History Of Arnis

Arnis, the most systematic and the best known fighting art in the Philippines is a reflection of the Filipino
people's history, their philosophy, and their culture. Arnis boasts a long historical development from the
Kali systems. Kali (Silat) comes from the word kalis, which implies a blade, is the oldest form of
weaponry in the Phillipines and is the mother to escrima. The naturally graceful, harmoniously circular
movements used in the Filipino martial arts are characteristic of the methods found in other Asian
countries.

In order to better understand the dynamics of the unique Filipino martial arts, it is to take a brief look at
the historical roots of the culturally and racially diversified society of the Philippines. The Philippine
islands has an area of 115,707 square miles. It consists of more than 7,000 islands, only 154 of which
have an area exceeding five square miles. Most of the population is concentrated on eleven islands
exceeding 1,000 square miles each, in three major areas: Luzon, the Visayan islands, and Mindanao.0

Historians and anthropologists have postulated that during prehistoric times,

various groups of people migrated from the Asian mainland in search of food
and game and eventually settled in the Philippines. They came from Indonesia
and central Asia and possibly as far away as India, Persia, and Egypt. In addition
to the bow and arrow, these various groups were expert fighters with the long
knife, which has since assumed many forms, daggers, swords, and spears.
Other subsequent migrations brought with them other bladed weapons.

In the fifth century, one of the earliest Asian empires, the Sri-Vishayan Empire
(a famous Hindu-Malayan empire of Sumatra), conquered and colonized many
lands, which included the Philippines. The impact of this empire on the Filipino
culture was extensive. Besides being skilled warriors, seamen, and farmers,
they introduced new laws, a written alphabet, a new religion, a calendar, etc.
This merging of the cultures produced the Visayan people of the central
Philippines.

It was also around the twelth century that another great empire formed in Java, called the Majapit
Empire. They took over the Sri-Vishayan Empire and were instrumental in spreading the Muslim religion
in the Philippines. They settled most heavily in the Southern Philippines, in Mindanao, and became
known as the Moro (Muslim) Filipinos. They were fiercely independent proud and today, they still exist
as a distinct culture.

It was the early in the sixteenth century when Spain invaded the Philippines. Ferdinand Magellan was
the first famous foreigner to encounter the Filipino "Baston". To Spain and the old world, Magellan was
a discoverer of new land. To the Filipinos he was just another invader, a pirate who sought to enslave
people as part of Spanish conquest. Magellan was killed by Datu Lapu-Lapu on the island of Mactan, in
what is now the province of Cebu. There Lapu Lapu battled Spain's finest steel armed with fire-hardened
rattan sticks with points and homemade lances and won. This encounter was the beginning of a 400 year
struggle. Magellan's men sailed home without him, but the Spaniards returned again with more and
more firepower, reinforcements, and the Christian religion. Though, the Filipinos fought hard, modifying
their fighting systems to mimic the Spanish's sword and dagger method (Espara Y Daga), they were no
match for the Spanish's firepower.

After the Spanairds took control of the Philipines, the martial arts were outlawed by the ruling
government. In order to preserve their art, the the Filipinos practice in secret under the light of a full
moon. Often times the art would appear in dances being performed openly for the Spaniards. The
Spaniards were never able to conquer the fierce mountain people called Moros.

Today, there are probably hundreds of styles of Filipino martial arts. They are all related but have been
stylized by the tribes which used them. Nevertheless, they can be divided into three main groups:

Northern Style - Arnis

Central Style - Arnis de Mano

Southern Style - Kali.

The various styles have one thing in common that makes them unique in the world of martial arts. The
principals of combat of Arnis are based on a pattern of angles that all attacks fall into, regardless of style,
regardless of weapon. It is not suprising that the elusive "bastons" of the Filipinos were effective and
difficult to deal with, because of its elliptical and constant motion and varying angles of attack and
countless reversals.

Phases or stages of training

Solo Baston - Single stick

Doble Baston - Double stick

Espada Y Daga - Sword and knife

Daga Y Daga - Knife to Knife

Mano y Mano - Hand to Hand

Sikaran (Sipa) - Kick counter Kick

Sibat

Changing the Fighting vocabulary

From: Defense To: Counter-offense

From: Block To: Recounter

From: Stance To: Footwork

From: Self-Defense To: Combat

From: Dogmatism To: Realism

From: Rigidity To: Fluidity

From: Frontal assault To: Guerilla warfare

About Arnis
Arnis, also known as kali or eskrima, refers to a category of Filipino martial arts that emphasizes the
use of weapons – whether it be fighting sticks, blades or improvised weapons. In arnis, the weapons
are used as an extension of the body. Thus, some body movement techniques are basic to the
sport.

There are no exact references as to the origins of arnis because of lack of proper documentation.

One theory was that it was started when the Spaniards arrived. During the Spanish colonial period,
weapons had been banned in Luzon and Visayas.

Indios used sticks to practice wielding their swords and bolos which they disguised as a folk dance.
This is one possible reference as to how arnis developed into an actual martial art.

The other theory goes farther back in history than the first. It is suggested that we actually got arnis
from our Southeast Asian neighbours – specifically during the Madjapahit and Shri-Vajayan empires.
This suggestion is due to linguistic similarities of the other names of arnis. Some accounts also
describe a martial art practiced during the said periods that is similar to arnis.

However, because of the new culture brought by our colonizers, arnis was overshadowed and
almost went out of the spotlight.

Luckily, with the rise of martial arts as a popular sport during the 1980s, arnis was able to recapture
the interest not of the Filipinos, but also of the whole world in general.

How to play

Players could basically participate in two types of arnis sports, the anyo or form, and the laban, or
full combat competitions.

Different scoring systems and rules and regulation apply for each division, depending on who hosts
the competition.
In anyo, athletes would perform sequences of movements using 2 batons. Competition will judged
based on the execution of the anyo and the creativity of overall choreography of the performance.
Gracefulness combined with strength and force is needed to execute these forms properly.

Meanwhile, in the full combat competition, players are required to strike their opponents’ different
body parts with one baton.

Unlike other combatitive sports, arnis does not usually require any body contact between each
player besides the batons that they are holding. Any attack using bare hands or feet is considered a
foul.

Scores depend on the number of strikes each player could deliver. Agility and quick thinking
combined is required to have a high score in this type of competition.

However, some competitions allow full contact between players. Competitors could grapple, disarm,
and block their opponents.

A national symbol

Arnis was further distinguished as Philippines’ own when former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
signed Republic Act 9850, an act declaring arnis as the National Martial Arts and Sports of the
Philippines, last December 11, 2009.

Section 2 of RA 9850 defines arnis as “an indigenous Filipino martial art and sport characterized by
the use of swinging and twirling movements, accompanied by striking, thrusting and parrying
techniques for defense and offense” which is done by using either one or 2 sticks.

Athletes use these to strike, block, and grapple their opponents.The actual origin of the sport arnis,
however, is still yet to be determined.

Due to the fact that the Philippines has over 7,000 islands, the sport could have flourished in one
place or another at the same time. Because of this, more than one school emerged throughout the
years.

Pinoys and arnis

Arnis practitioners and athletes all over the country celebrated the declaration of arnis as the
national sport, stating that finally, the sport received the proper recognition that it deserved.

Filipinos now have a sport that they can fully identify with, they said.
Organizations such as the National Arnis Association of the Philippines (NARAPHIL), KAMAO,
Filipino Martial Arts (FMA) and Arnis Philippines (ARPI), promote and encourage every Filipino to
learn the sport.

In 2010, an independent production house, Pointsource Films, produced the film “Eskrimadors: A
Filipino Martial Arts Documentary,” featuring legendary Filipino Arnis athletes. The film features
Cebuano Arnis Grand Masters, Ciriaco "Cacoy" Cañete, Dionisio "Dinoy" Cañete, and Uno
Caburnay, and aimed to increase knowledge and awareness about the sport and to further
recognize the contributions that these grandmasters have given to the sport.

Different Aspects Of Arnis

*For Sports
*For Combat
*For fitness/Wellness
*For Self-Defence