The three traditional Filipino fighting styles of Kali, Arnis and Escrima are essentially the same approach to combat using lightweight sticks singly, in pairs or in conjunction with daggers of various designs. Although the sticks themselves can cause a great deal of pain and can easily crack a bone if wielded correctly, they themselves can also be understood to represent a bladed weapon that has been substituted to allow for safer training. I will use the term Kali to interchangeably refer to itself, Arnis and Escrima alike. This is the more popular term known today in the West, but Arnis is held to have been the original art from which the other two developed. Like other Southeast Asian fighting methods, this Filipino art has until recently remained true to its original battlefield techniques and philosophies. Popularity towards the end of the twentieth century, primarily through Dan Inosanto and his adoption of Filipino martial arts into the curriculum of techniques he uses to demonstrate Jeet Kune Do concepts, and more international exposure are bringing about changes in approaches to training with the safety of the practitioner being a primary concern. Sport variants are also becoming increasingly popular with world championships held regularly.
Kali Weapons
Historically these arts were intended to be used on the battlefield. As such it must be recognized that the principal study of a student was and is the use of weapons. The principal weapon is a short stick between 60 and 80 centimeters in length, known as a tabak, or, more popularly today, as a rattan stick after the fire hardened wood it is made from. Other weapons include a multitude of designs of different daggers, including the kris, swords and spears. Some styles of Filipino martial arts extend the range of study too to include missile weapons. Weapons are often used in pairs, the most popular combination being the use of twin sticks. Another famous approach however is espada y daga. This style replicates the Portuguese fencer’s use of a rapier and dagger used in conjunction with one another, though the sword is replaced with a long stick. An expert is deadly with this array of weapons, using core principles effectively with different weapon types. The famous Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan fell to these techniques at the hands of Lapu Lapu, a celebrated warrior on the island of Cebu. Later, in the early twentieth century, the U.S. Marines gained the unwelcome sobriquet ‘leathernecks’ while serving in the Philippines. Filipino activists and guerillas were prone to murdering victims with a cut across the throat. The marines responded by tying pieces of heavy leather around their necks as protection.
Empty hand techniques were not emphasized in training in the expectation that such skills would only be used as a last resort. For more information on indigenous empty handed techniques refer to the art of Panantukan.
In combat, the master tends to have superb reflexes, coordination and bravery thanks to his early progressive study of weapons. When fighting unarmed, the Filipino martial artist concentrates on delivering elbow strikes, sweeps, locks and weapon disarms. By closing on a presumed-to-be-armed attacker, much of the advantage a weapon, such as a sword or spear, can give is negated, hence the emphasis on close quarters combat.
