URDANETA CITY College of Teacher Education

UNIVERSITY
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University Physical Education Department
Urdaneta

ARNIS

Arnis, also known as Kali or Eskrima, is the national sport and

martial art of the Philippines. The three are roughly interchangeable umbrella
terms for the traditional martial arts of the Philippines ("Filipino Martial Arts",
or FMA) that emphasize weapon-based fighting with sticks, knives, bladed
weapons, and various improvised weapons as well as "open hand" or
techniques without weapons.
It is also known as Estoque (Spanish for rapier), Estocada (Spanish for
thrust or stab) and Garrote (Spanish for club), In Luzon it may go by the
name of Arnis de Mano. The indigenous martial art that the Spanish
encountered in 1610 was not yet called "Eskrima" at that time. During those
times, this martial art was known as Paccalicali-t to the Ibanags, Didya
(later changed to Kabaroan) to the Ilokanos, Sitbatan or Kalirongan to
Pangasinenses, Sinawali ("to weave") to the Kapampangans, Calis or
Pananandata ("use of weapons") to the Tagalogs, Pagaradman to the
Ilonggos and Kaliradman to the Cebuanos. Kuntaw and Silat are separate
martial arts that are also practiced in the Philippine Arcnipelago.
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.
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 its popular foreign-originated brethren like taekwondo, karate
and judo. The Act mandates the Department of Education to include the
sport as a Physical Education course. Arnis will be included among the
priority sports in Palarong Pambansa (National Games) beginning 2010.

THREE TRADITIONAL TRAINING METHODS

Arnis or Filipino knife and stick fighting (also known as Escrima) is probably
the most effective and practical system of combat developed using these
weapons. A person trained in arnis has the advantage over an unarmed
attacker and can obviously face even an armed attacker with greater
confidence. Of course stick or knife is a complement to unarmed skills and
the full range of strikes, kicks, projection, throws and locks can all be used in
conjunction with a stick and/or a knife.

Arnis incorporates three methods:

 ESPADA Y DAGA (sword and dagger) It is a system or a technique

that was develop and perfected in the Philippines.
  SOLO BASTON (single stick) The introduction to the system is
generally started in single stick. Although training is done with a rattan
stick of about thirty inches, training is done with the idea that the stick
actually represent a sword. Training can be done with training swords
made of wood or aluminium which have dulled edges.

 SINAWALI (to weave) which uses two sticks Sinawali is the double-
cane method of fighting of arnis, escrima and kali. The name sinawali
came from the Tagalog word "sawali," a woven split bamboo mats used
as walls of nipa huts. The crisscrossing movements of sinawali
weapons fighting mimic the pattern of these mats hence the name.

CARDINAL RULES

By nature man is never violent. Unless otherwise affected by some physical

or psychological affliction, or forced by outside reasons or provocations, no
man will harm a fellow human-being for animal for that matter let alone feast
on their physical suffering. Man is an "institution" of love and kindness. The
Cardinal Principle of Arnis is respect for one's opponent as a person and as a
sportsman. It should always be remembered that an opponent is a human
being with a dignity as you have and worthy of respect. Sportsmanship on
the other hand is the measure of a fighter or a player. Victory is not stamp of
invulnerability but rather a reason for magnanimity. Beside these cardinal
principles, there are other principles in arnis that the students,must these
are:
1. Character-a ruffian has no place in arnis let alone in sports.
Refinement in character important. A student must be taught the
moral (religious) values of everything. It is an obligation of the teacher
of arnis to mold the character of the student in such a way that his
behavioural structure would be motivated by righteous desire. It is
what a man is that counts not the number of trophies he won. In spite
of the abetted fallacies of values of the present world, it is who you are
that will matter in the end.
2. Sincerity- sincerity for his victory's sake is not the all-consuming end
of an arnis player. It is the sincerity in him to his fellowman and to his
art that makes him shine in the array of men. The will to win maybe
inculcated, but such tutelage should never end the arena of
competition. Sincerity is the mother of trust and it makes an institution
of what has been shattered by doubts. A man who is not sincere will
never have a true friend.
3. Discipline- arnis Is a molder of discipline. Proper behaviour in the
sport and his life itself will be the gauge of success. Personal discipline
is important. A student should learn to control himself in the pursuance
of his goal. Not only to his art but also to life in general.
4. Self-control-losing one's head means defeat.One should learn to
control temper if he hopes to achieve success in every endeavour. In
arnis, self-control is important for without it, life and the good health of
another may be lost. The possession of an ability to kill or main a
person should be handled with extreme caution and prudence. Man's
clear perception of things is anchored on his ability to control the
outbursts of his inner self.
5. Etiquette- etiquette is allied to the main cardinal rules in arnis. One's
norm and standard should never be imposed upon others. One should
learn how to respect others. Giving credence to the standard and
 ability of another person should or will best prepare anybody in any
endeavour.
6. Student's loyalty- loyalty should be emphasize to the student, loyalty
to the art, to fellow player,and to his teacher. Ingratitude to one is
ingratitude to the other. A student should be loyal to a fellow player
because any disloyalty to him is disloyalty to the art itself. More
important, a student should be loyal to his teacher.

EQUIPMENT USED IN ARNIS

In the Philippines,arnis doesn't really have stiff rules on uniforms. In the

1970's, Grandmaster Remy Presas, developed a system he called Modern
Arnis and he proposed this uniform:
 Red loose pants, white t-shirt
 Belts (white, brown, black)

I have not yet found his explanation for this but many present arnis
instructors this uniform is based on the uniform of the Katipuneros
(revolutionary fighters) who sought freedom from means bravery and white
means purity of heart.

At present, the Philippine National Games (Palarong Pambansa) requires arnis

athletes to wear the same: Plain red pants (school or club logo may appear
on the pants) Plain white t-shirt (athletes name, school/club logo and
sponsors may appear on
the shirt provided that it does not dominate the overall appearance of the
shirt). Rubber soled shoes.

Padded Sticks Live Sticks

Red Pants White Shirt

 Head Gear Body Protector

Arm Protector Gloves

Groin Protector Leg Protector

The Grip
The grip is the soul of all fighting techniques in Arnis. It is the correct grip
that packs power to and controls the cane. To do the correct grip, hold the
cane an inch from the base and tighten your four fingers around it with your
thumb pressed against your forefinger. The hold must be firm when striking.
Relax your wrist a bit after a strike.

Courtesy
Courtesy means respect for one's opponent and for the cardinal rules and
principles of sportsmanship. In the revered tradition of martial arts,courtesy
in modern arnis is the trademark which makes players worthy protagonists.
At 45 degrees angle, heel closed, body erect, hands at 2-1/2 inches apart
holding cane, and feet together, bow your head slightly towards your
opponent.

Posture
In arnis, posture is important for the effective delivery of strikes. In executing
all these postures, the head should always face the opponent, observing all
his body movements.

 Front Facing- body facing directly towards opponent.

 Half-front-body facing 45 degrees to either left or right.
  Side- facing- body entirely facing either left or right.

Stances

These techniques which teaches a player how to maintain body balance and
the proper manner of distributing his weight on his legs.

Kinds of stances:

 Attention stance- Stand with feet at 45-degree angle, heels closed

together, hands at the side and relaxed.
 Open-leg stance- stand with legs spread apart about shoulder width
with toes pointing slightly outward.
 Straddle-leg stance- spread legs about twice the width of shoulders
and bend knees outward,heels firmly planted and toes pointing straight
forward. Distribute weight evenly on both legs.
 A Forward stance- move one leg forward at a distance about twice the
width of the shoulder and about 30 degrees to the side and bend front
leg at the knee with cane in the center and in fighting form. Rear. leg is
extended fully with both feet flat on the ground.
 Back stance- stand with one foot backward with rear-foot toes pointing
outward and front-foot toes pointing forward, so that the two feet form
an L-shape.

The rear foot should point either left or right depending on what foot is in
front. Rear knee should be a little bent and forced outward as in straddle
stance. Seventy percent of the weight of the body should be supported by
the rear leg with 30 % by the front leg.

 Oblique forward stance- this is executed by stepping either foot

obliquely forward and obliquely to the left or to the right. The reverse
of the oblique forward stance is executed with the withdrawal of either
foot. In both movements, the L-shape position of the feet should be
maintained.

12 VITAL STRIKING POINTS OF THE BODY

12

2 1

4 7 6 3

5
 8 9

BLOCKING TECHNIQUES

Inward Block

Initial position: Open-leg stance, knees bent in fighting posture, left hand
with open palm held up in front of the body. With right elbow at right angle
and cane pointing upward, lunge with right forward stance, twisting, body to
the right and at the same time, bringing cane forward, braced by the left
hand to block attacker's blow.

Outward BIock

Initial position: Open-leg stance, knees bent in fighting posture, left hand
with open palm held up in front of the body. With elbow at right angle and
cane pointing upward, lunge with right (or left) forward stance
simultaneously twisting body to the left and at the same time, bringing cane
forward, braced by the left hand to block attacker's blow

Rising Block

Initial position: Open-leg stance, knees bent in fighting posture, left hand
with open palm held up in front of the body. In a right (or left) forward
stances with cane in front at hip level,raise cane horizontally forward and
over the head supported by open palm of the left hand to block attacker's
blow.

Downward-Inward Block

Initial position: Open-leg stance, knees bent in fighting posture, left hand
with open palm held up in front of the body. In a right (or left) forward
stance, bring cane from left downward to the right to block attacker's blow.

Downward-Outward Block

Initial position:Open-leg stance, knees bent in fighting posture, left hand with
open palm held up in front of the body. In a right (or left) forward
stance,bring cane from right downward to the left to block attacker's blow.

Vertical Block

Initial position: Open-leg stance, knees bent in fighting posture, left hand
with open palm held up in front of the body. In a right (or left) forward
stance, raise right elbow to shoulder level and twist wrist outward to the left
so that cane is vertical with tip pointing downward. Always brace the cane
with open palm of left hand at the middle section.

Competition in Arnis

Anyo (execution)
1. Sword and dagger
2. Single baston
3. Doble baston

Combat (labanang totohanan)

Governing body

 WEKAF (World Eskrima Kali Arnis Federation)

 ARPI (Arnis Philippine Inc.)