Filipino Martial Arts

[wingchun]

The only thing I know about filipino martial arts is as much as I learned in my Wing Chun and some Jeet Kune Do classes.  I know there's a lot of stick fighting involved.  But is there anyone here who can give us a more detailed history and idea on what the philosophy or concept of filipino kali/ martial arts is about?

[white_spirit]

Arnis, the  known traditional Filipino Martial Arts, has its roots deep in the culture and history of the Filipino people. The date and  its origin , remains unclear. Traces of historical evidence reveal that this manly art of self defense no doubt existed long before the arrival of the first Spanish colonizers in the Philippines.

Lapulapu

The first known Filipino hero in the Philippines.  Lapulapu, was believed to be one of the masters of arnis, which was known during that time in the native dialect as pangamut. In fact, Lapulapu had vigorously trained and prepaired his men for "Showdown" fights against his enemies long before his historic battle with Ferdinand Magellan on April 27, 1521, in Mactan Island(near Cebu). 

It was no surprise then, that when the first circumnavigator of the world tried to subdue the recalcitrant Lapulapu, who refused to come and meet him in Cebu, Magellan and his men were met not with a hail of bullets and canyons but with wooden instruments, spears, and bolos.  Some say it was a short and bloody battle.

It was ironic that when the smoke of that epic battle cleared, the Spanish conquistadors more "modern" weapons were no match for the crude wooden arms of Lapulapu and his warriors. Magellan lost his life in that battle.


Lapulapu, even before his momentous meeting with Magellan, had been training his men because of his bitter rivalry with Rajah Humabon, whom he accused of having grabbed a portion of his father's land, particularly the sea area between the Mactan Island and Cebu. The feud between these two local chieftains contributed significantly to the early development of the 'old' arnis. The showdown between Lapulapu and Humabon, however, was never realised. Rather, it was in the battle of Mactan where the native martial art was put to a real test against the modern weapons of the forein invaders.


Evolution

During the 330 years of Spanish reign, after many skirmishes with Spanish fencing exponents and after careful observation, the art of Kali was altered. Many training methods were dropped and many new concepts and techniques were added. This, coupled with the influence of Spanish culture and language, prompted the evolution of Eskrima (aka. Arnis de Mano). It was the Spanish rapier and dagger systems that had the greatest influence on the development of Eskrima. The use of numbered angles of attack as well as what have become traditional Eskrima uniforms, were both influenced by the Spanish. It is also interesting to note that although Tagalog is the national language of the Philippines, many of the top Eskrima masters still teach their arts in Spanish, today.

[white_spirit]

There is a also Filipino Martial Art performed without weapons.  Mano Mano is the empty-hand Combat. The word mano is the Spanish word for hand or refers to the empty (unarmed) hands of the fighter.

Few centuries ago, Philippines was colonized by Spaniards, Spanish words were also applied in those times.

[Limbas]

Arnis, escrima, mano-mano are generic terms referring to weapon arts and emptyhand fighting. There are no written history of Filipino fighting methods, not even oral history. What we have are accounts of battle between foreign invaders and the natives of the islands written by the invaders themselves. FMA teachers and organizations like to link their system and styles to the history of the islands with nothing to back it up. Some try to link it to the spaniards while others like to link it to the ten datus. Arnis is the most popular term and the styles which are prominent are the cinco tiros of ilocos, sinawali from pampanga, and balintawak from cebu. The most famous escrima group is the doce pares of cebu. Only PTK and their affiliates use the term kali in the entire Philippines. Other generic terms of weapon arts are pananandata and kabaroan but they are almost extinct. Two of the no-weapon arts that are still practiced are sikaran, and dumog but they are more of a sport than martial arts.

[white_spirit]

In most issues and articles in some places.... all the names like "escrima"/or eskrima, "arnis", and "kali"...
they belong in the same family of Filipino Martial Art.
The word "Kali"  are mostly used in Europe and some other contries.
"Escrima" and "Arnis" are also used on Asia and in the Philippines.

[datu sangot]

Filipino Martial Arts have long been the backbone of Filipino society. It was the practice and preservation of these arts that have kept the Philippine archipelago from permanent domination by a foreign power
Filipino Martial Arts is an eclectic (made up from elements from various sources) style. There are empty hand forms, stick forms, Filipino Jujutsu, grappling, kicking, Sinawali Boxing, stick and dagger, knife, double stick, single stick, anti-stick grabbing, as well as combinations of all the parts mentioned.

[anewsome]

I am just getting into this. What other things does this relate to?