Self-Defense Strategies

• Self-defense involves protecting oneself from physical harm by being aware and utilizing self-defense strategies.

Three Kinds of Self-Defense

• Armed self-defense uses a variety of weapons for defensive purposes, with the choice depending on the threat, victim, and defender's experience.
• Legal restrictions on self-defense options vary, especially concerning firearms, which may be carried openly or concealed in some jurisdictions.
• Knives, switchblades, batons, pepper sprays, and personal electroshock devices are categorized as weapons with potential controls.
• Weapons may be legally carried by certain professionals with a license.
• Unarmed self-defense focuses on using natural weapons to block or attack, like elbows.
• Verbal self-defense involves using words to maintain mental and emotional safety and de-escalate potentially volatile situations.
• Taking a time out, deflecting, converting to less argumentative topics, or redirecting the conversation are key components of verbal self-defense.
• Avoidance involves being aware of situations likely to lead to verbal conflict.
• Deflecting involves changing the topic to avoid disagreement.
• Compromise involves openly offering ideas to placate the attacker.
• Withdrawing involves disengaging in conflict.

The 3 A's of Self-Defense

• Awareness is understanding your situation.
• Assessment is evaluating the threat.
• Action is responding to the threat.
• Learning self-defense helps one act quickly and fight back.

Physical Harms

• Physical harms include rape, robbery, slapping or hitting, pushing, shaking, pulling hair, locking someone in a room, tying someone, restricting freedom, and forcing someone to eat or take medication.

Martial Arts Origins

• Judo involves throwing the opponent to the ground, as a Japanese martial art and combat sport.
• Karate utilizes striking and punching, as a Chinese martial art.
• Jujitsu employs unarmed and armed techniques, coming from Japanese martial arts, to defend oneself and others.
• Killing in self-defense is morally justified if seen as a necessary act of repelling a threat.
• Self-defense is legal in the Philippines under the Revised Penal Code as a justifying circumstance, if the act isn't considered a crime.

Tips to Stay Safe

• Enhancing safety includes understanding surroundings, walking in open areas, using the buddy system, assessing safety before acting, staying alert, and reporting incidents to the police.

History of Arnis

• Arnis is a traditional Philippine martial art that existed before the archipelago was discovered.
• Lapu-Lapu is believed to have first demonstrated arnis when he defeated Ferdinand Magellan.
• Ferdinand Magellan, a Portuguese navigator and warrior, was defeated in the Battle of Mactan on April 27, 1521.
• Miguel De Legaspi, a Spanish navigator, landed in Abuyog Leyte in April 1564 and befriended warrior chief Malitik to avoid conflict, witnessing the native's fighting skills.
• De Legaspi witnessed formidable fighting techniques in Sugbo after meeting warrior chief Tupas.
• Originally named "kali," arnis developed during the Spanish regime.
• Spain colonized the Philippines with religion, muskets, and cannons.
• The archipelago was named "Philippines" after King Philip of Spain.
• The colonization began the "dark age of kali," leading to its renaming as "Arnis de mano," due to Spanish influence.
• Arnis acquired names like "Estokada," "estoque," and "Fraile."
• In 1764, arnis was prohibited because of its fighting techniques.
• Filipinos secretly continued arnis, aware the colonizers feared its use in revolution.
• Natives used wood ("bahi" or "kamagong") or bamboo ("rattan" or "oway") to avoid suspicion while training.
• In 1873, the fighting system was renamed "Arnis" from "Arnes," referring to defensive armor.
• Among Tagalogs, arnis was known as "Pananandata," and as "Kalirongan" among Pangasinan natives.
• The Ilocanos used "didya" or "Kabaron," while the Ibanags named it pagkalikali.
• Pampaguenos called it "sinawali," and Visayans used "kaliradman" or "Pagaradman," later "Esgrima" or "Eskrima."

Modern Arnis

• Modern Arnis, founded by Remy Amador Presas, is a Filipino fighting art and self-defense system.
• Remy Amador Presas (December 19, 1936 – August 28, 2001) founded Modern Arnis.
• Presas moved to the US in 1974 and taught martial arts in the United States.
• In 1982, he was inducted into the Black Belt Hall of Fame as Instructor of the Year and is known as the "Father of Modern Arnis."
• The style comes from the Presas family style of bolo (machete) and Balintawak eskrima, with influences from other Filipino and Japanese martial arts.
• Presas studied his family's system, Shotokan karate, judo, and other Filipino systems like Venancio Bacon's Balintawak.
• He moved to Manila in 1969, made modifications, and formed the Modern Arnis Federation of the Philippines.
• With other arnis practitioners, Presas developed his art until he moved to North America.
• Adding jujitsu, modern arnis continued to evolve, retaining focus on single stick and self-defense.
• It includes anyo (KATA) solo forms with and without the stick, with Remy Presas being recognized as the "Father of Modern Arnis."
• Arnis is the national sport after Republic Act No. 9850 was signed in 2009.
• The Act made the Department of Education include arnis in Physical Education.
• "Eskrima" means a game between two combatants with blunt instruments, derived from Spanish.
• The term was popularized during the American period, and the first arnis organization was founded in Cebu City in 1920 as the Labangan Fencing Club.
• The organization was dissolved in 1931 due to political differences.
• In 1932, Eulogio Canete founded the Doce Pares Club.
• In 1975, General Fabian Ver formed the National Arnis Association of the Philippines (NARAPHIL) aiming to unite arnis groups, but it failed.
• General Ver was exiled after the EDSA Revolution.
• Arnis Philippines (ARPHI) was formed in July 1986 with the same goal as NARAPHIL: to promote, preserve, and regain arnis's popularity.
• The First Asian Martial Arts Festival in Manila (1976), the First National Arnis Festival in Cebu City (1976), the First National Open Championships in March 1979, the First National Invitational Tournament in August 1979, and the First World Eskrima Kali Arnis Championships in Manila on August 11-13, 1989 were early competitions.
• The establishment of the World Eskrima Kali Arnis Federation (WEKAF) was approved during the First World Eskrima Kali Arnis Championships.