HISTORY OF ARNIS

The History of Arnis dates back before the colonization of the Spaniards, during those periods it was called Kali and the techniques of the art is focused on bladed weapons fighting. Kali was widely practiced throughout the archipelago; both noble an and co oners were enthusiast and practitioners of the said art. Also during those days Kali is being taught in a school like training grounds, which was called !othoan along with ilitary tactics, Alibata "#ati$e Alphabet%, and herbal edicines.
On the dawn of April 27, 1521 the Portuguese navigator and warrior named Ferdinand Magellan was defeated by a native warrior hief named !apu"lapu this was the re orded in ident whi h #ali was used against foreign invaders$ Forty years after that event, on April of 15%& another warrior navigator from 'pain named Miguel (e !egaspi landed in Abuyog !eyte Philippines$ )e was aware of the unfortunate fate of Magellan so too* a non"hostile approa h to avoid battle with the native$ )e befriend the warrior hief Maliti*, it is at this point he witnessed the deadly fighting s*ills of the natives through a demo to entertain them$ Afterwards he traveled to the nearby island of 'ugbo and met another warrior hief named +upas, he too* a non"hostile approa h to again avoid onfrontation$ For the se ond time he witnessed the formidable fighting te hni,ues of the natives through a demo$ -ears have passed by 'pain was able to oloni.e the Ar hipelago thru the use of religion and what was then regarded as modern weapons su h as Mus*ets and annons$ +he 'paniards laimed the Ar hipelago and named it /Philippines0 in honor of the #ing Philip of 'pain$ +his was the start of the dar* age of #ali, in the year 17%& the 'panish overlords banned the pra ti e of #ali to the natives$ 1sing the alibi that the natives were wasting time pra ti ing it instead of tilling the fields$ )owever the natives *new too well that their oloni.ers were 2ust afraid that su h s*ills would be used in a revolution against them be ause due to oppression the revolutionaries were gaining support from the natives$ +he natives, hidden from the wat hful eyes of their oloni.ers, pra ti ed #ali se retly$ (ue to some ultural influen e of the 'paniards the term 3s rima, 3sto,ue, Fraile, and #aliradman were used to regard the native fighting system$ 4t was also during these period when the natives were able to develop the sti * fighting te hni,ues of the art, whi h was proven to be as versatile as the bladed weapons te hni,ue$ 3ven the Moro"Moro stage play to entertain the oloni.ers was utili.ed as an e5 use to pra ti e the fighting system$ 4n 1677 the fighting system was renamed /Arnis0 derived from the word Arnes whi h means olorful trapping on defensive armors used on the Moro"Moro plays$ 'ome of the heroes of the Philippine revolution were also pra titioners of Arnis namely Andres 8onifa io, the spouses (iego and 9abriela 'ilang, and the young 9eneral 9regorio (el Pilar$ +he :ational )ero ;ose <i.al was also reported to pra ti e the fighting system$ As well as the founder of Aglipayan =hur h <ev$ 9regorio Aglipay was also re orded as a pra titioner of the art$

After hundreds of years with 'panish oloni.ation the ;apanese invaders too* their pla e to invade the Philippines during the >orld >ar 44, again e5perts of the native fighting arts were alled upon to fight for the ountry?s freedom$ #ali, 3s rima or Arnis whi hever term the individual prefer to use was on e again employed on the battlefield$ 4t?s effi ien y was put to a test again but this time against the ;apanese invaders$ +he Filipinos fought side by side with the Ameri ans$ :atives with s*ills in the fighting art signed up to be freedom fighters *nown as /9uerillas0$ 4t is also these /9uerillas0 who were usually front liners during the en ounter and they were usually sent on a ommando mission for re onnaissan e against the ;apanese$

After the war ended and pea e too* it?s path in 1@75 then Ma2or Favian Aer also noted enthusiast and pra titioners of Arnis formed the :ational Arnis Asso iation of the Philippines B:A<AP)4!C with the ob2e tive to unite all Arnis group in the Philippines, but unfortunately a ording to re ords the 9enerals effort was futile, some laimed that the asso iation that the 9eneral led tends to favor only one group and ignored the re,uest for re ognition of the ma2ority of the e5isting Arnis lubs$

After the )istori al 3('A revolution 9eneral Favian Aer was e5iled and :A<AP)4! as a dominant Arnis group eased, eventually another brotherhood of Arnis was formed by a group of great Masters on Arnis$ ;uly of 1@6% Arnis Philippines BA<P)4C was established with the same ob2e tive as :A<AP)4!, at present time the government san tioned groups :A<AP)4! and A<P)4 e5ist together with a non"governmental organi.ation P49'A4, these organi.ations share a ommon goal whi h is to promote, preserve, propagate, and regain the popularity of Arnis throughout the ountry be ause e onomi ally even though the Filipino Martial Arts be it Arnis, 3s rima, or #ali earned its popularity in the different parts of the world$ 4t is less popular in the Philippines$ 4ts birthpla e, probably due to strong olonial mentality influen e or 2ust plain negligen e of the Filipinos to their =ultural )eritage, but these noble groups are striving to ensure that the ne5t generations of Filipinos will be able to laim their ultural heritage and on e again have these Filipino Martial Arts as the national system of fighting art$

The 12 Basic Striking Techniques +he 12 basic strikes of 1nited Arnis are a ombination of stri*ing, thrusting and butting te hni,ues$ 4n today?s pra ti e of Arnis, thrusting and butting te hni,ues are introdu ed to the students on their intermediate or advan e levels, however, for 1nited Arnis, thrusting and butting are in orporated in the 12 basic strikes$ +his e5poses the students to the advantage of training and using it even at an early stage$ +he following are the 12 stri*esD 'tri*e 1 stri*e to the left temple area of the opponent 'tri*e 2 stri*e to the left *nee area of the opponent 'tri*e 7 stri*e to the right temple area of the opponent 'tri*e & stri*e to the right *nee area of the opponent$ 'tri*e 5 stri*e to the left shoulder area of the opponent$ 'tri*e % stri*e to the right shoulder area of the opponent 'tri*e 7 thrust or po*e to the left hest 'tri*e 6 thrust or po*e to the right hest'tri*e @ butt to the left eye 'tri*e 1E butt to the right eye 'tri*e 11 enter thrust 'tri*e 12 stri*e to the rown of the head +he most important thing in pra tising the 12 stri*es is to pra ti e it ontinuously and repeatedly, being ons ious of the target, stan e, footwor* and body movements$ <epeating the 12 basi stri*es helps build retention, mus le memory and mus le onditioning$

Arnis
+he primary weapon is the rattan sti *, alled a ane or baston BbatonC, whi h varies in si.e, but is usually about 26 in hes B71 mC in length$

&odern Arnis &odern Arnis is the syste of 'ilipino artial arts founded by the late (e y )resas as a self* defense syste . His goal was to create an in+ury*free training ethod as well as an effecti$e self* defense syste in order to preser$e the older Arnis syste s. The ter Modern Arnis was also used by (e y )resas, younger brother -rnesto )resas to describe his style of 'ilipino artial arts; since ./// -rnesto )resas has called his syste Ko batan. 0t is deri$ed principally fro the traditional )resas fa ily style of the !olo " achete% and the stick*dueling art of !alintawak -skri a, with influences fro other 'ilipino and 1apanese artial arts. Arnis is also the )hilippines, national artial art and sport, after )resident 2loria &acapagal* Arroyo signed the (epublic Act. #o. /345 in 655/. The Act also andates the 7epart ent of -ducation to include the sport as a )hysical -ducation course. Arnis will also be included a ong the priority sports in Palarong Pambansa "#ational 2a es% beginning 65.5.

+raining
One of the hara teristi s of Filipino martial arts is the use of weapons from the very beginning of training$ Modern Arnis is no e5 eption$ +he primary weapon is the rattan sti *, alled a ane or baston BbatonC, whi h varies in si.e, but is usually about 26 in hes B71 mC in length$ 8oth single and double sti * te hni,ues are taught, with an emphasis on the formerF unarmed defenses against the sti * and against bladed weapons Bwhi h the sti * is sometimes ta*en to representC are also part of the urri ulum$

0t is said that, originally, the cane was considered sacred by practitioners "Arnisadores%, and therefore an arnis practitioner was e8pected to hit his cane at the hand or forear of his sparring partner and not at the latter,s cane. This also had the ad$antage of being the preferred ethod in actual co bat, referred to as 9defanging the snake9, that is, aking the opponent drop his weapon so that he is less of a threat. Howe$er, it discouraged any would*be practitioners who found this training too painful and in+ury*inducing. The result was that the 'ilipino artial arts beca e in danger of dying out; in ost areas of the )hilippines, 1apanese artial arts such as Karate and 1udo were uch ore popular than the indigenous syste s. (e y )resas, odernization of the training ethod was intended to help preser$e the 'ilipino artial arts. He taught the ethod of hitting cane*on*cane during practice, which attracted ore newco ers to the art and also allowed the art to be taught in the )hilippines, school syste . 97efanging the snake9 re ains a principle of &odern Arnis, howe$er, and in practical application, one would typically strike the hand or ar . The technique is also used e pty*handed, where it is known as 9li b destruction9. Training co$ers e pty*hand self*defense "striking, locking, throwing, etc.% as well as the trade ark single and double stick techniques of the 'ilipino artial arts. :ther aspects of the art include espada y daga "sword and dagger fighting%, sinawali "double stick wea$ing patterns%, and tapi-tapi "locking drills with the stick%. 0n addition to partner drills, &odern Arnis includes the use of anyo "kata%, solo for s both with and without the stick. - phasis is placed on fitting the art in with a student,s pre$ious training "9the art within your art9%, s oothly reacting to

changing situations in the fight "9the flow9%, and countering the opponent,s atte pt to counter strikes directed at hi "9tapi*tapi9%. )ractitioners are called arnisadors or &odern Arnis players. 0n addition to its 'ilipino influences, ele ents of 1udo, Shotokan Karate, and ;ally 1ay,s S all <ircle 1u+utsu appear in the syste .

8elt ran*s
&odern Arnis uses a ranking syste si ilar to the 7an ranks used in Karate or other 1apanese syste s. There are so e inor $ariations between organizations as to the e8act nu ber of belts. There are .5 or .. black belt ranks in &odern Arnis , depending on the organization. They are nu bered in Tagalog= .. Isa "pronounced as i-sah or e-sah; which literally eans 9one9% 6. Dalawa "pronounced dah-la-wah; as literally eans 9two9% >. Tatlo "pronounced as tat-loh; literally ?. Apat "pronounced as Ah-pat; literally 4. Lima "pronounced as li-mah;literally eans 9three9% eans 9four9% eans 9fi$e9% eans 9si89%

@. Anim "pronounced as ah-neem; literally A. Pito "pronounced as pi-toh; literally

eans 9se$en9% eans 9eight9%

3. Walo "pronounced as 9wah*loh9; literally /. Siyam "pronounced as si-yam; literally .5. Sampu "pronounced as sam-po; literally

eans 9nine9% eans 9ten9% eans

... Labing-isa "in so e organizations% "pronounced as lah-bing-i-sah; literally 9ele$en9%

&any groups use a 9zero*degree9 black belt rank as a probationary stage that co es before Isa. The actual na e of the ranks is gender*specific. 'or en the rank is referred to as Lakan "Tagalog for ale% while for wo en it is referred to as Dayang "Tagalog for 9fe ale9%.Bcitation neededC Thus, a first degree black belt in &odern Arnis would be referred to as either a Lakan Isa or a Dayang Isa, depending on his or her gender. The 9zero*degree9 rank, if used, is referred to as si ply Lakan or Dayang. The black belt is traditionally bordered with red; howe$er, so e groups use a plain black belt. 0n addition to rank, titles such as 7atu, <o issioner, &aster of Tapi*Tapi, Senior &aster, Punong Guro, etc., ha$e occasionally been granted to certain high*ranking indi$iduals. The title Guro is typically gi$en to all Lakans and Dayangs.

Organi.ations

Modern Arnis is urrently perpetuated by a number of organi.ations worldwide, with some of the largest being the (AA of 9ermany, the 4nternational Modern Arnis Federation B4MAFC under <andi ' hea, and the >orld Modern Arnis Allian e B>MAAC$ =ountries where the art is most popular in lude the Philippines, the 1nited 'tates, =anada, and 9ermany, but there are pra titioners in many other nations$

1E radi al truths about arnis

Arnis is an art of empty hand Arnis is often onsidered as an art that involves weapons su h as sti *s, daggers, bolos, among others$ 4t is generally thought that without these weapons, arnis annot be pra ti ed$ Pre isely spea*ing, Arnis is an art of empty hand$ 1nli*e other arts that first tea hes empty hands te hni,ues and then weapons at a higher belt, Arnis uses weapons training that leads to empty hand thereby a omplish two things " weapons training and empty hands training$ +his *ind of training is effe tive to prepare the student in both armed and unarmed real life ombat s enario$

Weapons are extension of your hand Arnis is an art of offense and defense, weapons are 2ust an e5tension of the hands and s*ills of an Arnis player$ Arnis has a set of hand patterns and body movements that the weapons follow through the hands of a trained Arnis player$

Arnis is convertible art Although Arnis training use sti *s su h as rattan, *amagong Biron woodC , and bahi, the patterns and movements used in Arnis for sti *s are also onvertible to other weapons even to ma*e shift weapon su h as a pen$

Arnis Blocks are Strikes and Arnis Strikes are Blocks Arnis onsolidates stri*es and blo *s into one$ A blo * an be a stri*e by using the te hni,ue referred to as /displa ement0$ 8y displa ement in Arnis means,

stri*ing to the opponents vital points instead of blo *ing the sti *$ 4n Arnis te hni,ues for stri*es an also be used for blo *s$

verything is a setup in Arnis An Arnis player should *now that everything in Arnis is a setup that ould lead to another$ A stri*e ould be a setup to a ounter and a blo * an be a setup for a stri*e, ounter stri*e an also be a setup for a blo * or a stri*e$

Arnis double sticks develop hand coordination 8y training with double sti *s, Arnis ma*es the wea*er hands omplement the stronger hand$ 4f you are right handed your right hand is your stronger hand while the left hand is the wea*er hand$ As an e5ample, double sti *s trains the left hand to properly blo * and parry the opponent the same way he will do using a single sti *$ Arnis S!ord and "agger develops punch# push and thrust 4n Arnis the left hand are often used to he *, parry, and grab the opponents hands or weapon, however, the left hand an be fully utili.ed by training it to pun h, push, and thrust$ +his reali.ation an be done in Arnis by training with 3spada y (aga or 'word and dagger$ Strike at the nearest point +he rown of the head is often the target of an Arnis player, this is logi al sin e a stri*e to the head an ause fatal and immediate effe t$ )owever it is important to note that in Arnis the head is also the most prote ted area of the body and everybody learns to prote t it$ -ou ould stri*e at the nearest point of the opponent?s body instead, rather than trying to stri*e to the head, it may not be as fatal but it sure will bring damage to the opponent$

Own your Arnis te hni,ue Pra ti e your te hni,ues ontinuously and repeated until it be omes your refle5 a tion or your se ond nature$ 4n real life situation, you do not have the lu5ury of thin*ing twi e, by burning the te hni,ue into your mus le memory, your rea tion will be an instin t during su h situation$ 4n Arnis, 4t is not the number of te hni,ues you *now, it on how many te hni,ues you an e5e ute effe tively, effi iently and a urately under stress and pressure$

Arnis Sparring and competition develops you Parti ipating in arnis sparring sessions and ompetitions enables you to test your s*ills and effi ien y level$ A ooperative opponent is a partner who is willing to be hit and allows you to e5e ute your te hni,ues on him$ >hile the un ooperative opponent, is a partner who is not willing to be hit and employs every means that his disposal to go against you on a ontrolled manner$

+raining with a dummy or a ooperative opponent is only good for honing your te hni,ues but it does not give you the benefit of testing your s*ills against a moving, engaging and un ooperative opponent$

<emember that the un ooperative opponent is an e5ample of a real"life ombat s enario without the rules$ !-#-'0TS

You learn practical self-defense. Your upper body, arms and legs will become toned You will increase your fitness and aerobic capacity

Parts of your body, such as your forearms, elbows and hands will benefit from conditioning, making them more resistant to pain and injury. You will become more flexible. You will benefit from increased manual dexterity and co-ordination. This is derived from performing exercises with two weapons and weapons of different si es. You will probably become partially ambidextrous. You will be able use any weapon, even one you have not used before. !t complements and enhances any martial art. !t can be learnt independently from other martial arts or grafted seamlessly into any form of exercise you do already. "any of the techni#ues do not re#uire strength or power, since most of the power is derived from body movement and economy of motion. $ecause there is no need for strength, anyone can learn %skrima. &' year old children can learn %skrima as well as retired women (The $lack %agle %skrima )randmaster is *+ at the time of writing, and is still in formidable shape,. !t is a complete system of martial arts, training you in striking (punching, kicking,etc.,, wrestling, all forms of weaponry, and even groundfighting. !t can be practiced anywhere. %skrima can be practiced in a park as well as it-s practiced in a gym. !t is fun. $ecause it re#uires a training partner to practice, it is a great way to meet people.