ARNIS

What is Arnis?
Arnis is the national sport and martial art of the Philippines
characterized by the use of swinging and twirling movements,
accompanied by striking, thrusting and parrying techniques for
defense and offense. It is often referred to as Filipino stick-fighting.
Eskrima, Kali and Arnis are three roughly interchangeable umbrella
terms for the traditional martial arts of the Philippines that
emphasize weapon-based fighting with sticks, knives, bladed
weapons and various improvised weapons. Arnis was known as
Kali by the native people until 1873 when it was renamed while
under Spanish rule. Kali is the origin and can be translated to long
knife or sword. Eskrima is derived from a Spanish word that means
fencing and Arnis is also derived from a Spanish word that means
armor.
• The materials used used in arnis are
often two rattan sticks, each about one
inch in diameter and between 24 and 28
inches long.

• Early Filipinos fought against their

enemies using bolos, spears, and hard
wooden sticks. The sticks are the ones
used in arnis. Rattan is considered the
best material for sticks because it is
made of very strong fibers that can
withstand hard hitting .
 legal basis of arnis
• Arnis was declared and approved as the Philippine National
Martial Arts and Sports on December 11, 2009, this is also known as
Republic Act no. 9850, an act declaring Arnis as the national martial
arts and sports of the Philippines.
• This is the policy of the state to inculcate patriotism, nationalism and
appreciation of the role of national heroes and symbols in the
historical development of the country. Furthermore, the State must
give priority to education, science and technology, arts and culture,
and sports to foster patriotism and nationalism, accelerate social
progress, and promote liberation and development(RA 9850, section
1)
 HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT
• Arnis, as a martial arts, was spawned in Philippine soil. It was known as
in ancient Philippines as Kali, an ancient Malayan word which means
implies a large bladed weapon longer than a knife.
• This art was practiced primarily for self-defense by the pre-Spanish
Filipinos who are noted for their friendly nature and legendary
hospitality.
• The art of hand-to-hand combat has always been an integral part of the
Filipino in his long, turbulent and bloody history. By force of necessity
and self-preservation he became an expert in fighting with his hands,
either bare or with a stick and bladed weapon.
Even before the introduction of
bladed weapon, the early
Filipinos were already a
fighting people using a bow
and arrow or the longbow. The
primitive Negritos, coming
from the Central Asia during
prehistoric times, were expert
in these weapons.
However, about 200B.C the Malays migrated to
the Philippines and brought with them the long
knife. Their coming enriched the Filipino arsenal
in the fighting arts. Besides their sticks, the
bows and arrows, the early Filipinos were now
also experts in the use of bladed weapons and
daggers. This is especially true of the Muslims in
Mindanao and Sulu who have special inclination
for these weapons. Their skill in hand-to-hand
combat with a bladed weapon had been proven
in their untarnished history of success in
repelling foreign invaders in their land. The
numerous attempts of the Spaniards, the
Americans, and the Japanese to conquer the
Muslims and to colonize Mindanao always
failed.
When the Spaniards first arrived in the
Philippines, they already observed
weapons-based martial arts practised by
the natives. Some early expeditions
fought native tribesmen armed with sticks
and knives.
In 1521, Ferdinand Magellan was killed in
Cebu at the battle of Mactan by the forces
of Datu Lapu Lapu, the chief of Mactan.
Lapu-Lapu felled the great warrior with a
bladed weapons thus marking a Filipino’s
first victorious stand against a foreign
invader.
When the Spanish eventually
returned and succesfully
conquered parts of the
Philippines,they banned the
practice of Eskrima as they were
fearful the Filipinos might, later
on, turn against them and use
their skills in the art. The
traditions of Arnis were preserved,
despite its prohibition, in the
forms of ritual dance,
performance and mock battles.The
Religious play is called moro-moro
where actors fought mock battles
using wooden swords.
Kali was a standard fighting
technique in hand-to-hand
combat of the Filipinos when
they revolted against Spain.
Using the itak or bolo the
Katipuneros engaged the
Spanish soldiers in savage
skimishers. History states that
Bonifacio brandished a bolo, a
standard weapon in the Kali his
famous “Cry of Balintawak”.
The greatest Filipino hero, Dr. Jose P.
Rizal, studied Kali or Arnis before he
left to Europe. General Gregorio del
Pillar and Antonio Luna also studied
Arnis even before the start of the JOSE RIZAL ANTONIO LUNA
Revolutions. Rev. Fr. Gregorio Aglipay,
was known to have practiced the art
too. Acceptance of the Arnis became so
widespread that in 1896 Jose de Azas
started a school for the study of Arnis REV. FR. GREGORIO
and foil fencing. GREGORIO DEL
PILLAR
AGLIPAY
As fighting arts, Arnis has three
forms of play. They are the Espada
Y daga (sword and dagger) in
which a long wooden sword and a
short wooden sword is used; the
solo baston (single stick)in which a
single long muton or baston
( wooden stick or rattan cane Espada y daga solo baston
hardened by drying or heating) is
used : and the sinawali, a native
term applied because the intricate
movements of two muton or
baston resemble the weave of a
sawali (crisscross fashion), the
bamboo splits weave pattern used
in walling and matting. sinawali
 MODERN ARNIS
WHAT IS MODERN ARNIS?
Modern Arnis is the system of Filipino
fighting arts founded by Remy Amador
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.
REMY AMADOR PRESAS (December 19,
1936-August 28,2001) was a founder of
Modern Arnis. He began studying arnis
with his father then with his
grandfather, Leon Presas, and uncle at
the age of six. By 1969 Modern Arnis
had been approved by the Philippine
Amateur Athletic Federation as a regular
subject to be taught at the National
College of Physical Education. He moved
to the United States in 1974, where he
taught his art via seminars and camps.
In 1982 he was inducted into the Black
Belt Hall of Fame as Instructor of the
Year.
What is the principle of Modern Arnis
Modern Arnis teaches the principles of de-escalation
concepts from the beginning through to black belt
level. That means, that you should try, to solve the
conflicts defensive and intelligent, meaning
nonviolent. Only if this not work, Modern Arnis
techniques shall be used in a self-defense situation.
What is the difference between Arnis and
Modern Arnis ?
Arnis differentiates between
the old traditional warfare and
its modern interpretation
Modern Arnis. Modern Arnis
deals with the transmission of
the old art to sticks and
everyday objects whereas the
classical Arnis is about warfare
with blades.

OLD TRADITIONAL WARFARE ARNIS

 BENEFITS IN LEARNING ARNIS
The following listed below are some of the benefits of learning Arnis according to
Alvarez, et.al, (2010)
• Practical self-defense is learned.
• Upper body, arms and legs will become toned.
• Fitness and aerobic capacity increased.
• Parts of the body, such as, forearms,elbow and hands will be conditioned and will
be more resistant to pain and injury
• Ability to use any weapon, even the one that is not used before is developed.
• It complements and enhance any martial arts. It can be learned independently
from other martial arts, or grafted seamlessly into any form of exercise done
already.
• Many of the techniques do not require strength of power.
Instead, most power is derived from body movement and
economy motion
• It can be practiced anywhere.
• It promotes a sense of nationalism and pride as a Filipino.
• It does not require expensive equipment.
 ARNIS CODE OF ETHICS
The following code of ethics are stated in the handbook of i-Arnis of 2015.
1. Arnis is an event that aim bond and develop friendship and brotherhood.
2. It is never a sport to hurt and defeat the opponent but to improve the
skills of the players.
3. It aims to develop the mind , the physique and the character of the player.
4. Arnis is played to develop the social aspect that will lead to the close
bonding of all practitioners.
5. All practitioners respect each other. They salute each other when they
meet and from a meeting before they depart. The juniors must salute first
and maintain the position until the senoirs answer their salute.
6. The juniors do not have the right to challenge to fight the seniors
unless in the program set by their association to fulfill an objective.
7. All the practitioners continue to move on as there is room for
improvement or advancement.
8. Each practitioners must share with other beginners or practitioners the
advancement attained.
9. Practitioners must desire to strengthen the Arnis family he belongs to
by sharing love, knowledge and understanding.
10. Practitioners must remember that Arnis is not a means to fight people
but to bond with them for life improvment.