Arnis, as a martial art, was spawned in Philippine soil.

It was known in ancient Philippines

as kali, an ancient Malayan word that implies a large bladed weapon longer than a knife. This art
was practiced primarily for self-defense by the pre-Spanish Filipinos who were noted for their
friendly nature and legendary hospitality.

The art of hand-to-hand combat has always been an integral part of the Filipino in his long,
turbulent, and bloody history. By force of necessity and self-preservation he became an expert in
fighting with his hands, either bare or with a stick and a bladed weapon. Even before the
introduction of the bladed weapon, the early Filipinos were already a fighting people using the
bow and arrow or the longbow. The primitive Negritos, coming from Central Asia during
prehistoric times, were experts in these weapons.

Arnis de mano is the best known and the most systematic fighting art in the Philippines. It is a
perfected art after a long historical development from the kali systems designed to train the
student to defend himself against armed or unarmed attacks. Arnis, as it is commonly called, has
also been known in other dialects as estacada among the Tagalog provinces
and estoque or fraile in other regions.

As a fighting art, Arnis has three forms of play. They are the espada y daga ("sword and
dagger") in which a long wooden sword and a short wooden dagger is used; the solo
baston (single stick) in a single long muton or baston (wooden stick or rattan cane hardened by
drying or heating) is used; and the sinawali, a native term applied because the intricate
movements of the two muton resemble the weave of a sawali (criss-cross fashion), the bamboo
splits weave pattern used in walling and matting.

The lives of Filipino heroes are linked with the awesome power of the martial art of Arnis. They
triumphantly waged their heroic battles for freedom and liberty as a testimony of the power and
effectiveness of Arnis. Their successful stand against their superiorly armed adversaries in mortal
combat in the arena of battle is now held in immortal inviolability by history of the 16th
century. Kali (Arnis) became so popular during the early days that it was known as the sport of
kings and of the members of the royal blood. The first and foremost experts of the art were
the rajah and maharlika of the Visayas and Tagalog regions, Amandakwa in Pangasinan,
and Baruwang of the Cagayan Valley region.
The art was not confined to the elite alone. Ordinary Filipinos practiced kali not only for self-
defense but also for entertainment. It was the most awaited entertainment feature in fiestas and
other gatherings. Kali was a standard fighting technique in hand-to-hand combat of the Filipinos
when they revolted against Spain. Using the itak or bolo the Katipuneros engaged the Spanish
soldiers in savage skirmishes. History states that Bonifacio brandished a bolo, a standard weapon
in kali in his famous "Cry of Balintawak." However, kali declined in popularity as early as 1596
when the Spanish authorities discouraged the practice of the art (it was eventually banned in
1764). The Spaniards must have considered the art lethal or dangerous since they decreed that
natives found practicing kali would be considered Tulisanes or outlaws.

In 1637, the friars introduced the moro-moro, a socio-religious play dramatizing the triumph of
the Christian Spaniards over the Muslim Moors of Granada, Spain. The play called for the use of
fighting techniques using a sword or similar bladed weapon. With the introduction of the moro-
moro, the Filipinos again had a chance to practice their art, thus interest in kaliwas revived. In
the play, Spanish soldiers fighting for Christianity were supposed to wear arnes, a Spanish word
for the English harness, the colorful trappings worn by medieval soldiers. From the
word arnes came the present Arnis. In 1853, the word kali was completely replaced by Arnis.

Arnis today has experienced changes in the weapons used. Although the art still makes use of
the itak or bolo now and then, it has relied considerably on the use of the cane as a self-defense
weapon. This is not because the cane is less deadly than bladed weapons but mainly because in
later years, Arnis is engaged in more as a sport. Much of the antiquated techniques of the
old Arnis have been modernized to avoid injury to students. More importantly, discipline and
other moral values are impressed upon the students to strengthen not only the body but the spirit
as well.