Historical Background about Arnis

Arnis can be traced from our ancestors’ aboriginal inhabitants – the Negritos or Aeta who
came from the Asian mainland, crossing shallow seas and land bridges. It evolved from a bladed
weapon into its present systematic martial arts for over a thousand years. This art was practiced
primarily for self-defense by the pre-Spanish Filipinos who were noted for their friendly nature and
legendary hospitability.
o The scarcity of written records and the archipelagic nature of our country caused the
art’s fragmented development, making it difficult for the researches to establish its
chronological line of descent to the modern times.
 Arnis is used to be known as Kali, and ancient Malayan word which implies a large bladed
weapon longer than knife. It must have been derived from Tjakalele which is a native fencing
in Indonesia.
o It is noted that fighting is inherent to man since one of the purposes of life is its
preservation. This form of fighting developed into a method of fighting until it became an
art.
 Another historical record despite being a
legend is “The Legend of Maragtas” which
contains two parts:
1. Deals with the culture, tradition, and
organization of Aetas in Panay.
2. Tells about the ten Bornean Datus.
Indonesia was once, in ancient times, a part
of Sri Vishayan and Majapajit Empires whose influence reached the Philippines. It is possible that
ten Bornean Datus with their families and armies with the tyranny of Datu Makatunaw purchased
the island of Panay in the 13 th century. During that period, Kali was taught in a school called
Bothoan as part of their education.

 Soon, Filipinos became expert in the use of bladed weapons and daggers. This is especially
true for the Muslims in Mindanao and Sulu who have a special inclination for these weapons. A
testimony of the Muslim’s love for the bladed weapon is the great variety of their knives which
include the Kris, Laring, Barong, Gunong, Kampilan, Gayang, and Panabas.
o Circumstantial evidence infers that Lapu-Lapu was a kali expert on April 27, 1521. He slain
the great Spanish navigator, Magellan, with a bladed weapon (Kampilan) thus making the
Filipino’s first victorious stand against foreign invaders.
 In 1564, another conquistador, Miguel Lopez de Legaspi with his men landed in Abuyog,
Leyte. They were treated to a feast and shown a sample of the early Filipino’s skill in combat
with Kali.
 Kali became so popular during the early days that it was known as the sport of kings and of the
members of the royal blood.
 Kali declined in popularity as early as 1596 when the Spanish authorities discouraged, and
eventually banned the practice of the art in 1764. They said that Filipinos were so engrossed in
the art that they left their lands untilled. The Spaniards also stated that the practice of the art
also led to serious physical injuries and even death.
 In 1673, the friars introduced the Moro-Moro, a socio-religious play dramatizing the triumph on
the Christian Spaniards over the Muslim.
 o The play called for the use of fighting techniques using a sword and the Filipinos again had
a chance to practice the art. Interest in Kali was revived.
o In the said play, the Spanish soldiers were supposed to wear Arnes, a Spanish word for the
English Harness. From the word Arnes, came the present Arnis – a Tagalog orthographic
translation of the Spanish Arnes. However, some regions retain the word Kali.
 When the Americans took control of the Philippines, they organized sports and introduced
physical activities. The practice of the art of Arnis was neglected because Filipinos were so
engrossed with the western sport.
 Before the art dies, Oriental Fighting Arts attracted the attention of the world. The
propagation of oriental fighting arts in the world contributed to the resurgence of the art of
Arnis. Modification of Arnis techniques was also made for utmost effectivity until a new way of
Arnis fighting was introduced which is now called the Modern Arnis or Presas Arnis.
o Modern Arnis is the system of Filipino martial arts founded by the late Remy Presas as a
self-defense system. His goal was to create an injury-free training method as well as an
effective self-defense system in order to preserve the older Arnis systems. The term
“Modern Arnis” was used by Remy Presas’ younger brother Ernesto Presas to describe his
style of Filipin martial arts.
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