Arnis: History and Evolution of Filipino Martial Arts

• Arnis is a Philippine traditional martial art.
• Arnis existed long before the discovery of the archipelago.
• Lapu-Lapu, a Mactan chieftain, first exposed Arnis by defeating Ferdinand Magellan on April 27, 1521, in the Battle of Mactan.
• Miguel De Legaspi landed in Abuyog Leyte in April 1564, befriended the warrior chief Malitik, and witnessed native fighting skills.
• Arnis was originally named "Kali" and developed during the Spanish regime.
• The Spaniards colonized the Philippines and named it after King Philip of Spain.
• The colonization initiated the dark age of Kali.
• Due to Spanish influence, the art became known as "Arnis de Mano" and acquired names like "Estokada," "Estoque," and "Fraile."
• In 1764, the practice of Arnis was prohibited by the Spaniards.
• Filipinos secretly continued practicing Arnis, substituting training with wooden pieces called "bahi" or "kamagong," or bamboo-like materials like "rattan" or "oway."
• In 1873, the fighting system was renamed "Arnis," derived from "Arnes," referring to colorful trappings on defensive armors in Moro-Moro plays.
• Among the Tagalogs, Arnis was known as "Pananandata."
• The Pangasinan natives called it "Kalirongan".
• The Ilocanos used “Didya" or "Kabaraon."
• The Ibanags named it "Pagkalikali."
• Pampangueños used the term "Sinawali"
• Visayan natives utilized the term “Kaliradman" or "Pagaradman”
• Later it was called “Esgrima" or “Eskrima," derived from a Spanish word for a game between two combatants with blunt instruments.
• "Eskrima" was popularized during the American period.
• The first Arnis organization, the Labangan Fencing Club, was established in Cebu City in 1920 but dissolved in 1931.
• In 1932, Eulogio Canete founded the Doce Pares Club.
• In 1975, General Fabian Ver formed the National Arnis Association of the Philippines (NARAPHIL) to unite Arnis groups but failed,
• General Ver was exiled after the EDSA Revolution.
• In July 1986, Arnis Philippines (ARPHI) was formed with the same objective as NARAPHIL, to promote, preserve, propagate and regain the popularity of Arnis.
• Early Arnis competitions included the First Asian Martial Arts Festival in Manila (1976).
• The First National Arnis Festival in Cebu City (1976), First National Open Championships on March 1979, First National Invitational Tournament on August 1979
• The First World Eskrima Kali Arnis Championships in Manila on August 11-13, 1989, where 78 delegates from 10 countries approved the establishment of the World Eskrima Kali Arnis Federation (WEKAF).

Modern History

• Modern Arnis, founded by Remy Amador Presas, is a Filipino fighting art and self-defense system.
• Presas aimed to create an injury-free training method and preserve the older Arnis system.
• The style comes primarily from the traditional Presas family style of bolo (Machete) and the stick duel art of Balintawak Eskrima, influenced by other Filipino and Japanese martial arts.
• Remy Presas started making modifications and improvements, moving to Manila in 1969 and forming the Modern Arnis Federation of the Philippines.
• Presas continued to develop and spread his art with books and video tapes until he moved to North America.
• Jujitsu was added to modern arnis, but the focus remained on single stick and self-defense.
• Modern Arnis includes the use of anyo (kata), solo forms both with and without the stick.
• Remy Presas was recognized as the “Father of Modern Arnis."
• Arnis became the National Sport after President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo signed Republic Act No. 9850 in 2009.
• The Act mandated the Department of Education to include Arnis as a Physical Education course.

Equipment and Attire

• Olisi or baston: a piece of rattan or hardwood with an ideal length of 75 cm, a diameter of about 2.4 cm, and a weight of about 200 gms.
• Daga or baraw: a knife-shaped or dagger-shaped piece of hardwood between 25 and 32 cm long.
• Uniform: loose garments of strong fabric that allow free body movements, with a T-shirt recommended during regular workout sessions.
• Belt: made of ordinary hard cloth varying in color to indicate grade or rank, with an ideal width of 4.5 to 6 cm.
• Arnis players start with Novice Level 1 (White Belt), then Novice Level 2 (Yellow Belt), Intermediate Level 1 (Green Belt), Intermediate Level 2 (Blue Belt), Advance Level (Brown Belt), and Masters Level (Black Belt Degrees).
• Armor: headgear, body protector, and gloves made of hard foam, leather, or leatherette to resist hard striking blows or poundings, designed to cover the body, head, neck, arm, hands, and the upper leg area including the genitals.
• Armor is required for full contact sparring or formal competition.

Benefits of Arnis

• Effective self-defense
• Contributes to the development of Physical Fitness
• Develops mental qualities such as alertness and precision
• Helps to acquire desirable character traits such as self-confidence, self-control, and discipline.
• Develops mental strength and courage that allows someone to face danger and pain.
• Develops virtue of perseverance to the highest degree.
• Improves reflexes

Terminologies in Arnis

• Abaniko: a "fan" lateral side-to-side motion performed with a straightened arm as a blocking maneuver.
• Anyo: also called form or sayaw, a sort of informal dance movement.
• Arko: a series of circular strikes referred to as sirkulo.
• Arnis: term used in the Northern Philippines for FMA, synonymous with "escrima" or "kali".
• Arnisador: stick fighter
• Banda y banda: back and forth side-to-side slashes or strikes.
• Baston: stick or baton used in FMA.
• Blocking: the act of stopping or striking the attacking force.
• Butt: punyo of the stick closer to the handle.
• Daga: knife or dagger.
• Disarming: refers to wresting away the weapon from the opponent.
• Espada y daga: sword (espada) and dagger (daga) used together.
• Estokada: one stick, two-man training drills.
• Flywheel: series of backhand arkos.
• Gripping: refers to the way the olisi is held by the hand.
• Kurbada: curving strikes such as pronating or supinating strikes.
• Olisi: baston, Cebuano term for stick.
• Plancha: back and forward horizontal strikes to midsection.
• Redonda: continuous drill employing two batons continuously.
• Redondo: a circular power strike.
• Rompida: an upward and downward slash or strike delivered in an X pattern.
• Saludo: salutation.
• Sirkulo: series of curving strikes such as witik, abaniko, media, arko, bartikal redoble etc.
• Slash: also known as cut, a strike normally delivered in a descending or ascending direction.
• Stances: refers to different footwork used in arnis.
• Sungkiti: a hooking strike
• Sinawali: lit. "to weave," connoting the continuous weaving motion that one uses with two batons, knives or hands to couple simultaneous strikes and blocks.
• Thrust: S strike that used the top end or the tip of the olisi hitting the target.
• Witik: short curving snap strike from the wrist that creates a whip-like motion.