History of Arnis

Arnis, also known as Kali or Eskrima/Escrima, is the national martial art of the Philippines.[2] The three are
roughly interchangeable umbrella terms for the traditional martial arts of the Philippines ("Filipino Martial
Arts", or FMA), which emphasize weapon-based fighting with sticks, knives, bladed weapons, and various
improvised weapons, as well as "open hand" or techniques without weapons. It is also known as Estoque
(Spanish for rapier), Estocada (Spanish for thrust or stab) and Garrote (Spanish for club). In Luzon it may go
by the name of Arnis de Mano.

The indigenous martial art that the Spanish encountered in 1610 was not yet called "Eskrima" at that time.
During those times, this martial art was known as Paccalicali-t (pronounced as pakkali-kalî) to the
Ibanags,[3] Didya (later changed to Kabaroan) to the Ilokanos, Sitbatan or Kalirongan to Pangasinenses,
Sinawali ("to weave") to the Kapampangans, Calis or Pananandata ("use of weapons") to the Tagalogs,
Pagaradman to the Ilonggos and Kaliradman to the Cebuanos. Kuntaw and Silat are separate martial arts
that are also practised in the Philippine Archipelago.

For all intents and purposes, arnis, eskrima and kali all refer to the same family of Filipino weapon-based
martial arts and fighting systems. Both Arnis and Eskrima are loans from Spanish:

Arnis comes from arnés, Old Spanish for "armor". It is said to derive from the armor costumes used in Moro-
moro stage plays where actors fought mock battles using wooden swords. Arnes is also an archaic Spanish
term for weapon.

Eskrima is a Filipinization of the Spanish word for fencing, related to the English term 'skirmish'.

As Arnis was an art usually practised by the poor or commoner class (as opposed
to nobility or warrior classes), most practitioners lacked the scholarly education to create any kind of written
record. While the same can be said of many martial arts, this is especially true for Arnis because almost all of
its history is anecdotal, oral or promotional.

Facilities and Equipment

 The game is played by using prescribed padded stick in delivering artistic and legal blows, strikes,
thrusts, and disarming the opponent to gain score.

o COMPITATION AREA
 Shall refers to the area by which the conduct of the competition shall be set or held including the free
zone around it.

o DIMENSIONS
 The playing area is a square measuring 8.0 meters by 8.0 meters with a two (2) meters minimum free
zone around it, and a clear space without any obstruction up to a height not less than 5 meters from
the playing surface.

o LINE OF THE PLAYING AREA

 All line of the playing surface are 5.08 cm.
 (2 inches) and must be of the floor and other lines previously drawn for other purposes.

 BOUNDARY LINE
 Four lines mark the boundary of the playing area.
 The free zone distance measuring 2.0 meters are drawn outside of the playing area.

 MATCH LINES
 Two lines of 1.0 meter long and 2.0 meters apart mark the horizontal match line.
 The horizontal match line are drawn 3 meters from the boundary lines that run perpendicularly to the
official’s table, and 3.5 meters from the boundary line that run parallel to the official’s table.

 WEAPON
 The padded stick shall be the official weapon of the player.
 The specification of which shall be in accordance with the i-ARNIS standard.
 No other similar material will be allowed to be used in any local, national or international competition.
 Each padded stick shall be properly foam-cushioned and shall have a maximum grip diameter of not
more than 3.81cm.
 (1 ½ inch) and length of 76.20cm (30 inches for men and women).The length of padded stick shall be
27 inches for boys and girls.
 Both padded stick shall be color-coded, one red and the other blue.

 HEAD PROTECTOR
 Refers to a pair of protective head gear to include an impact worthy face mask, the specifications of
which shall be in accordance with the i-ARNIS standard.
 Both headgears must be color-coded, one red the other blue, to match the padded stick of the player.

 BODY PROTECTOR
 Refers to a pair of protective body protector, properly cushioned, the specifications of which shall be in
accordance with the i-ARNIS standard.
 Male and female player must both wear body protector and groin protector.
 Body protector and groin protectors specifications shall be in accordance with the i-ARNIS standard.
 Both body protectors and groin protectors shall be color coded to match the color of the player.
 Forearm and shin guards are compulsory.
 The specifications shall be in accordance with i-ANIS standard. Both shin & forearm guards must be
color of the player.

 SCOREBOARDS
 A pair of scoreboard, either manually or electronically operated, the specifications of which shall be in
accordance with the i-ARNIS standard.
  Two score boards per contest area shall be placed at diagonally opposite at diagonally opposite corners
outside the playing area, inside the competition area within the free zone, right where the judges are
positioned.

 FLAGS
 Two sets of red and blue flags, the size of which is 30 cm by 25 cm, are used by the judges in declaring
decisions or asking for consultations.
 One yellow flag, size 30 cm by 25 cm.
 For timer’s use to signal the start and the end of each round and to declare a time-out and resumption
of the game.

 OTHER EQUIPMENT
 Stopwatch is use to keep the two-minutes per round.
 This include interruptions such as injury, changing of broken stick.
 A gong and mallet or other similar audible substitutes such as whistle, bell or buzzer shall be provided
for the timer to indicate the start and end of the round.
 A table shall be provided for the TIMER and RECORDER which shall be situated one (1) meter in front
of the playing area so that time signals are audible enough to both players and referee.

Striking Techniques
#1 - Left side of the head attack

#2 - Right side of the head attack

#3 - Left side of the body or torso

#4 - Right side of the body or torso

#5 - Thrust To The Stomach

#6 - Left Chest Stab

#7 - Right Chest Stab

#8 - Right Lower Leg

#9 - Left Lower Leg

#10 - Left Eye Poke

#11 - Right Eye Poke

#12 - Strike to the crown/top of

head.