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Eskrima, Arnis, Arnis de Mano, Kali and other terms all refer to the same family of Filipino weapons-based martial arts. Eskrima has also been known as pagkalikali, panandata, didya, kabaroan, kaliradman, sinawali and arnis or arnis de mano in Luzon (northern Philippine region). In the Visayas (central Philippine region) it was also known as eskrima, olisi, garote or baston, while the terms kali, kalirongan, kuntao or silat are used in both the Visayas and Mindanao (southern Philippine region).
The term "Eskrima" is the Filipino spelling of the Spanish word for fencing (esgrima). "Arnis" is thought to derive from the phrase "arnes de mano," Spanish for "harness of hand." The origin of the name "Kali" is uncertain.
It is said that Kali is a Mindanao term for Filipino Martial Arts while Eskrima is a Visayan term and Arnis is a Luzon(Tagalog) term.
An alternative explanation[by whom?] is that the word is a portmanteau of the Cebuano words "ka"mot, or "ka"may meaning hand or body, and "li"hok, meaning motion.
In his book "Modern Arnis," Remy Presas states that the art of Arnis or Eskrima may have had its roots in an Indonesian fencing style called "tjakalele," from which the name "Kali" may also have originated. This may also have influenced the different names of Eskrima, such as "kalirongan," "kaliradman," or "pagkalikali" in different regions of the Philippines.
It is also contended[by whom?] that the term "Kali" did not exist until the 1960s when two well known eskrimadors in the United States popularized the word to distinguish what they taught from the teachings of other eskrimadors[citation needed].
It has also been stated[by whom?] that the word "Kali" came from the Baybayin word "Ka-le-po" ("Kali Sports" or Panlarong Kali) or "Kalibo." This suggests that Kalibo's name may have originated from the word "Kali" because many schools in Kalibo are teaching eskrima.[citation needed]
It has also been explained[by whom?] that there are origins in the word "Kaliskis" (Filipino: scales) because some of the warriors of 8th and 9th Century Cebu wore scale armor until the 10th century when the use bronze or copper armor flourished.[citation needed]
The name "Kali," although primarily used in the United States and Europe, is seldom used in the Visayas and in some cases is an unknown word to eskrima practitioners. The term is used mostly in Mindanao, but due to the popularity of the term outside of the Philippines and the influence of foreign practitioners the term has now been accepted as a synonym for eskrima and arnis.
Variety
Many different systems of Eskrima exist and can trace their origins to a single tribe or region. Some of the most famous systems from and in the Philippines are Lightning Scientific Arnis International/Lema Scientific Kali-Arnis System (LSAI/LESKAS), Pekiti-Tirsia Kali, Rapido Realismo Kali, San Miguel Eskrima, Doce Pares, Balintawak Eskrima, Modern Arnis, Kalis Illustrisimo/Bakbakan, while in the United States the Inayan System of Eskrima, Sayoc Kali, Cabales Serrada Eskrima, Lameco Eskrima and Dog Brothers Martial Art are popular.
Practitioners of these arts are noted for their ability to fight with weapons or empty hands interchangeably. Most Eskrima systems include fighting with a variety of weapons, striking with hands and feet (suntukan, sikaran, tadyakan/tadiyakan), grappling and throwing (dumog), biting and whatever skills needed to complete a warrior's training in the old days of tribal warfare. Perhaps the only major fields that have not been given as much emphasis as in the past in modern eskrima training today are skills needed for fighting effectively in groups and hilot - a Filipino system of first aid, healing, massage, and herbal medicine traditionally taught alongside eskrima but that has now virtually disappeared.
In most systems, skills with weapons and with empty hands (unarmed) are developed concurrently using training methods designed to emphasize their common elements. The most common variations used are single stick (solo bastn), double stick (double bastn) and sword/stick and dagger (espada y daga). Some systems are known to specialise in other weapons such as the whip and staff.
An eskrimador, kalista or mangangali (as some modern practitioners called themselves) is a practitioner of Eskrima, while Arnisador is also used for the variant name Arnis.
Eskrima sticks
A pair of rattan sticks used in Eskrima
Rattan, an inexpensive wood from a type of vine in the Philippines, Indonesia, and Malaysia, is the most common material for sticks and staves. Hard and durable, yet light weight. It shreds under only the worst abuse and will not splinter like other woods do - thus making it a safe training tool. This aspect also makes it useful in defending against blades. Kamagong (Ironwood) is also sometimes used, but generally not for sparring, as it is dense enough to cause serious injury, although traditionally sparring does not include weapon to body contact; The participants are skilled enough to parry/counterstrike, showing respect in not intentionally hitting the training partner. Eskrima sticks are made in many sizes depending on the system and the respective ranges being trained. Common lengths range from 6" (15cm) to 96" (2.44m), with the most common ranging from 24" (61cm) to 36" (91cm). Eskrima sticks are a reflection of the artist, their system and methodology.
History
As with most martial arts, the history of Eskrima is surrounded by legends, making it difficult to pin down facts. This is especially true for Eskrima since a significant amount of its history is anecdotal, oral or promotional. Being a martial art for the common folk, some of its practitioners lacked the scholarly education to create a written history. This confusion is further complicated by the fact that there are actually many different fighting systems with different histories that are called Eskrima (or Arnis de Mano). One explanation for the origin of Eskrima systems is that they were originally the fighting systems possessed by every tribe in the Philippines and used by them to fight and defend against each other. Another explanation is that it evolved from Indian martial arts, as well as other Malay martial arts such as Tjakalele and Silat, brought to the Philippines by people who travelled through the Malay archipelago.
It is historically recorded, though, that when the Spanish conquistadors arrived, some tribes fought them, using native weapons and techniques. Ferdinand Magellan was killed in the Battle of Mactan in 1521 by forces of the Mactan tribal chief Lapu-Lapu when Magellan landed in Cebu - albeit by an arrow as claimed by the Spanish side, not a sword or stick as many eskrimadors promote, yet this information is still unknown as many Spaniards and Portuguese exaggerated their stories to impress their Kings[citation needed]. From this point sources differ on the history of Eskrima. Certainly by the time the Spanish reached the Philippines, they were extremely challenged by how the natives had fought, when the natives of the Philippines only had simple weapons such as swords, spears, and bow and arrows, plus a shield to protect themselves. The experienced conquistadors were able to colonize the entire archipelago. The degree to which this affected the practice of the native fighting arts is a matter of debate, but it seems likely that the Filipinos kept what worked and discarded what didn't. Eskrima had to be hidden from the Spaniardshey practiced it in their dancing, and pretended they were practicing the Spanish style of fencing to avoid being caught. For this reason, Eskrima has some strong Spanish influences.
Eskrima is indigenous to the Philippines although some believe these Philippine fighting systems have strong historical roots from Indonesian martial arts that are Chinese influenced like Kun Tao. Kun Tao (literally the way of the fist) of course finds its roots from Ch'uan Fa (which is a generic word for what westerners would call kung fu, it also literally means way of the fist). Other systems that have similar movements to many Filipino systems also find their roots from Ch'uan Fa. There are even counts of lost Ch'uan and Tai Chi double stick forms that many of the fleeing renegade monks would have trained for in that period. These Chinese-based influences to the martial arts are not as powerful as the direct links to the cultural and political ties found in the Philippines even today.
Others believe that since FMA is weapons-based, this suggests its roots and development are independent and autonomous of most foreign "fist" systems. In fact, it can be said that the inevitable similarities are due to the weaponry components of both Filipino, Indonesian and Chinese martial arts. Any exercises or similar hand movements to that of the Indonesian and Chinese arts were introduced only in recent years to augment the newer Eskrima groups - something which is less apparent in the more traditional and established authentic systems. Filipinos had their own empty hand systems, such as: sikaran (kicking art), Dumog (submission), and all the fist strikes come from weapon fighting techniques, because the Guro's (instructors) believe the hand can strike the same manner with or without a weapon.
Although the turbulent and conflict-fraught history and environment of the Philippines enabled the FMA to develop into an efficient yet violent art, this changed recently in the sense that some systematization allowed easier and quicker teaching of the basics. Except for a few older and established systems, before this change it was more common to pass the art from generation to generation in an informal approach. Regardless of teaching methodology, these arts are considered so effective and easy to learn with sufficient practice that the U.S. military teaches it to some varying degree in all of its branches, particularly U.S. groups like the Navy SEALs, Army Special Forces, and Delta Force. Many special operations groups were stationed in the Philippines for some period of time during WWII - the period when these arts first became apparent to the America mainstream.
For the last century, the most important practice of Eskrima has been in dueling without any form of protection, which was common in the Philippines and among Filipinos elsewhere (Hawaii pre-annexation). The founders of most of the currently popular Eskrima systems were famous duelists; legends circulate about how many people so-and-so has killed. Certainly duels did happen and deaths did result. However, to reduce legal problems that arose from injury or death, most duels would later often be fought with hardwood sticks instead of blades. Public dueling has been all but eliminated from the Filipino society and is even deemed illegal in the Philippines today. However, one can still find regular gathering of masters in major parks in the Philippines where at a drop of a hat one will not hesitate to prove his point through an unprotected "friendly match". As a result, knife-fighting (and to a lesser extent, fighting with machetes) is still very much a living skill in the Philippines, particularly in rural areas and especially in areas where insurgents are based.
For a more precise history, one must distinguish between the different systems of Eskrima (see below).
Attempts to trace the lineage of a practitioner is often difficult. For example, Antonio Illustrisimo (duelist and grandmaster) seemed to have learned to fight while traveling around the Philippines (and the rest of the Pacific) as a sailor, while his nephew and student Floro Villabrille claimed to have been taught by a blind princess in the mountains - a claim later refuted by the older Illustrisimo. Both have since died.
Secrecy was also a large part of this art and teaching it outside of the Filipino community was considered taboo until the 1960s when Eskrima was first brought over to the U.S. by Grandmaster Angel Cabales(1st indication at least). Still instructors of stick fighting classes in the 1960s and 1970s were reprimanded by Filipino elders for publicly teaching what had been traditionally kept secret, a practice which preserved a language and a culture, preventing watering down of the art.
Eskrima today
In recent years, there has been an increased interest in martial arts from cultures all over the world, including Eskrima, Capoeira, Savate, Muay Thai and others. Arguably one of the best arts for learning to use or defend against knives, Eskrima has appealed to people not necessarily interested in its cultural aspects. As a consequence, most Eskrima systems have been modified (in varying degrees) to make them more marketable to a worldwide audience. Usually this involves increased emphasis on locking, controls and disarms, as well as focusing on its "self-defense" aspects, along with some influence from Asian martial arts (sometimes in name only). The art of eskrima is actually a defense through offense-based art (the best defense is a good offense) rather than just a defense-based art, as it is often depicted. Modern training methods tend to de-emphasize careful footwork and low stances, with more emphasis on learning techniques as opposed to more direct and effective tactics designed to instantly end an encounter (which is generally believed to have lethal results and are, therefore, discouraged). The highly effective fighting systems seen on film in use by fictional characters such as Batman and Jason Bourne were choreographed by highly trained practitioners of FMA.
Originally, eskrima was never a sport. It was a means of self-defense, intended to hurt and disable. The Balintawak System masters what is otherwise known as foul blows. Lately, eskrima has begun to be practiced as a sport, although there is as yet little standardization or uniformity. The rules, with their corresponding effect on technique, have yet to be decided upon, although several tournaments have been held with various sets of rules. The oldest and most common set is the WEKAF (World Eskrima Kali Arnis Federation) rules that work on a 10 point must system where participants spar with a body protector and helmet. This format has sometimes been criticized because it emphasizes training in offensive techniques at the expense of defensive "preserving" techniques, giving rise to the impression that combatants are merely bashing at each other in a disorganized way, trying to get in more hits than one's opponent. This is, to some, an antithesis to traditional training methods, where training in footwork and arm/weapon movements are intricate and precise as to become like dance (one popular tradition is that eskrima survived during the centuries of Spanish colonial rule because techniques were learned in secret as dance steps). As a consequence, WEKAF tournaments may be seen as not promoting the original art.
There are efforts amongst the Eskrima society to cross train in other tournament competitions where there is noted differences of the rules applied to the contest. For example there are competitions using padded sticks and no body armor. Judges are required to confirm a legitimate target has been struck. The bladed concept using the padded stick and consideration by the judges to the effectiveness of the attack and or defense is often visually seen by the spectator. This is a stop and go point system style.
One other variation of tournament combat is seen with again padded sticks and minimal body armor protection but the competition is continuous similar to the WEKAF 10 point method. One major difference seen in this method is an awareness of the importance of defending oneself, even after scoring a point.
Escrima techniques are taught to Philippine Armed Forces, most notably the Philippine Marines.
Cross-training
Since it is common to see Eskrima and Chinese martial arts such as Jeet Kune Do or Wing Chun practiced together, there is sometimes confusion between styles, systems and lineage. Some people will cross-train and do not give proper credit to the founding fathers or principles of their arts. Eskrima and Wing Chun cross-training dates back to Bruce Lee and Dan Inosanto. Kenpo cross-training dates back to Hawaii's territorial/pre-statehood days, and is rooted in the cross-training between Chinese and Filipino immigrants settling there. The proponents of such training say the arts are very similar in many aspects and complement each other well. It has also become marketable and fashionable to offer eskrima classes (some FMA proponents say that some of these are "stripped down" versions of real training methods) in other traditional Asian martial arts studios in America. FMA practitioners (usually Filipino eskrimadors) point to an observed tendency of other arts to borrow techniques from eskrima and calling it their own as proof of eskrima's increasing popularity and demand as a practical, effective yet beautiful martial art.
Technical aspects
Weapons
The most obvious feature of an Eskrima class is that it is mostly weapon-based. The student is first taught to work with weapons and only advances to empty-hand techniques once the stick techniques have been learned. Most other well known "traditional" martial arts start by developing empty hands proficiency, often for years, before being introduced to the weapons component. This feature of Eskrima is justified by the argument that most systems have unified their teaching so that the empty-hand techniques are learned through the same exercises as the weapon techniques, making muscle memory an important aspect of the teaching. Since you may not have a weapon available, or might lose a weapon, the body becomes the weapon. Because the weapon is seen as simply an extension of the body, the same angles and footwork are used either with or without a weapon. This allows weapons to be taught before empty-hand, and by many FMA schools it is referred to as the concept of motion grouping.
The most common weapon used in training is a rattan stick about the length of the practitioner's arm, although the length may vary from about 45cm to 70cm. Some schools prefer sticks of a particular length, while others expect students to learn which techniques are appropriate for a variety of lengths. Most North American and European schools use hand and head protection when sparring with rattan sticks.
Other sticks used for training and for some duels are made of hardwood, such as bahi (heart of the palm), molave or kamagong (ebony), that is burned and hardened. They can also be made out of aluminum or other metals, or modern high-impact plastics. The sticks can also be padded for training purposes, though this practice is usually only used in schools in North America or Europe.
Many systems in fact begin training with two weapons, either a pair of sticks or a stick and a wooden knife (called espada y daga, Spanish for "sword and dagger"). This is some
