About Me
THE HISTORY
The Philippines Archipelago (Malay Islands) comprises 7107 islands and inlets. The total area of the country, including inland waters, is approximately 115,600 miles. There are 11 large islands: Luzon, Mindanao, Samar, Negros, Palawan, Panay, Mindoro, Leyte, Cebu, Bohol and Masbate. The island nation is in the Western Pacific and has a population of almost 90 million people with more than 70 dialects spoken. The races, which settled in the many islands, came from India, China, Japan, Indonesia and Malaysia. The Philippines were the center for asian commerce and merchants before the arrival of the Conquistadors in the 1500's. A meeting place for all kinds of trades. And the Art of Kali were the islanders system to protect the shores from incoming invaders.
From Wikipedia As with most martial arts, the history of Eskrima is surrounded by legends, making it difficult to pin down facts. This is especially true for Eskrima since a significant amount of its history is anecdotal and oral. Being a martial art for the common folk, some of its practitioners lacked the scholarly education to create a written history. This confusion is further complicated by the fact that there are actually many different fighting systems with different histories that are called Eskrima (or Arnis de Mano). One explanation for the origin of Eskrima systems is that they were originally the fighting systems possessed by every tribe in the Philippines and used by them to fight and defend against each other. Another explanation is that it evolved from Indian martial arts, as well as other Malay martial arts such as Tjakalele and Silat, brought to the Philippines by people who travelled through the Malay archipelago.
It is historically recorded, though, that when the Spanish conquistadors arrived, some tribes fought them, using native weapons and techniques. Ferdinand Magellan was killed in the Battle of Mactan in 1521 by forces of the Mactan tribal chief Lapu-Lapu when Magellan landed in Cebu - albeit by an arrow, not a sword or stick as many eskrimadors promote, yet this information is still unknown as many Spaniards and Portuguese exaggerated their stories to impress their King. From this point sources differ on the history of Eskrima. Certainly by the time the Spanish reached the Philippines, they were extremely challenged by how the natives had fought, when the natives of the Philippines only had simple weapons such as swords, spears and bow and arrows plus a shield to protect themselves. The experienced conquistadors were able to invade Maharlika (now Philippines). The degree to which this affected the practice of the native fighting arts is a matter of debate, but it seems likely that the Filipinos kept what worked and discarded what didn't. Eskrima had to be hidden from the Spaniards -- they practiced it in their dancing, and pretended they were practicing the Spanish style of fencing to avoid being caught. For this reason, Eskrima has some strong Spanish influences.
Many believe these Philippine fighting systems have strong historical roots from Indonesian martial arts that are Chinese influenced like Kun Tao. Kun Tao (literally the way of the fist) of course finds its roots from Ch'uan Fa (which is a generic word for what westerners would call kung fu, it also literally means way of the fist). Other systems that have similar movements to many Filipino systems also find their roots from Ch'uan Fa. There are even counts of lost Ch'uan and Tai Chi double stick forms that many of the fleeing renegade monks would have trained for in that period. These Chinese-based influences to the martial arts are not as powerful as the direct links to the cultural and political ties found in the Philippines even today. Many even believe the systems are totally intact in the way profound Chinese arts once were before events like the Cultural Revolution.
Others believe that since FMA is weapons-based, this suggests its roots and development are independent and autonomous of most foreign "fist" systems. In fact, it can be said that the inevitable similarities are due to the weaponry components of both Filipino, Indonesian and Chinese martial arts. Any exercises or similar hand movements to that of the Indonesian and Chinese arts were introduced only in recent years to augment the newer Eskrima groups - something which is less apparent in the more traditional and established authentic systems. Filipinos had their own empty hand systems, such as: sikaran (kicking art), Dumog (submission), and all the fist strikes come from weapon fighting techniques, because the Guru's (instructors) believe the hand can strike the same manner with or without a weapon.
Although the turbulent and conflict-wrought history and environment of the Philippines enabled the FMA to develop into an efficient, albeit violent art, this changed recently in the sense that some systematization allowed easier and quicker teaching of the basics. Except for a few older and established systems, before this change it was more common to pass the art from generation to generation in an informal approach. Regardless of teaching methodology, these arts are considered so effective and easy to learn with sufficient practice that the U.S. military teaches it to some varying degree in all of its branches, particularly U.S. groups like the Navy SEALs, Army Special Forces and Delta Force. Many special operations groups were stationed in the Philippines for some period of time during WWII - the period when these arts first became apparent to the America mainstream.
For the last century, the most important practice of Eskrima has been in dueling without any form of protection, which was common in the Philippines and among Filipinos elsewhere (Hawaii pre-annexation). The founders of most of the currently popular Eskrima systems were famous duelists; legends circulate about how many people so-and-so has killed. Certainly duels did happen and deaths did result. However, to reduce legal problems that arose from injury or death, most duels would later often be fought with hardwood sticks instead of blades. Public dueling has been all but eliminated from the Filipino society and is even deemed illegal in the Philippines today. However, one can still find regular gathering of masters in major parks in the Philippines where at a drop of a hat one will not hesitate to prove his point through an unprotected "friendly match". Local folk in the Philippines are much more likely to carry knives than guns, and much more likely to use them when tempers rise, than people in North America or Europe. As a result, knife-fighting (and to a lesser extent, fighting with machetes) is still very much a living skill in the Philippines, particularly in rural areas and especially in areas where insurgents are based.
Attempts to trace the lineage of a practitioner is often difficult. For example, Antonio Illustrisimo (duelist and grandmaster) seemed to have learned to fight while traveling around the Philippines (and the rest of the Pacific) as a sailor, while his nephew and student Floro Villabrille claimed to have been taught by a blind princess in the mountains - a claim later refuted by the older Illustrisimo. Both have since died.
Secrecy was also a large part of this art and teaching it outside of the Filipino community was considered taboo until the 1960s when Eskrima was first brought over to the U.S. by Grandmaster Angel Cabales(1st indication at least). Still instructors of stick fighting classes in the 1960s and 1970s were reprimanded by Filipino elders for publicly teaching what had been traditionally kept secret, a practice which preserved a language and a culture, preventing watering down of the art.
PHILIPPINES TRIBAL NATIONS
North
THE IGOROTS
Igorot is a Tagalog word for "mountain people" and denotes the inhabitants of the mountains of central Luzon. Among the 800,000 Igorots, there are seven major peoples: Apayao, Tinggian, Kalinga, Bontoc, Ifugao, Kankanai, and Ibaloi. Like the word Moro, Igorot had a derogatory connotation implying backwardness and cultural inferiority. It has become a source of pride to its members - designating an identity distinct from Filipino. Unlike most of the Philippines which were ruled by Spaniards for about four hundred years, the Cordillera region was generally unfazed by Spanish colonization. The Igorot tribes are held together by their common socio-cultural traits as well as their geographic proximity to each other. During pre-Christian Cordillera (and to some extent, the present), the seven different tribes shared similar religious beliefs, generally nature-related, and they make propitiary offerings to "anitos" (spirits) as well as to household gods.
South
THE MOROS
Moro is a latin word for "malayan tribe muslim". In Malaya or Southern Philippines, there were the moro warriors that was much like the samurai warriors of old Japan. By the thirteenth century, Arab merchants were trading with the inhabitants of Sulu, an archipelago in the the southern Philippines. These merchants also introduced Islam to the Philippines, and by the late fifteenth century, the influence of Islam stretched from the southern region of Mindanao to as far north as Manila. In the days when war was waged at close quarters, the moros were among the greatest swordsmen that the world has known. The combative prowess of the moro warriors was fueled with a volatile elixir of religious piety, fearlessness, tenacity, and patriotism, making them unconquerable for nearly four hundred years. Muslim groups in the southern Philippines were able to stave off Spanish conquest, thus preserving a lifestyle that reflects Arab and Indo-Malaysian influences.
WEAPONS OF THE PHILIPPINES
KAMPILAN
The kampilan is the weapon most favored by the warriors of Mindanao. This large single edged blade is most considerably noted for its fearsome look and at total lengths ranging up to 40 inches it is the largest Moro sword.
KRIS
The kris is undoubtedly the most famous of Moro weapons. Variations can be found in every Moro tribe. Besides being a blindingly agile blade it was also a key symbol of a man's status/rank in society, as well as often bearing strong talismanic properties as an anting-anting (talisman/amulet). The kris was a key part to the everyday wear of a man's dress, which often conflicted with later attempts by colonial invaders to disarm Moro society and led to many unfortunate conflicts.
BARONG
The barong is the favored weapon of the people of the Sultunate of Sulu. This generally single edged, leaf shaped blade is an amazingly effective slicer and has been known to have the ability to cleave a man in two. The blade tends to be thick and heavy with the weight aiding in the slicing capability of this sword.
GUNONG
Little has been written about the gunong. Gunongs are often considered to be the dagger version of the Moro kris. With blades that often bare strong resemblance to their larger Moro Kris sword relatives. While many gunong blades are found as double edged either straight or wavy, there also exist gunong blade variants that are single edged, often with more crescent like blade shapes.
PANABAS
The Panabas (also known as Tabas) is a chopping weapon favored by the moros of Mindanao. Panabases range in size from 2 to 4 feet. While probably originally an agricultural tool, this weapon soon gained its place as a weapon of war similar to the western battle axe. This wicked weapon can deliver horrible cleaver like blows, and was sometimes used as an execution weapon. It is sometimes said that the warriors wielding the panabas would follow the main group of warriors, summarily mopping up any survivors of the first wave of attack. The panabas blade is often features damascene patterning. On the spines of some panabas one will find decorative file work. Panabas hilts were often wrapped in rattan bindings, though some featured no wrap.
OTHER WEAPONS
Igorot Axe
Ilokano and Tagalog Bolo Knife
Balisong or Butterfly Knife originated on modern times in the Philippines
Arnis-Kali-Escrima Sticks (baston) are mostly used for sparring rather than using real blades. Although baston can be a deadly extention...
Offense and Defense Set
Typical Moro Army Uniforms
