• Arnis is also known as Kali or Eskrima, and is

the national sport and martial art of the Philippines.

• There are interchangeable umbrella terms for the
traditional martial arts of the Philippines, which
emphasize weapon-based fighting with sticks, knives,
bladed weapons, and various improvised weapons, as
well as "open hand" or techniques without weapons.
• It is also known as:
 Estoque (Spanish for rapier)
 Estocada (Spanish for thrust or stab)
 Garrote (Spanish for club)
 In Luzon it may go by the name of Arnis de Mano.
• The indigenous martial art that the Spanish
encountered in 1610 was not yet called "Eskrima"
at that time.
• During those times, this martial art was known as:
 Paccalicali-t (pronounced as pakkali-kalî) to
the Ibanags
 Didya (later changed to Kabaroan) to the Ilokanos
 Sitbatan or Kalirongan to Pangasinenses
 Sinawali ("to weave") to the Kapampangans
 Calis or Pananandata ("use of weapons") to
the Tagalogs
 Pagaradman to the Ilonggos
 Kaliradman to the Cebuanos

Kuntaw and Silat are separate martial arts that are

also practised in the Philippine Archipelago.
• Arnis also includes hand-to-hand combat, joint
locks, grappling and weapon disarming techniques.
• Although in general, emphasis is put on weapons for
these arts, some systems put empty hands as the
primary focus and some old school systems do not teach
weapons at all.
• For all intents and purposes, arnis, eskrima and kali all
refer to the same family of Filipino weapon-based martial
arts and fighting systems.
• Both Arnis and Eskrima are loans from Spanish.
• Arnis comes from arnés Old Spanish for "armor"
(harness is an archaic English term for armor, which
comes from the same roots as the Spanish term).
• It is said to derive from the armor costumes used
in Moro-moro stage plays where actors fought mock
battles using wooden swords. Arnes is also an archaic
Spanish term for weapon.
• The execution of this doctrine is so infallible, that not
only does it prove its superiority in contests with equal
arms, but also when finding the opponent with the
apparent advantage of showing up armed with two
weapons, sword and dagger. For, even armed with
those, experience shows the difficulty of resisting the
single sword used in this way .
• Baston is the most basic and common weapon in Arnis,
baston or yantok. They are typically constructed from rattan, an
inexpensive stem from a type of Southeast Asian vine. Hard and
durable yet lightweight, it shreds only under the worst abuse and
does not splinter like wood, making it a safer training tool. This
aspect makes it useful in defense against blades.
• Kamagong (ironwood or ebony) and bahi (heart of the palm) are
sometimes used after being charred and hardened. These
hardwoods are generally not used for sparring, however, as they
are dense enough to cause serious injury, but traditional sparring
does not include weapon to body contact. The participants are
skilled enough to parry and counter strike, showing respect in not
intentionally hitting the training partner.
• In modern times, many Arnis practitioners have also come to
wear head and hand protection while sparring with rattan sticks,
or otherwise use padded bastons. Some modern schools also
use sticks made out of aluminium or other metals, or modern
high-impact plastics.
Striking Techniques
• The Philippines is an island nation rich in both culture
and history. The Filipino martial art of Arnis/Kali/Escrima
has contributed to both the history and diversity of the
Philippines. There are an abundance of styles and
systems of Arnis/Kali/Escrima that are taught throughout
the world to this day, that have survived and developed
throughout the different regions, families and teachers
who have preserved what is sometimes called a
“complete” martial art.
• Arnis/Kali/Escrima was originally developed by the
people native to the islands using simple impact and
edged weapons such as kampilans, rattan, swords,
daggers, spears and other assorted weaponry for
combat and self defense. These weapons were also
sometimes used as farm implements.