Introduction

Arnis is the official national sport and the martial art of the Philippines. It is also known as "Kali" or "Eskrima".
These two terms are used for the traditional martial art of the Philippines (“Filipino Martial Arts”, or “FMA”) that
focuses on weapon-based fighting with knives, sticks, bladed weapons and some improvised weapons. Arnis is
a combat sport to defend oneself from attacks using hand to hand combat, grappling and weapon disarming in
weapon-based fights. 
Origin of the Name
The word Arnis got originated from the old Spanish term, arnés, meant “armor”and Eskrima is a Filipinization of
the Spanish word, esgrima for fencing. Whereas the name ‘Kali’ was derived from the pre-Hispanic
Filipano term ‘Kalis’ which meant Blades and Fencing.
Practitioners of the sport are called “arnisador” for male and “arnisadora” for female in Arnis
and “eskrimador” for male and “eskrimadora” for female in the Eskrima and Kali Art.
Moreover, all the three, Arnis, Eskrima and Kali belong to the same family of Filipino weapon-based martial arts and
fighting systems.

History
Philippine is an island nation that is not only rich in culture, heritage, and history but also in sports. The Filipino
martial art widely known as Arnis / Kali / Eskrima has contributed to both the history and diversity of Philippines.
Some common questions that arise in every reader’s mind are (a) “Where did this Sport Originate From?” (b)
“Why is it played?”  Therefore, to get a better understanding about the sport we need to dig into the past.
Initially, the sport was practiced by peasants or by commoner class people.  But these practitioners lacked the
scholarly knowledge due to which this sport has no written records. The origin of Arnis can be traced back to native
fighting techniques during the conflicts among the various Pre-Hispanic Filipino tribes or kingdoms. Whereas,
another form of Spanish fencing dating back to the 15th Century, also influenced the current form of Arnis,
moreover it also has the impact of Chinese, Arab and Indian martial arts.
It is also believed by some people of Philippines that the Filipino art of Arnis has some roots connected to India as
the people who traveled through Indonesia and Malaysia to the Philippine islands had brought this art with
them. Silambam, a stick based ancient martial art of Tamil Nadu, India, has influenced many martial art forms
in Asia like Silat among which it is also believed that the Filipino Martial art sport, Arnis, also shares ancestry with
India’s Martial art, Silambam, as it has some similar moves with the short stick (kali or kaji) and other weapon
based styles of Silambam.
Arnis originally belonged to the people of Philippines, but as time passed by, the art spread over to other countries and
by the time of World War II; many continents adopted it. Arnis also played a significant role during
the Philippine revolutionaries against the Spaniards.
Eventually, it was the Filipinos who provided the art with a systematic structure. It was brought
to Hawaii and California in the 1920s. The teaching was kept within the Filipino communities until the 1960s after
which Master Angel Cabales and others began teaching it to others. It took almost two decades to make the art
known to all around the world and in January 2010; it was officially recognized as the National Martial
Art and Sport of the Philippines.
Depending upon the use of weapons and sticks; Arnis is differentiated into two styles: the Classic Arnis that is all
about the use of blades and weapons whereas the Modern Arnis deals with the art of sticks and everyday objects. The
Modern Arnis is the system of the 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 to carry forward the older
Arnis systems.

Variants
Arnis was declared as the Philippines’ National sport and martial art on 11 December 2009. The first national
organization for Arnis is the National Arnis Association of the Philippines (NARAPHIL) which was founded
in 1975 by Gen. Fabian C. Ver. 

Objective
The sport Arnis is played between two fighters with a main objective of earning more points by legally attacking
the opponent with the help of stick. It is said that Arnis develops self-discipline and control because this sport is a
simple martial art and it is all about defending oneself by using sticks.

Equipment
Arnis / Kali / Eskrima are all part of the same art depending on the location, dialect and type of training. The one
interpretation common to all of them is that Kali is the mother art of Arnis and Eskrima. Moreover, Arnis focuses
on the knife, including the dagger, sword, and any other form of bladed weapon whereas Eskrima is based on
the ‘baston’ or stick. Therefore, the equipment used in Arnis is:
1) Impact Weapon:
Baston: This is the most basic and common weapon in Arnis. Traditional common materials used for wooden
bastons are usually rattan, kamagong, and bahi wood. It is also available in modern materials such
as fiberglass and plastics and in metals like aluminum.
Rattan: This is usually constructed from a stem of Southeast Asian vine. This stem
is hard and durable yet lightweight that makes the weapon useful for defense against blades. At present, fighters
use padded Bastons. The Baston (Baton) is about 28 inches (71 cm) in length.
Kamagong (also known as Mabolo): This is a dark, dense, expensive type of wood known for its hardness and
weight. Kamagong is also an endangered species of ebony wood.
Bahi: Bahi is a type of wood made from the heart of a palm tree. It is similar to kamagong but is made of a porous
material in weight and density.
2) Edged Weapons: Knife, dagger, spear, etc. are edged weapons used throughout the history for combat, hunting
and ceremonies.

Gameplay
While playing this sport, the two fighters need to be fully equipped with the protective gears and are allowed
to hit their opponents only above their thighs in two round matches at one minute per round with thirty
seconds of rest between rounds. Arnis has a four second rule that restricts the participants from making the same
strike more than twice in succession. Moreover, if a rule is broken then the officials give a warning sign before
disqualification. At the end of the game the fighter with highest points wins.

Techniques
# 12 Striking Areas 12 Striking Techniques 12 Blocking Techniques

1. Left Temple Forehand Strike Inward Block

2. Right Temple Backhand Strike Outward Block

3. Left Arm Forehand Strike Inward Block

4. Right Arm Backhand Strike Outward Block

5. Stomach Mid - Thrust Sweeping Block

6. Left Chest Forehand Thrust Inward Block

7. Right Chest Backhand Thrust Outward Block

8. Right Leg / Knee Low Backhand Strike Low Outward Block

9. Left Leg / Knee Low Forehand Strike Low Inward Block

10. Left Eye Forehand Thrust Inward Block

11. Right Eye Backhand Thrust Outward Block

12. Crown / Head Frontal Strike  Overhead Block                                

Scoring
All matches are scored by 3 judges on the “10 Point must” system. Scoring is based on Quantity of
strikes, Effectiveness of Strikes and Ring Generalship (time spent staying within the ring). In single
stick competition, disarms shall be scored as part of the match as a mandatory point deduction and if 3 disarms take
place this would result in a Technical Knockout (“TKO”) whereas in double stick competition, a fighter point will
not be deducted if disarmed and will continue to fight with one weapon until the end of the round. If a fighter loses
both the weapons, then he / she will automatically lose the match.
MARTIAL ARTS
-Roman term
- MARS
- WAR

- Boost mental strength

- Promotes self-confidence
- Helps with goal setting
- Self- discipline
- Physical Health
- Self- defense
4 FUNDAMENTAL REQUIREMENTS
* GOOD POSTURE
* GOOD STRUCTURE ALIGNMENT
* GOOD BODY MECHANICS
* GOOD PRACTICAL FUNCTIONALITY

Arnis is the Philippines' national martial art and sport,[2] 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.