James Matthew E.
Pailanan BS ECE 1-1 November 14, 2018
HISTORY OF ARNIS
The Filipino Martial Arts (FMA) could probably trace its origins back to India to one of
the oldest known martial arts known as Kaliripayat. Kaliripayat is a complete system of fighting
involving use of different types of weapons and empty hand fighting using both striking and
grappling. It is named after the Hindu goddess of death, Kali, whose image appears as a six-armed
woman carrying a sword in each of her hands. Some historians claim that the Philippines,
Indonesia, Malaysia, India, Thailand along with a couple of other countries used to part of what
was once called the Madjapahit (sometimes spelled Ma(d)japayat) Empire. Kalirpayat spread to
Malaysia and Indonesia and evolved into different forms specializing in different aspects of the
art. In Indonesia, the art is generally called Pencak Silat and in Malaysia, it evolved into what is
now Bersilat. It should be noted that Pencak Silat and Bersilat are generic terms and that there are
hundreds of different styles and systems under both.
The terms Arnis, Kali and Escrima are all used to refer to the Filipino martial arts. There
has been some confusion as to what word refers to which part of the martial art. It is believed that
Arnis, Kali, and Escrima are all a part of the same art and depending on the location, dialect and
type of training taught. Also, any of the three names may apply to a certain part of training. One
interpretation is that Kali is the mother art of Arnis and Escrima. Arnis focuses on the knife,
including dagger, sword, and any other form of bladed weapon. Escrima is based on the baston or
stick. It has also become very popular in the sport aspect of full contact stick fighting.
Pre- Spanish Era
As in Indonesia and Malaysia, the fighting arts in the early Philippines were known by
different names such as Kali, Pagkakalikali, Kali Silat among others. The names depended on the
dialect spoken or was based on the name of the tribe or family that practiced the art. Hence, names
such as Tausug Silat (the fighting system of the Tausug tribe) or maybe Lapu-lapu style (the system
practiced by Rajah Lapu-lapu and his tribe in Mactan). There has been much speculation on the
origin of the word "Kali." One of the popular notions is that it was derived from the Filipino word
"kalis" meaning sword. Others claim that it came from the name of the Hindu goddess of death
Kali (note that it was previously mentioned that the goddess Kali also wielded swords) or from
Kaliripayat, the Indian martial art named after her. Still some advocate that it is a contraction of
"katawan" (body) or "kamay" (hand) and liho (movement in one of the Filipino dialects) meaning
that it means hand or body movement.
What is unique with the systems that evolved in the Philippines is that weapons training
goes before empty hand training, hence, the common misconception that the Filipino Martial Arts
particularly Kali/Arnis/Eskrima are only weapon arts or stick-fighting arts. The truth of the matter
is that empty hand fighting including hand strikes, kicks, locks, throws and grappling are also
included in the curriculum. The Filipinos trained and fought with blades and fire-hardened sticks
and then used the same concepts of fighting to their empty hand systems. During the pre-Spanish
colonization period, there was more than ample opportunity to put these arts to the test as there
were wars among different tribes and villages and there was also a need to defend against pirates
and the like. During the period that the Chinese traded with the Filipinos and also migrated to the
Philippines, the Filipinos encountered new forms of fighting in Chinese Kung Fu. This led to the
further development of the Filipino Martial Arts to counter the techniques of the Chinese. Other
Filipinos spied on their secretive Chinese neighbors and were able to learn to incorporate Kung Fu
techniques into their own systems. This led to hybrid systems such as Kuntaw (Kuntao) and
Kuntaw silat.
Spanish Era
During the 16th century, the Spaniards arrived in the Philippines. Led by the Portuguese
explorer Ferdinand Magellan along the way of trying to circumnavigate the world looking for new
trade routes, the Spanish came upon the southern islands of the Philippines. Immediately, the
Spanish conquistadors set out to introduce Roman Catholicism to the natives and to claim their
allegiance to Spain. In the islands of Cebu, Magellan was able to convert and gain the favor of
Rajah Humabon. Having seen his success so far, Magellan decided to further his conquest of the
archipelago. As a sign of their alliance with Rajah Humabon, Magellan agreed to attack Rajah
Lapu-lapu in Mactan, a rival of the Humabon.
Having overconfidence and believing in his superiority over the locals and being armed
with swords, cannons and guns, Magellan led a group of 49 conquistadors to attack Mactan on
April 27, 1521. This was to his downfall as he was confronted with approximately a thousand
warriors and quickly overwhelmed. The Spaniards were unprepared for this kind of fighting as the
natives attacked with bamboo spears, blades and fire-hardened wooden stakes wielded using
circular and elliptical patterns that the Europeans were unused to. It was reported that Magellan
died after being hit by a poisoned arrow. The survivors went back to Spain and it would take
another forty-four years until the Spanish set foot on Philippine soil.
Eventually the Spanish occupied the archipelago. It did not take them much difficulty
because there was not much of an organized resistance since the natives were not a united nation
then but were divided and clannish. So, the Spanish took the archipelago island by island and tribe
by tribe. However, they were not able to totally dominate the island of Mindanao, home of the
fiercest warriors in the islands. This was another era on the evolution of the Filipino Martial Arts.
The fighting methods also adapted to overcome the fencing methods of the Europeans.
Mindanao was relatively untouched by the colonizers. Thus, the Kali continued to thrive
freely. This was not so in the Luzon and in the Visayan islands. Having seen the effectiveness of
Kali, the Spanish colonizers outlawed its use. The Filipinos, being an innovative and resilient race,
did not allow their beloved art to die out. They created plays such as the Moro-moro (a play
depicting the Catholic-Muslim/Moor wars of the Crusades) to entertain the colonizers. It was here
that the Filipinos were able to practice their craft. The practice of the kali techniques were hidden
in the choreographed fights and skirmishes (Eskrima in Spanish) during the play. In the
Philippines, the Spanish word "eskrima/escrima" meaning skirmish took on the meaning of fencing
or a sword fight. Thus, Eskrima became the dominant term used for Kali in the Visayan regions.
In Luzon, the popular term for Kali was Arnis de Mano (armor of the hand). During the plays, the
Filipinos wore a sort of leather harness (Spanish "arnes") or armor. Arnis, a corruption of the word
"arnes" thus became a sort of secret codeword for Kali. The Spanish would think that people were
talking about their costumes whereas in fact they were referring to Kali. To differentiate the name
of the art from the costume, they renamed it Arnis de Mano or armor of the hand.
Arnis and Eskrima were widely used and developed during the Philippine war of
independence from Spain. The revolutionary movement called the Kataastaasang Kagalang-
galangang Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan (The Highest and Most Honorable/Noble Gathering
of the Sons of the Nation) or Katipunan or KKK for short, trained in Arnis/Eskrima and fought
with bolos (machetes) since had very few guns. With this as their main weapon and with the help
of the Americans, the Filipinos were able to gain their freedom from the Spanish in 1898. This
proves the effectiveness of the Filipino Martial Arts for the Filipinos were able to triumph inspite
of the overwhelming odds against them from their well-armed opponents.
Post-Spanish Era
The freedom of the Filipinos was short lived for the Philippines was soon occupied by the
U.S. The fame of Filipino warriors in Mindanao was such that the American soldiers were issued
with .45 caliber pistols since the Moro Filipinos were not easily dropped by the .38 caliber pistols
and were still able to close the distance and attack the Americans. However, the Philippines came
under American rule.
During World War II, the Filipinos fought side by side with the American forces against
the Japanese. Under the United States Armed Forces in the Far East (USAFE), the elite Bolo
Battalion was formed as part of the guerilla resistance. It was in this theater of war that the fury
and effectivity of Arnis was once again seen. It has been said that the Japanese fled upon seeing
the Bolo Battalion charging against them. Soon, the Allied Forces gained the victory against the
Japanese.
The masters during this period are probably the ones responsible for what the FMA are
right now. A lot of the war veterans migrated to the U.S. to later introduce the art to the Americans.
At first, the FMA were closely held secrets but due to the pioneering efforts of people like GM
Angel Caballes, the FMA were introduced to the American public. On the other hand, most of the
Filipino masters stayed behind and still continue to pass on their knowledge to the present and
future generations of Filipinos. As for the U.P. AngKAN ng Mandirigma-LESKAS members, we
will be there as it happens!
Present Time
Arnis, also known as Eskrima, Kali, Garrote and other names in various regional languages,
such as Pananandata in Tagalog; Pagkalikali, Ibanag; Kabaraon and Kalirongan, Pangasinan;
Kaliradman, Bisaya; and Didja, Ilokano, is 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. This is usually done with the use of one (1) or
two (2) sticks or any similar implements or with bare hands and feet also used for striking,
blocking, locking and grappling, with the use of the same principle as that with the canes.
Arnis was declared as the Philippine National Martial Art and Sport on December 11, 2009
through Republic Act 9850 signed by Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. As per R.A. 9850, the
official adoption of arnis as the national martial art and sport shall be promulgated by inscribing
the symbol of arnis in the official seal of the Philippine Sports Commission and by making it as
the first competition to be played by participating teams on the first day in the annual Palarong
Pambansa. The Philippine Sports Commission is be the lead agency to implement the provisions
of this Act.
SKILLS IN ARNIS
The fundamentals skills in arnis are striking and blocking.
It takes intelligence first to understand the primary principles that makes a system effective.
When we are talking about Arnis, what really matters is fluid body mechanics, eye and hand
coordination, footwork, and lots of practice of the techniques of the particular style of Arnis that
you will study.
What many term 'attributes' meaning those physical, mental and emotional qualities that
are present or absent in every practitioner is what really makes a Martial Artist stand out and makes
the difference regarding functional ability. Functional ability is what skill is all about; what others
call skill may simply be an understanding of technique, but that does not mean that they are capable
to use it in a real situation. Real situations whereby one must use counter offense/defense requires
adapting to real time, real pressure and true aggression. There is no other type of true skill and
therefore that means that fundamental skill in Arnis or any other system goes beyond a prescribed
curriculum or any rote memorization of movement.
Basic skills in arnis come in variations. Arnisador must come to learn and execute these
different basic skills:
1. Doce Tero (twelve striking techniques)
2. Single Sinawali
3. Double Sinawali
4. Reverse Sinawali
5. Rendoda
6. Rompida
7. Ocho (figure of eight)
8. Reverse figure of eight
9. Up and Down
10. Banda y Banda (the slash)
There are also six basic blocking and disarming techniques and Anyo isa hanggang Apat
that must be mastered in order for an arnisador to advance in a higher level.
The six cardinal rules in arnis must be part of an arnisador's principle once he/she deals
with arnis execution... Generally, the basic skills in arnis are the stepping stones for an arnisador
to perform/execute Higher level of stick fighting (arnis).
Self-defense, self-discipline, balance, stamina, speed, power, flexibility
References:
http://members.tripod.com/ernesto_aragon/history.htm
http://www.combatscience.net/history-of-arnis/
http://ncca.gov.ph/about-culture-and-arts/culture-profile/philippine-fast-facts/national-sport-
arnis/
http://www.answers.com/Q/What_are_the_fundamental_skills_in_Arnis
https://brainly.ph/question/542032
