INTRODUCTION
Silambam, a stick based ancient martial
Arnis is the official national sport and the martial art of
the Philippines. It is also known as "Kali" or "Eskrima".
These two terms are used for the traditional martial art of the
Philippines (“Filipino Martial Arts”, or “FMA”) that
focuses on weapon-based fighting with knives, sticks,
bladed weapons and some improvised weapons. Arnis is
a combat sport to defend oneself
from attacks using hand to hand combat, grappling and
weapon disarming in weapon-based fights.
ORIGIN OF THE NAME
The word Arnis got originated from the old Spanish
term, arnés, meant “armor”and Eskrima is
a Filipinization of the Spanish word, esgrima for fencing.
Whereas the name ‘Kali’ was derived from the pre-
Hispanic Filipano term ‘Kalis’ which
meant Blades and Fencing.
Practitioners of the sport are
called “arnisador” for male and “arnisadora” for female i
n Arnis
and “eskrimador” for male and “eskrimadora” for female
in the Eskrima and Kali Art.
Moreover, all the three, Arnis, Eskrima and Kali belong to
the same family of Filipino weapon-based martial arts and
fighting system.
HISTORY
Philippine is an island nation that is not only rich in culture,
heritage, and history but also in sports. The Filipino martial
art widely known as Arnis / Kali / Eskrima has contributed
to both the history and diversity of Philippines.
Some common questions that arise in every reader’s mind
are (a) “Where did this Sport Originate From?” (b)
“Why is it played?” Therefore, to get a better
understanding about the sport we need to dig into the past.
Initially, the sport was practiced by peasants or by
commoner class people. But these practitioners lacked the
scholarly knowledge due to which this sport has no written
records. The origin of Arnis can be traced back to native
fighting techniques during the conflicts among the
various Pre-Hispanic Filipino tribes or kingdoms.
Whereas, another form of Spanish fencing dating back to
the 15th Century, also influenced the current form of Arnis,
moreover it also has
the impact of Chinese, Arab and Indian martial arts.
It is also believed by some people of Philippines that the
Filipino art of Arnis has some roots connected to India as
the people who traveled through Indonesia and Malaysia to
the Philippine islands had brought this art with
them.
art of Tamil Nadu, India, has influenced many martial art
forms in Asia like Silat among which it is also believed that
the Filipino Martial art sport, Arnis, also shares ancestry
with India’s Martial art, Silambam, as it has some similar
moves with the short stick (kali or kaji) and other weapon
based styles of Silambam.
Arnis originally belonged to the people of Philippines, but as
time passed by, the art spread over to other countries and by
the time of World War II; many continents adopted it. Arnis
also played a significant role during
the Philippine revolutionaries against the Spaniards.
Eventually, it was the Filipinos who provided the art with a
systematic structure. It was brought
to Hawaii and California in the 1920s. The teaching was
kept within the Filipino communities until the 1960s after
which Master Angel Cabales and others began teaching it
to others. It took almost two decades to make the art known
to all around the world and in January 2010; it was
officially recognized as the National Martial
Art and Sport of the Philippines.
Depending upon the use of weapons and sticks; Arnis is
differentiated into two styles: the Classic Arnis that is all
about the use of blades and weapons whereas the Modern
Arnis deals with the art of sticks and everyday objects. The
Modern Arnis is the system of the Filipino fighting arts
founded by Remy Presas as a self-defense system. His goal
was to create an injury-free training method as well as
an effective self-defense system to carry forward the older
Arnis systems.
VARIANTS
Arnis was declared as the Philippines’ National sport and
martial art on 11 December 2009. The first national
organization for Arnis is the National Arnis Association of
the Philippines (NARAPHIL) which was founded
in 1975 by Gen. Fabian C. Ver.
However, its existence faded post the Philippine
Revolution in 1986. The two major types of Arnis
practiced as sports are the system followed by WEKAF
(World Eskrima Kali Arnis Federation) which was
established in 1989, and is recognized internationally; and
the other system followed by Arnis Philippines (ARPI),
established in 1986, which was used prominently during
the 2005 Southeast Asian Games.
1. WORLD ESKRIMA KALI ARNIS FEDERATION weapon useful for defense against blades. At
(“WEKAF”) present, fighters use padded Bastons. The Baston
(Baton) is about 28 inches (71 cm) in length.
WEKAF is the most common system of Arnis art which is Kamagong (also known as Mabolo): This is
used internationally. It was established in 1989. The system a dark, dense, expensive type of wood known for
works on the 10-point ‘must’ system that is quite similar
to boxing. Here, the participants spar with live
sticks wearing a long padded vest, skirts and sleeves. In
this system, hitting below the thigh is strictly prohibited.
This system emphasizes heavy offence at the expense
of defensive techniques, and the combatants are seen
hitting each other in a disorganized manner. Hence,
the "four-second rule" according to which the participants
were forbidden to use the same strike for more than twice in
succession. This system is preferred by participants who
want to test themselves.

2. ARNIS PHILIPPINES SYSTEM (“ARPI”)

The Arnis Philippines system was established before
the WEKAF system (in 1986) and adapted the scoring
system similar to fencing. The matches are observed by
multiple judges to mark fouls and the loudness of the impact
judges the strike strength. The participants score points by
disarming their opponent or by forcing them to step out of
the ring. In the ‘ARPI’ system, participants use padded
sticks with light rattan cores (wooden stem) in place of
live sticks as they are tenderer and flex while attacking.

OBJECTIVE
The sport Arnis is played between two fighters with a main
objective of earning more points by legally attacking the
opponent with the help of stick. It is said that Arnis
develops self-discipline and control because this sport is a
simple martial art and it is all about defending oneself by
using sticks.

PARTICIPANTS
For individual category event in Arnis, one player is
selected per team and for team category, three players are
selected per team.
EQUIPMENT
Arnis / Kali / Eskrima are all part of the same art
depending on the location, dialect and type of training.
The one interpretation common to all of them is
that Kali is the mother art of Arnis and Eskrima.
Moreover, Arnis focuses on the knife, including
the dagger, sword, and any other form of bladed weapon
whereas Eskrima is based on the ‘baston’ or stick.
Therefore, the equipment used in Arnis is:
1) Impact Weapon:
Baston: This is the most basic and common
weapon in Arnis. Traditional common materials
used for wooden bastons are usually rattan,
kamagong, and bahi wood. It is also available in
modern materials such
as fiberglass and plastics and in metals like
aluminum.
Rattan: This is usually constructed from a stem of
Southeast Asian vine. This stem
is hard and durable yet lightweight that makes the
its hardness and weight. Kamagong is also an
endangered species of ebony wood.
Bahi: Bahi is a type of wood made from the heart
of a palm tree. It is similar to kamagong but is
made of a porous material in weight and density.
2) Edged Weapons: Knife, dagger, spear, etc. are edged
weapons used throughout the history for combat, hunting
and ceremonies.
3) Head Gear: It is a necessity in Arnis combat. It is
covered with high-grade leatherette and vinyl that is
printed with ethnic art. Its materials provide
vital protection from head strikes and a multi-thickness
metal frame is developed for impact protection.
4) Body Armor: It is designed specially to provide
complete upper body protection while
allowing mobility and protection. The armor is usually
made of hard plastic and vinyl for lightness and the lower
panels are extended downwards to provide extra coverage.
5) Leg Guard: These guards can be used
to protect both thigh and the shin area and are not only
designed for protection but also
for comfort and practicality.
6) Groin: It is a special padding for the lower abdomen. It
has a groin cup to provide complete protection to the groin
area.
7) Hand Gloves: It is a thick rubber protection which
serves as a protection from strikes as the stick is held in
hand. Its open palm design ensures a stable grip and finger
flexibility for impact absorption.
8) Arnis Clothing: The basic Arnis Uniform is made
from twill fabric, which maintains durability and comfort. It
is specially designed after the classic Arnis
uniform with Velcro straps to close the flaps easily.
The playing area is a square measuring 26.24 feet (8
meters) on one side with 6.56 feet (2 meters) of
minimum free zone drawn outside it. All the lines of the
playing surface are 1.97 inch (5.08 cm) in width and four
lines mark the boundary of the playing area. The two
lines of 3.28 feet (1 meter) long and 6.56 feet (2 meters)
aside mark the horizontal match line. When the horizontal
match line runs perpendicular to the official’s table it is
drawn 9.84 feet (3 meters) from the boundary lines whereas
11.48 feet (3.5 meters) from the boundary line if drawn
parallel to the official’s table.
GAMEPLAY
While playing this sport, the two fighters need to be fully
equipped with the protective gears and are allowed
to hit their opponents only above their thighs in two
round matches at one minute per round with thirty
seconds of rest between rounds. Arnis has a four
second rule that restricts the participants from making
the same strike more than twice in succession. Moreover, if
a rule is broken then the officials give a warning sign before
disqualification. At the end of the game
the fighter with highest points wins.

TECHNIQUES
Number 12 Striking 12 Striking 12 Blocking
Areas Techniques Techniques
1 Left Forehand Inward Block
Temple Strike
2 Right Backhand Outward
Temple Strike Block
3 Left Arm Forehand Inward Block
Strike
4 Right Arm Backhand Outward
Strike Block
5 Stomach Mid - Thrust Sweeping
Block
6 Left Chest Forehand Inward Block
Thrust
7 Right Backhand Outward
Chest Thrust Block
8 Right Leg / Low Low Outward
Knee Backhand Block
Strike
9 Left Leg / Low Forehand Low Inward
Knee Strike Block
10 Left Eye Forehand Inward Block
Thrust
11 Right Eye Backhand Outward
Thrust Block
12 Crown / Frontal Strike Overhead
Head Block

PLAYING AREA
SCORING
All matches are scored by 3 judges on the “10 Point
must” system. Scoring is based on Quantity of
strikes, Effectiveness of Strikes and Ring
Generalship (time spent staying within the ring). In single
stick competition, disarms shall be scored as part of the
match as a mandatory point deduction and if 3 disarms take
place this would result in a Technical Knockout
(“TKO”) whereas in double stick competition, a fighter
point will not be deducted if disarmed and will continue to
fight with one weapon until the end of the round. If a fighter
loses both the weapons, then he / she will automatically lose
the match.