Arnis Rules and Regulations: Do

You Know It?

December 24, 2018 Leave a Comment

Martial arts have always held their place in history as practices of brave warriors who
fear nothing. For so many years, kings and rulers showed the ultimate respect to those
who feared nothing and would hold their weapons and terrorize their enemies by just
their mere presence in order to protect and serve.

Arnis warriors were always respected in their communities for always putting their lives
on their hands for their tribes and their nation as a whole. Generally, Arnis involves a lot
of mighty martial arts and practices that have changed the face of history. For so many
decades and centuries, practitioners would love to give what it takes in order to become
renowned Arnis warriors who would protect their nation against invaders and attackers.

Contents
 HISTORY OF ARNIS
 ARNIS TODAY
o CODE OF ETHICS
o FACILITES
o EQUIPMENT
o QUALIFICATIONS
o Share this:
HISTORY OF ARNIS

Traditionally, Arnis was also known

as Kali and Eskrima. All three names combine several practices of the national martial
art of the Philippines and are still sometimes used interchangeably. These ancient
practices are concerned with weapon based fighting that involves the use of swords,
knives, daggers, sticks and other non-traditional weapons. Arnis also
involves Arnis fighting techniques that involve no weapons whatsoever and depend
solely on the power of the body.

In addition to the high and respectful status Arnis warriors used to hold in the Filipino
society, Arnis has developed and evolved to become a traditional symbol of the Filipino
culture, history and essence. It is an integral part of the pop culture in South East Asia.

Ever since Arnis became

popular in the 1600, practitioners understood that it takes a lot of devotion, dedication
and practice to become an Arnis warrior. Masters would spend years training their
apprentices and designing fatal weapons that don’t need to be used twice.
Over the years, Arnis has become more than just another form of martial arts. It became
a crucial part of the Filipino culture, taking its place as a practice that has changed the
face of history on so many occasions.

As of 2009, the National Congress of the Philippines declared that Arnis is the national
sport and martial art of the Philippines. It promotes nationalism, patriotism and paying
tribute to the ancient and mighty heroes who have done so much for their country.
Nobody can forget how these warriors fought against the Spanish invasion using only
their swords, bodies and will power in order to grant their country its freedom.

Revgear Economy Padded Stick (26-Inch)

By Revgear (Oct 11, 2011)
$9.99
Rated 3 out of 5 by 47 reviewers on Amazon.com
Buy Now

ARNIS TODAY

Today Arnis still holds its status as a symbol for heroism and devotion. However, we
can safely say that wars are past the days of physical contact, where only the bravest
and most courageous would win. Since it is all now about pressing buttons and using
chemicals, Arnis has become rather a symbol of love, brotherhood and a means to
develop friendship. Masters and apprentices go that extra mile to tame their bodies and
minds. Now it is not about defeating and neutralizing the opponent but it is a practice
that aims at improving the skills of players. Hence, Arnis rules and regulations must be
developed.

Read more:

 Panantukan – Effective Self Defense System

 How to Master The Arnis Round Kick
 Silat Harimau: Art of Fighting Based on The Tiger
 The Deadly Karambit Wounds

CODE OF ETHICS

This code governs the practices of players, masters and everybody who is interested in
Arnis as a national martial art. Practitioners will show great respect to their masters and
to senior practitioners. Players will always salute each other before and after any
encounter.

Since Arnis goes way back in history, it still holds some of the ancient traditions that
focus on respecting the elders and the most experienced ones. Junior players are not to
challenge senior ones, unless it is a part of the game. On the other hand, senior players
will always share their experience and knowledge with the less experienced ones in
order to help them develop and become better players.

FACILITES
In order to safely practice Arnis, the play area should be a square that has a side of 8
meter with at least 2 meters of free space around it. There should be 2 inches wide lines
drawn in a different color that will set the exact play area in order to make sure that the
players know exactly where they can move.

As a general Arnis rules and regulations, the play area should be flat, smooth and
clean. Of course, this has nothing to do with the conditions where earlier warriors had to
practice Arnis. Since they sometimes fought in the jungle or on the shore, they had to
go through rough terrains, rocky or pebbly grounds or even fight their ways through
thick bushes.

EQUIPMENT
This includes all the weapons that warriors will use for practice and for professional
competitive matches. Unlike the past, most of today’s practitioners will use padded stick
instead of sharp deadly weapons. These padded sticks have a comfortable grip and
come in 2 colors; blue and red.

Players are to wear head protectors and body protectors. Since the main aim of Arnis
now is to develop the skills of practitioners, the aim stands very far from where the
original practice started. In the past, everything about Arnis was designed to make sure
that the fight will end soon enough, with only one survivor. Weapons were so sharp that
they could split the enemy in half with one strike. Sometimes fighters would carry 2
weapons at a time, to inflict dual strikes that would end any fight to their favor in a
matter of minutes.
Revgear Economy Padded Stick (26-Inch)
By Revgear (Oct 11, 2011)
$9.99
Rated 3 out of 5 by 47 reviewers on Amazon.com
Buy Now

QUALIFICATIONS

Today it is all about agreed upon Arnis rules and

regulations that all players must comply with. All players should meet the age
requirement set by the organizing committee. They should also be physically fit for
competition. Since there are certain rules that will apply to everybody, all players must
accept the decisions of referees without questions. If there are any disputes, the coach
will have the right to ask for clarification after the match.

Judges can give a score that will range between 1 and 10, with 0.5 increments. The
degree of difficulty and creativity can have a great impact on your score. After collecting
the scores of individual players or the whole team, they will be arranged in a descending
order from the highest to the lowest.
Arnis has gained popularity all over the world, with a lot of practitioners who have never
set foot in the Philippines. These guidelines, rules and regulations are respected by the
whole community and facilitate the practice of this wonderful martial art in a safe
environment.

https://martialartskills.com/arnis-rules-and-regulations/

THE WEAPON
When you go to an arnis club, you will find a weapons rack full of rattan canes (a type of
grass that grows in the pacific area) wrapped in colorful electric tape to prevent the
materials from fraying and falling all over the ground. The canes range from 24-28
inches and vary in width 7/8th-1.5 inch.

One of the major reasons that rattan has been one of the staples of arnis/eskrima/kali is
that these canes are easily found and cultivated in the environment. So for you this
means that you should start with whatever is available to you (wood, steel, pvc, etc…).

WHERE TO START
Starting Arnis is like growing up. We start with learning to stand.

 Assume a natural stance with feet one shoulder width apart and feet on a 45

degree angle.
 Knees should be slightly bent and you should grip your cane on opposite sides,
palms down, and resting comfortably in front of you.
 After standing you want to practice moving forward and backward with the cane
in your hands.
 Bring the weapon up to your chest like you are being held up (Charged position).

Striking before blocking

You need to be as effective as possible as quick as possible so you start with striking
before blocking. The first strike is a thrust. You step forward and strike out and back
with the middle of the cane while still holding both ends. Your motion is similar to when
you push with both hands. Target the head, ribs, knees, etc… The step is to step so that
your side is facing the target, keep your grip on the cane and strike with the same side
forward.

Once you get the hang of thrusting strikes, we will move on to angled strikes. From the
charged position step forward and strike with a hooking fashion with the same side
corner of the cane (like doing a hook punch with a stick in your hands). Aim at temples,
ribs, face, kidneys (There are NO wrong targets).

All of the strikes up to this point have been with both hands on the cane so the next
strike is meant to introduce you to the can moving in one hand while moving to a new
distance. You are going to start in the charged position and using the tension of the rear
hand you are going to snap the cane out to the target and back. (This is the way to
introduce you to strikes 1, 2 and 10, 11 of modern arnis).

That should be enough strikes to get you started and to start to condition you to
controlling the cane and to distancing with the weapon.

Stop, and Block

Start from the charge position and strike out in a similar fashion to the first attack you
are going to block in a stop sign (octagon) fashion starting high and moving in a
clockwise fashion. You can block in any direction with one of the angles for the stop
sign. You want to strongly thrust out to ensure that you are canceling the force of the
attack. Aim the middle of your cane at the attacking strike to ensure that you don’t have
to worry about having your hand struck.

The best place to block is as close to their hand as possible to avoid the most
dangerous part of the cane. Step forward as you intercept the strike and keep your arms
bent to absorb the strike.

https://martialartskills.com/basic-skills-in-arnis/