyakan or panandiyakan; often misspelled as pananjakman) is the kicking component. In the United States it is a subset of panantukan while in the Philippines it strictly refers to any kicking only.
• Gunting, meaning scissors, is the component that focuses on destroying the opponents ability to wield their weapon. This can be done by cutting the hand or wrist with a pair of blades (hence the name) but it can also be done with a single blade or with the empy hand by striking nerves and tensed muscles. (However, successful application of this technique during a real empty hand confrontation is difficult.)
• Espada y daga is the use of a sword and knife (often simulated with a stick and a wooden knife).
• Doble baston is the use of a pair of sticks.
• Solo baston is the use of a single stick.
• Baraw is the use knife-fighting techniques.
• Mano-mano is empty hand combat.

Strikes

Many Filipino systems focus on defending against angles of attack rather than particular strikes. The theory behind this is that the technique for defending against an attack that comes straight down the center is very similar whether the attacker has an empty hand, a knife, a sword or a spear. Older Filipino systems gave each angle a name, but more recent systems tend to simply number them. Many systems have twelve standard angles, though some have as few as 5, and others as many as 72. Although the exact angles, the order in which they're numbered and the manner in which they're executed vary from system to system, most are based upon Filipino cosmology. These standard angles are used to describe exercises; to aid memorization, a standard series of strikes from these angles called an abecedario (Spanish for "alphabet") is often practiced.

Some angles of attack and some strikes have characteristic names.

• San Miguel is a forehand strike with the right hand, moving from the striker's right shoulder toward their left hip. It is named after Saint Michael or the Archangel Michael, who is often depicted holding a sword at this angle. This is the most natural strike for most untrained people. It is also referred to as a "#1," in 12 systems which employ 5, 12 or multiple angles.
• A redondo (Spanish for "round") is a strike that whips in a circle to return to its point of origin. Especially useful when using sticks (rather than swords), such a strike allows extremely fast strikes but needs constant practice.
• An abaniko (from the Spanish for "fan") is a strike executed by whipping the stick around the wrist in a fanning motion. Not very forceful and not well suited to swords, this strike can be very quick and arrive from an unexpected angle.
• Hakbang is a general term for footwork. For example, hakbang paiwas is pivoting footwork, while hakbang tatsulok is triangle stepping.
• Punyo is a strike delivered with the butt of the weapon, usually to a nerve point or other soft spot on the opponent, although not necessarily: in skilled hands, the punyo is often used to shatter bones.

Perhaps because of its recent history as an art of duelists, Eskrima techniques are generally based on the assumption that both the student and their opponent are very highly trained and well prepared. For this reason, Eskrima technique tends to favor extreme caution, always considering the possibility of a failed technique or an unexpected knife. On the other hand, the practitioner is assumed to be able to strike very precisely and quickly. The general principle is that an opponent's ability to attack should be destroyed (rather than trying to hurt them to convince them to stop). Thus many strikes are to the hands and arms, hoping to break the hand holding the weapon or cut the nerves or tendons controlling it. Strikes to the eyes and legs are also important.

Major systems of Eskrima (alphabetical order)

• Angeles Eskrima - A Cebuano system originating from the Angeles Family and passed on through Maestro Armando p. Angeles of Cebu
• Balintawak Arnis - Founded by Anciong Bacon after internal dispute amongst some of the original founders of the Doce Pares system.
• Cabales Serrada Eskrima - Founded by Angel Cabales.
• Dekiti Tirsia Siradas - Founded by Jerson Tortal Jr, son of Jerson "Nene" Tortal. This family art system of the Tortal clan emphasizes close quarter attacks and cuts.
• Doce Pares Escrima - Founded by the Cañete family, headed by Dionisio Cañete.
• Giron Arnis Escrima http://www.gironarnisescrima.com/
• Inayan Eskrima - developed by Suro Mike Inay from various other styles http://www.inayaneskrima.com/
• Inosanto Kali - developed by Dan Inosanto from various other styles; he does not call it a system in its own right, preferring to refer to his teachers.
• Kalis Illustrisimo - Founded by Antonio Illustrisimo; important as the ancestor of many current Eskrima systems.
• Lameco Escrima - Founded by Edgar Sulite. The name comes from the three ranges of the system, largo, medio, and corto.
• Modern Arnis - Founded by Remy and Ernesto Presas. Grandmaster Ernesto Presas now calls hi sversion of the style Kombatan.
• Patayin Estilo - Founded by Blaise Loong, this system incorporates elements from several Filipino art forms. The name literally means, "The Kill Style", and makes up one aspect of the art which he calls, Yashai Warcraft (or Warcraft).
• Pekiti Tirsia - Founded by Leo T. Gaje from the family system of the Tortal family, the name means "to cut into pieces at close range", although the system includes techniques for all ranges.
• Sayoc Kali - Knife based style of Kali, but contains various weapons. Mainly taught by the Sayoc family.
• San Miguel Eskrima - As one of the founders (together with the famous Doring and Ensong Saavedra) of the Labangon Fencing Club in 1920 and later the Doce Pares Club in 1932, Filemon "Momoy" Cañete created the blade based San Miguel Eskrima as his personal expression of the Doce Pares art and methodology.
• Villabrille System - Founded by Ben Largusa on the teachings of Floro Villabrille, the system pays an unusual amount of attention to traditional weapons such as the spear or the sword and shield.

See also List of Eskrima systems

External links

• International Jeet Kune Do Join us and learn Kali in Thailand, Singapore and USA
• PSDTC Practical Self Defense Training Center is a very good Filipino martial art school for learning the history, culture and the true art of ancient combat
• Filipino Martial Arts FAQ
• The list of Eskrima systems contains links to the homepages of some systems.
• A list of common Eskrima terminology
• A detailed history of Eskrima - includes references for various facts

• Expanded glossary of terminology - Filipino Combat Systems FMA GLOSSARY by Guro Ben Fajardo