Saint Vincent’s College, Incorporated

Padre Ramon Street, Estaka, Dipolog City

Zamboanga del Norte

Physical Education 3
MODULE 2

PRELIMS AND MIDTERMS

TOPICS AND ACTIVITIES

Name: Time:
Course and Year: Class Schedule:
ARNIS:
The Philippines' National Sport and
Martial Art

Ruaidhrí Carroll

Arnis enjoys the status of the de jure national sport of the Philippines. It is a
martial art characterized by the use of “swinging and twirling movements,
accompanied by striking, thrusting and parrying techniques for defense and
offense.” Having been handed down from generation to generation for
centuries, the discipline hones the skill, speed, accuracy and agility of its
practitioners.

History
Arnis was developed by the indigenous populations of the Philippines, who
used an assorted range of weaponry for combat and self-defense. Encompassing
both simple impact and edged weapons, arnis traditionally involved rattan,
swords, daggers and spears.

In 1521, equipped with nothing more than bladed weapons and their fearsome
arnis abilities, Filipino islanders defeated Ferdinand Magellan’s armored,
musket-bearing Spanish conquistador forces when they tried to invade.
Statue of Datu Lapu Lapu, defender of the Philippines, in Cebu | © shankar s. / Flickr

When the Spanish eventually returned and successfully conquered parts of the
Philippines, the traditions of arnis were preserved, despite its prohibition, in the
forms of ritual dance, performance and mock battles. While earlier Filipino
martial arts were influenced by Spanish colonization, the modern forms have
been affected by the country’s contact with both the United States and Japan
after gaining independence in 1898. Just over a century later, in 2009, the
government of the Philippines declared arnis to be the martial art and national
sport of the Philippines.

Culture and traditions

Arnis is otherwise known as eskrima, kali and garrote, and by even more names
in different Filipino regional languages. Although Spanish influence had a
pacifying effect on Filipino martial culture, the original warrior ethos has
persisted and remains on the fringes of the art. Arnis “death-matches” were
outlawed as late as 1945 yet, as Mark V. Wiley explains in Filipino Martial
Culture, they still take place in private today.
Some of arnis’ many weapons | © Lorenz Lasco/WikiCommons

The Philippine government’s declaration of arnis as the national sport has

codified a clear martial culture. This should begin to develop an accessible story
of Filipino cultural heritage that the outside world can grasp, like Japan did
during the Edo period (1603-1868) and as post-cultural revolution China has
done with Wushu.

How it works
Like all martial arts, arnis is primarily defensive, encompassing hand-to-hand
combat, grappling and disarming techniques. However, the fighting style also
includes the use of bladed weapons and sticks, in addition to improvised
weapons. A baton-like cane is the primary melee tool employed and the weapon
used in officiated arnis competitions.

Competitive Arnis generally takes one of two forms: the performance-based

anyo model or the combative leban.Anyo competitions are judged on the basis
of the overall choreography of the performances, including the gracefulness,
strength and force employed. Meanwhile, the leban form tests participants’
agility and reactions, as competitions are judged based on the number of strikes
inflicted. Although most leban competitions exclude body contact, such as
grappling, blocks and disarming an opponent using the hands or feet, there are
some exceptions where full contact is permitted.
Arnis in popular culture: Hollywood
Close-quartered, fast-paced fights look great on screen and no martial style
involves quite the combative speed of arnis—no wonder it’s so popular with
Hollywood directors.The Bourne Identity (2002) features a kali/jeet kune do
hybrid fight style when Jason Bourne encounters Jarda, the only other living
agent of the terminated ‘Treadstone’ program. Vin Diesel and Jason Statham
also engage in eskrima-inspired combat, using metal pipes and wrenches instead
of sticks, in the final fight scene of Furious 7 (2015).

In Kick-Ass (2010), the eponymous character fights crime with arnis canes,
while his vigilante partner, Hit-Girl, uses Filipino balisong knives. Meanwhile,
Liam Neeson uses a combination of arnis, wing chun and silat to rescue his
daughter from her French captors in Taken (2008). James Bond too subdues a
knife-wielding assassin using Filipino martial arts in Quantum of Solace, the
2008 installment of the James Bond franchise.

Modern Arnis

Modern Arnis group at Rizal Park with Grandmaster Rodel Dagooc

Also known as Arnis

 Stick fighting
 Sword fighting
Focus  Knife fighting
 Unarmed combat

Country of origin Philippines

Creator Remy Presas

Parenthood Arnis, jujutsu, karate,

Olympic sport No

Modern Arnis is the system of Filipino fighting arts founded by 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 Filipino martial arts; since 1999 Ernesto
Presas has called his system Kombatan. It is derived principally from the
traditional Presas family style of the Bolo (machete) and the stick-dueling art of
Balintawak Eskrima, with influences from other Filipino and Japanese martial
arts.[1]

Arnis is the Philippines' national martial art and sport, after President Gloria
Macapagal Arroyo signed the Republic Act. No. 9850 in 2009. RA 9850 is a
consolidation of House Bill No. 6516 authored by South Cotabato Rep. Arthur
Pingoy Jr., and Senate Bill No. 1424 authored by Majority leader Juan Miguel
Zubiri with the help of Richard Gialogo. RA 9850 is expected to help propagate
arnis as a modern martial art/sport that can compete with popular non-Filipino
arts, i.e. taekwondo, karate and judo. The Act mandates the Department of
Education to include the sport as a Physical Education course.

Senior Grandmasters of Modern Arnis: GMs Samuel Bambit Dulay, Rene Tongson, Jerry
Dela Cruz, Rodel Dagooc, Pepito Robas along with Peachie Baron Saguin of Kalis
Ilustrisimo

Remy Presas studied his family's system from an early age. He went on to study
the Japanese systems of Shotokan Karate and Judo, achieving high rank in each;
but he simultaneously studied a variety of other Filipino systems, most notably
Venancio Bacon's Balintawak. Beginning with a small gymnasium in Bacolod
in the 1950s, he attempted to spread the art to the local youth as both a cultural
legacy and a form of physical development or sport. He taught the art at the
University of Negros Occidental-Recoletos. His desire to reinvigorate interest in
his country's traditional martial art grew over time, and he began making
modifications and improvements to what he had learned. In 1969 he moved to
Manila at the request of a government official, and formed the Modern Arnis
Federation of the Philippines. He was assisted by individuals such as those who
now are on the Modern Arnis Senior Masters Council: Rodel Dagooc, Jerry dela
Cruz, Roland Dantes, Vicente Sanchez, Rene Tongson, and Cristino Vasquez.
He continued to develop and spread his art, including via books, until political
considerations forced him to relocate to North America.

There he met Wally Jay, George Dillman, and other artists who influenced his
development of the art of Modern Arnis. In particular, many locks from Small
Circle Jujitsu were added to Modern Arnis. The art continued to grow and
change, in technique and in emphasis, though it always retained a focus on the
single stick and on general self-defense. Those who trained with Remy Presas in
the United States in the 1970s and early 1980s experienced the art differently
from those who began training in the late 1990s. Throughout the 1980s and
1990s he traveled extensively for seminars – the principal form of instruction in
the system was through weekend training camps held around the world but
especially in the U.S. – and produced books and videos. During the 1990s
Wally Jay, Remy Presas (Modern Arnis), and Jack Hogan (Kyusho Jitsu)
traveled together throughout the United States and worldwide promulgating
small-circle jujitsu. At that time many elements of Small Circle JuJitsu were
well integrated into Modern Arnis.

Grandmaster Vicente Sanchez with students at Rizal Park

During this time he experimented with different forms of titles and leadership in
the art. The International Modern Arnis Federation Philippines would come to
be the lead Modern Arnis organization in the Philippines, and the Deutscher
Arnis Verband of Germany would be the lead organization in Europe. In the
United States, the International Modern Arnis Federation (IMAF) was the
principal organization as far as certification was concerned, but the founder
created a variety of titles that indicated some level of organizational or
leadership authority in the art (as opposed to titles such as guro ("teacher") or
Punong Guro ("Head teacher") that recognized teaching and/or technical
ability). Most prominent among these titles were Datu, meaning a chieftain or
leader, awarded in this order to Shishir Inocalla, Kelly Worden and Ric "Bong"
Jornales (of Arnis Sikaran) (all in the 1980s), Dieter Knuettel (1996), Tim
Hartman and David Hoffman (both in 2000); and Master of Tapi-Tapi, awarded
to Jeff Delaney, Chuck Gauss, Jim Ladis, Gaby Roloff, Randi Schea, Ken
Smith, and Brian Zawilinski. The Masters of Tapi-Tapi titles were created to
provide leadership and steerage for the IMAF following Remy Presas' passing;
the title of Master of Tapi Tapi denotes those who have attained the highest
level of proficiency in Modern Arnis and these titles are separate from and
above rank. The Datus were expected to take leadership roles that might see
them move in different, and perhaps less conventional, directions. Through
2001, however, the art remained largely united under the founder.

In the wake of the 2001 death of Remy Presas, there was a splintering of the
remaining leadership of Modern Arnis. The IMAF, the organization of record
for North American Modern Arnis practitioners, split into two subgroups, one
headed by Randi Schea and one headed by Jeff Delaney; the remaining five
Masters of Tapi-Tapi associated with the group led by Randi Schea. Remy
Presas' son Remy P. Presas and his siblings formed a group following his
father's death, and Tim Hartman and Dieter Knuettel increased the
independence of their organizations (the WMAA and DAV, respectively). In
2012 Randi Schea and Jim Ladis retired from the IMAF. In 2018, Brian
Zawilinski, the senior-most Master of Tapi Tapi, resigned from the IMAF and
operates independently worldwide.

In many ways, the situation is analogous to what occurred in the Jeet Kune Do
and American Kenpo communities following the deaths of their popular and
charismatic founders. In particular, the question of how high-ranking arnisadors
should test for higher rank has been settled by different organizations in
different ways. In some cases this has caused controversy. The art is healthy and
continues to attract students.

Current practitioners of Modern Arnis or arts strongly influenced by Modern

Arnis who are prominent include: Bambit Dulay, Rene Tongson, Tim Hartman,
Chuck Gauss, Ken Smith, Brian Zawilinski, Dan Anderson, Bram Frank, Kelly
Worden, Rodel Dagooc and Dieter Knuettel. Modern Arnis continues to be
taught worldwide.
Training

Grandmaster Jerry Dela Cruz of Arnis Cruzada and Modern Arnis

One of the characteristics of Filipino martial arts is the use of weapons from the
very beginning of training and Modern Arnis is no exception. The primary
weapon is the rattan stick, called a cane or baston (baton), which varies in size,
but is usually about 28 inches (71 cm) in length. Both single and double stick
techniques are taught, with an emphasis on the former; unarmed defenses
against the stick and against bladed weapons (which the stick is sometimes
taken to represent) are a part of the curriculum.

It is said that, originally, the cane was considered sacred by practitioners

(Arnisadores), and therefore an arnis practitioner was expected to hit his cane at
the hand or forearm of his sparring partner and not at the latter's cane. This had
the advantage of being the preferred method in actual combat, referred to as
"defanging the snake", that is, making the opponent drop his weapon so that he
is less of a threat. However, it discouraged many would-be practitioners who
found this training too painful and injury-inducing. The result was that the
Filipino martial arts became in danger of dying out; in most areas of the
Philippines, Japanese martial arts such as Karate and Judo were much more
popular than the indigenous systems. Remy Presas' modernization of the
training method was intended to help preserve the Filipino martial arts. He
taught the method of hitting cane-on-cane during practice, which attracted more
newcomers to the art and allowed the art to be taught in the Philippines' school
system. "Defanging the snake" remains a principle of Modern Arnis, however,
and in practical application, one would typically strike the hand or arm. The
technique can be used empty-handed, where it is known as "limb destruction".

Training covers empty-hand self-defense (striking, locking, throwing, etc.) as

well as the trademark single and double stick techniques of the Filipino martial
arts. Other aspects of the art include espada y daga (sword and dagger fighting),
sinawali (double stick weaving patterns), and tapi-tapi (locking drills with the
stick). In addition to partner drills, Modern Arnis includes the use of anyo
(kata), solo forms both with and without the stick. Emphasis is placed on fitting
the art in with a student's previous training ("the art within your art"), smoothly
reacting to changing situations in the fight ("the flow"), and countering the
opponent's attempt to counter strikes directed at him ("tapi-tapi"). Practitioners
are called arnisadors or Modern Arnis players.

In addition to its Filipino influences, elements of Judo, Shotokan Karate, and

Wally Jay's Small Circle Jujutsu appear in the system.

Belt ranks

Grandmaster Pepito Robas of Otsotiros Baston Arnis System and Modern Arnis

Modern Arnis uses a ranking system similar to the Dan ranks used in Karate and
other Japanese systems. There are some minor variations between organizations
as to the exact number of belts. There are 10 or 11 black belt ranks in Modern
Arnis, depending on the organization. They are numbered in Tagalog:
 1. Isa (pronounced as i-sah; which literally means "one")
2. Dalawa (pronounced dah-la-wah; literally "two")
3. Tatlo (pronounced as tat-loh; literally "three")
4. Apat (pronounced as Ah-pat; literally "four")
5. Lima (pronounced as li-mah;literally "five")
6. Anim (pronounced as ah-neem; literally "six")
7. Pito (pronounced as pi-toh; literally "seven")
8. Walo (pronounced as "wah-loh"; literally "eight")
9. Siyam (pronounced as si-yam or shahm; literally "nine")
10. Sampu (pronounced as sam-pu; literally "ten")

Many groups use a "zero-degree" black belt rank as a probationary stage that
comes before Isa. The actual name of the ranks is gender-specific. For men the
rank is referred to as Lakan (Tagalog for nobleman) while for women it is
referred to as Dayang (Tagalog for lady). Thus, a first degree black belt in
Modern Arnis would be referred to as either a Lakan Isa or a Dayang Isa,
depending on his or her gender. The "zero-degree" rank, if used, is referred to as
simply Lakan or Dayang. The black belt is traditionally bordered with red;
however, some groups use a plain black belt.

In addition to rank, titles such as Datu, Commissioner, Master of Tapi-Tapi,

Senior Master, Punong Guro, etc., have occasionally been granted to certain
high-ranking individuals. The title Guro is typically given to all Lakans and
Dayangs.
Basic Stance ad Strikes
Organizations
Modern Arnis is perpetuated worldwide and some of the countries where the art
is most popular are the Philippines, the United States, Canada, and Germany,
but there are practitioners in many other nations as well. There are numerous
organizations that continue to spread the art of Modern Arnis, to include (in
alphabetical order) DAV (Germany), IMAF (US & Germany), IMAFP
(Philippines) and the WMAA (Global).
References
1.

 Frank, Bram (2010). Conceptual Modern Arnis. USA: Lulu Enterprises. pp. 12–15.
ISBN 978-0-557-37004-7.
  "Arnis declared National Martial Art and Sport". abs-cbnnews. Retrieved August 1,
2010.
  Lizares, George. "Arnis now a national sport". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Archived
from the original on September 9, 2015. Retrieved January 6, 2010.
  Wiley (2001)
  Presas, Remy (1983). Modern Arnis: Filipino Art of Stick Fighting. New York: Black
Belt Communications. pp. 3–18. ISBN 978-0-89750-089-0.
  Wiley, Mark V. (2001). Arnis: history and development of the Filipino martial arts.
Vermont: Tuttle. pp. 56–63. ISBN 978-0-8048-3269-4.
  Paman, Jose G. (2007). Arnis Self-Defense: Stick, Blade, and Empty-Hand Combat
Techniques of the Philippines. Berkeley, CA: Blue Snake Books. pp. 32–36. ISBN 978-1-
58394-177-5.
  Haines, Bruce A. (1995). Karate's history and traditions. Vermont: Tuttle Publishing.
pp. 75–76. ISBN 978-0-8048-1947-3.
  Wiley (2001) pp. 12-19
 Paman (2007) p. 38
Name: Time:
Course and Year: Class Schedule:

Multiple Choices. Encircle your answer with a blue pen color.

1. Which of the early Philippine Heroes used Arnis in fighting the
Spaniards?
a. Lakandula b. Raha Humabon c. Lapu-Lapu
b. d. Diego Silang
2. Which Republic Act establishes Arnis as Philippine Martial Arts and
National Sports?
a. RA 10627 b. RA 10533 c. RA 9850 d. RA 9760
3. Who signed the law proclaiming Arnis as our national sport?
a. Pres. Rodrigo Duterte
b. b. Pres. Gloria Arroyo
c. c. Pres. Joseph Estrada
d. d. Pres. Benigno Aquino III
4. Which principle/value is not taught/encourage in Arnis?
a. Self-discipline b. perseverance c. pride d. brutality
5. Techniques of the art that is focused on bladed weapons fighting.
a. Kali b. ice c. eskrima d. arnis
6. What is the other term of arnis?
a. Kamagong b. eskrima c. kali d. silat
7. It refers to a pair of protective head gear to include an impact worthy face
mask.
a. Chin guard b. head gear c. body protector
8. Refers to a pair of body protector properly cushioned to avoid injuries
and the specifications shall be according to the i-Arnis.
a. Chin guard b. head gear c. body protector
9. An instrument raised by the official to indicate stepping outside of the
playing area.
a. Yellow flag b. white flag c. blue flag d. red flag
10.Shall be raised by the timekeeper to declare the start and the end of the
performance.
a. Yellow flag b. white flag c. blue flag d. red flag
Name: Time:
Course and Year: Class Schedule:

True or False.
1. Arnis is a Filipino martial art that can be performed individually or a
partner using a single stick or a pair of sticks for striking and blocking;
can also be used for self defense. _________
2. Arnis was discovered on April 27, 1521. _________
3. Philippines in pre-colonial times was known as a knife culture in which
most people carry bladed weapons. _________
4. “Eskrima” is a Filipino word for esgrime, Spanish for “skirmish”.
_________
5. Arnis only emphasized weapon-based fighting techniques and it does not
include learning open-hand or fighting without weapons. _________
6. Arnis is the National Sport of the Philippines. _________
7. Eskrimadors established challenge fights called Juego Todo or death
matches to test their skills and boost their reputation. _________
8. The World Eskrima Federation is the largest governing body for the
promotion of Filipino martial arts through sports. _________
9. The Srivajayans were a warrior culture and said to have brought the
technology of forged blades on the Philippine islands. _________
10.When the Spaniards arrived in the Philippines, the natives were only
adept at hand to hand combat and lacked experience in weapons-based
martial arts. _________
11.Modern arnis is the system of Filipino fighting arts founded by Remy
Presas. _________
12.Arnis was derived from the word “arnes” which means colourful trapping
on defensive armors used in Moro Moro plays. _________
13.Arnis develops mental strength and courage that allows someone to face
danger and pain. _________
14.Modern arnis players and practitioners are called arnisadors. _________
15.The primary weapon used in the sport Arnis is the rattan stick, called a
cane or baston. _________