ARNIS
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ARNIS
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 forces.
Spanish conquistador forces when they tried to invade.
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.
sa iba't ibang rehiyonal na wika ng Filipino. Bagaman ang impluwensyang Espanyol ay nagkaroon ng mapayapang epekto
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.
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
The 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-
basedanyomodel or the combativeleban.Anyocompetitions are judged on the basis of
the overall choreography of the performances, including the gracefulness, strength and
force employed. Meanwhile, the lebanform tests participants’ agility and reactions, as
competitions are judged based on the number of strikes inflicted. Although
Most Lebanese 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
The Bourne Identity (2002) features a hybrid fight style of Akali/Jeet Kune Do when
Jason Bourne encounters Jarda, the only other living agent of the terminated 'Treadstone'.
program. Vin Diesel and Jason Statham also engage in escrima-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 also subdues a knife-wielding assassin using
Filipino martial arts in Quantum of Solace, the 2008 installment of the James Bond
franchise.
translatedText
Carroll, Ruaidhrí 'Arnis: The Philippines' National Sport and Martial Art.' Culture Trip, The
Culture Trip, April 24, 2017, theculturetrip.com/asia/philippines/articles/arnis-the-
Philippines National Sport and Martial Art.