Arnis 

Pederasyong Internasyonal, Inc. or (“i-Arnis”) have prepared these rules and

regulations as a standard in the conduct of Local, National, and International tournaments
in Arnis Sport. In 2015, these rules were first presented and approved by the i-Arnis Board
of Directors. 

Basic Rules
 Arnis is a combative sport played by two individuals in a court measuring 26.24 Feet
(8 meters) into 26.24 Feet (8 meters), with a smooth and clean surface. 
 Players are paired / matched according to the division of weight categories.
 The minimum temperature for an outdoor competition shall not be below 25
degrees Celsius (77 degrees Fahrenheit) and for indoor competition; the temperature
should not be above 25 degrees Celsius (61 degrees Fahrenheit).
 Lighting apparatus is located above the free space.
 Before the game starts, players must be positioned in the playing area so that the red-
coded player is on the right side of the referee and the blue-coded player is on the left
side.

Participants
1. Compositions
 MEN's team may consist of a maximum of eleven players, one player per weight division,
one coach, one trainer, one medical doctor and two officiating Review Judges (“RJs”) licensed
by i-ARNIS. (Same composition for WOMEN's team, BOY's team and GIRL's team)

2. Qualifications:
 The players shall meet the requirements of the weight division in which they are to
compete.
 The player should be physically and mentally fit to compete and submit the medical
certification with the tournament form.
 A sex test may also occur if a player's identity (Real Sex) is in doubt.
 Drug tests may also take place if in doubt.

Competition Rules
1. World Eskrima Kali Arnis Federation (“WEKAF”) System

 The participants wear padded vests with skirts and sleeves and headgear that

resemble the one used in Kendo.
 Participants are forbidden to hit their opponents below the thigh.
 According to the "Four-Second Rule" implemented in the system, no points are
awarded if the same strike is repeated more than twice in succession.
 On violating any rule, the officials warn the participants and can be disqualified if
they continue violating the format despite two warnings.

2. Arnis Philippines System (“ARPI”) System

 In this system, participants fight with a lightly padded stick that flexes hard impact.

  Headgears can be used for protection and hitting in the back of the head is strictly
prohibited as the headgear is open from behind.
 A large groin guard is required for male participants.
 The fights are observed by multiple judges stationed at various positions to observe
if the matches are going fair.
 The loudness of the impact determines the strike strength.
 Thrusts to the body help to gain points but are harder to perform.
 Punches, kicks and throws are prohibited, along with sticks' direct hit on the face.
 Disarms must be performed clearly and quickly.

Fouls
 Striking or thrusting to the groin.
 Blocking with the use of the arm.
 Striking or thrusting using both hands.
 Any act of pushing hand, head, body, legs, arm, stick and other similar movements.
 If a player steps out of the playing area.
 Hitting a player at the back area (from the back of the head to the buttocks) is
considered foul unless the opponent intentionally turns his back.
 If a player delays the game for more than ten (10) seconds.
 If a player hits multiple strikes or thrusts to one body part.
 When the command of ‘hinto’ (stop) or ‘hiwalay’ (separate), any player
who attacks shall be given foul, but if the command and the attack fall at the same
time then this would not be considered as a foul.
 A player who commits foul is given F1, F2, and F3, as per the case mentioned in the
scoreboard.
 When a player commits three (3) fouls, then the player is declared the loser by
the referee for that particular round. 
Arnis, also known as Kali or Eskrima/Escrima, is the national martial art of the Philippines.[3] The three are
roughly interchangeable umbrella terms for the traditional martial arts of the Philippines ("Filipino Martial Arts", or
FMA), which emphasize weapon-based fighting with sticks, knives, bladed weapons, and various improvised
weapons, as well as "open hand" techniques without weapons.
There have been campaigns for arnis to be nominated in the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists, along
with other Philippine martial arts. As of 2018, UNESCO has inscribed nine martial-arts–related intangible
heritages.[4]

Arnis comes from arnés,[5] the Old Spanish for "armour" (harness is an archaic English term from same root). It
is said to derive from the armour costumes used in traditional Moro-moro stage plays, where actors fought mock
battles with wooden swords
Arnes is also an archaic Spanish term for weapon, used as early as 1712

Eskrima (also spelled Escrima) is a derived from the Spanish word for fencing, esgrima.

Their cognate in French is escrime and is related to the English term 'skirmish'.

The name Kali is most likely derived from the pre-Hispanic Filipino term for blades and fencing,

Notable Arnisadores from Balintawak lineage: (from left to right) "Chito" Velez, "Meo" de la Rosa, "Nene" Gaabucayan,
"Anciong" Bacon, Ray la Victoria, "Bobby" Taboada, and Teofilo Velez at Fort San Pedro, Cebu City (c. 1976). The photos
were taken by "Johnny" Chiuten

Hand-to-hand combat is a physical confrontation between two or more persons at short range that does
not involve the use of weapons. The phrase "hand-to-hand" sometimes include use of melee weapons such
as knives, swords, clubs, spears, axes, or improvised weapons

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.

Historical accounts
The people of this country are not simple or foolish, nor are they frightened by anything whatever. They can be
dealt with only by the arquebuse, or by gifts of gold or silver ... They kill the Spaniards so boldly, that without
arquebuses we could do nothing. This was the reason that Magallanes, the discoverer of these islands, was
killed; and that Villalobos and Sayavedra, and those who came afterward from Nueva España were maltreated.
All those who have been killed since the coming of Miguel Lopez de Legazpi received their death through lack of
arquebuses. The Indians have thousands of lances, daggers, shields, and other pieces of armor, with which they
fight very well. They have no leaders to whom they look up. The havoc caused by the arquebuse, and their own
lack of honor, make them seek refuge in flight, and give obedience to our orders.

Modern history[
Various Filipino knives.

The Philippines has what is known as a blade culture.[49][50] Unlike in the West

where Medieval and Renaissance combative and self-defense blade arts have gone almost extinct (having
devolved into sport fencing with the advent of firearms),[51] blade fighting in the Philippines is a living art. Local
folk in the Philippines are much more likely to carry knives than guns. They are commonly carried as tools by
farmers, used by street vendors to prepare coconuts, pineapples, watermelons, other fruits and meats,
and balisongs are cheap to procure in the streets as well as being easily concealed. In fact, in some areas in the
countryside, carrying a farming knife like the itak or bolo was a sign that one was making a living because of the
nature of work in those areas.[52] In the country of Palau, the local term for Filipino is chad ra oles, which literally
means "people of the knife" because of Filipinos' reputation for carrying knives and using them in fights.
 Safety equipment
used in Arnis
tournaments with
padded vests, sticks,
headgear and groin
guards

Arnis competitions uses foam-padded sticks about an inch in diameter with thin rattan cores roughly a
centimeter in diameter. These sticks are meant to break before serious injury occurs. For protection, the same
headgear used in the WEKAF system, and a large groin guard is required for males. Vests (optional for men,
required for women), optional armguards, shinguards and leg wraps are used. Scoring is more similar to fencing
where fighters are separated after solid clean hits are made (observed by multiple judges stationed at different
positions to observe if hits were clean and unblocked, and determine the strength of the strike by the loudness of
the impact). Alternative ways to score are to disarm one's opponent or to force him to step outside the ring.
Any part of the body, from head to toe, is fair game as a target – except for the back of the head, which the
headgear does not protect. Stabs to the face are not allowed, because the thin rattan core may penetrate the
padding and slip through the grills of the headgear into the player's eye. Thrusts to the body score points, but
are harder to present to judges for scoring because they make less noise and it is difficult to determine impact.
Punches, kicks and throws are not allowed. Prolonged clinching to prevent the opponent from striking is not
allowed (similar to Western Boxing) to keep the game moving and more interesting for audience that may not
appreciate the fine and practical aspects of grappling. Disarms must be performed quickly and cleanly to count.
Because the legs are fair targets, in lighter weight divisions, complex evasion and deep lunges where players lie
horizontal with the torso almost touching the floor to extend reach are often seen.

Baston[

A pair of rattan bastons

Main article: Baston (weapon)

The most basic and common weapon in Arnis is the 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 counterstrike, 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.

Impact weapons
 Baston, olisi, yantok: stick ranging from twenty-four to twenty-eight inches long
 Largo mano yantok: longer stick ranging from twenty-eight to thirty-six inches
 Dulo y dulo: short stick about four to seven inches in length, held in the palm of the hand
 Bankaw: six-foot pole. Staves can be used to practise sword techniques
 Wooden dagger measuring 12 to 14 inches (300 to 360 mm)
 Panangga: shield
 Improvised weapons: Wood planks, steel pipes, umbrellas, flashlights, rolled-up magazines/
newspapers, books, cellular phones, tennis rackets, butt of billiards cue, bottles, coffee mugs, chair
legs, tree branches or twigs, etc.

Edged weapons

Traditional bolos from the Visayas islands (ginunting on the left, and three talibongs).

Baraw is a Cebuano term used in eskrima that means knife or dagger. The term Baraw is more commonly used
on the Cebu Island in the Visayan region whereas other islands and regions more commonly use the
term Daga but both terms are often interchangeable within the Filipino martial arts community.
The terms Baraw and Daga can be used either as Solo Baraw or Solo Daga associated with single knife fighting
and defense systems, Doble Baraw or Doble Daga associated with the double knife fighting systems or even
with a combination of long and short weapons e.g. stick and dagger fighting systems Olisi Baraw or sword and
dagger fighting systems Espada y Daga.

 Daga/Cuchillo (Spanish for dagger and knife) or Baraw/ Pisaw: daggers or knives of different shapes

and sizes
 Balisong: butterfly knife or fan knife from Barrio, Balisong in Batangas province; the handle is two-
piece and attaches to a swivel that folds to enclose the blade when shut
 Karambit: claw-shaped Indonesian blade held by inserting the finger into a hole at the top of the
handle
 Bolo: a knife/sword similar to a machete
 Pinuti: a type of sword from Cebu blade shaped similar to a Sundang but elongated
 Iták or sundáng: a farm or house hold bladed implement; its blade has a pronounced belly, chisel
ground edge with the handle angled down
 Barong: wide flat leaf-shaped blade commonly used by Muslim Filipino ethnic groups such as the
Tausug, Sama-Bajau and the Yakan.
 Binakoko: long blade named after a porgy fish
 Dinahong palay: has a very narrow blade shape similar to a rice leaf
 Kalis: Larger, thicker Filipino kris
 Kampilan: fork-tipped sword, popular in the southern Philippines
 Sibat: spear
 Improvised weapons: Icepicks, box cutters, screwdrivers, scissors, broken bottles, pens, car keys
(using the push knife grip)
Flexible weapons
 Sarong: a length of fabric wrapped around the waist
 Ekut: handkerchief
 Tabak-toyok: chained sticks/ flail or nunchaku
 Latigo (Spanish for whip): consisting of a handle between 8 and 12 inches (200 and 300 mm), and a
lash composed of a braided thong 3–20 ft (0.91–6.10 m) long. The "fall" at the end of the lash is a
single piece of leather 10–30 inches (250–760 mm) in length.[77]
 Improvised weapons: Belt, bandana, handkerchiefs, shirts, towels/socks with hard soap bars/rocks,
ropes, power cables, etc.

 Rank and grading system

 The practitioners must conform to criteria based on the number of years of training and level of
proficiency in technical skills. Practitioners are screened by the rank promotion committee to determine
their rank in the grading system.

Arnis grading system[78]

Rank Belt English name Filipino name

White Belt Novice Baguhán

Yellow Intermediate 1 Sanáy 1

Green Intermediate 2 Sanáy 2

Blue Intermediate 3 Sanáy 3

Brown Advanced Bihasâ

Black Master 1 Lakán/Lakámbini 1

Master 2 Lakán/Lakámbini 2

Master 3 Lakán/Lakámbini 3

Master 4 Lakán/Lakámbini 4
 Master 5 Lakán/Lakámbini 5

Master 6 Lakán/Lakámbini 6

Master 7 Lakán/Lakámbini 7

Master 8 Lakán/Lakámbini 8

Master 9 Lakán/Lakámbini 9

Grand Master Dakilang Lakán/Lakámbini 10