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In the Philippines, particularly the southern part of the archipelago, “Arnis/Escrima/Kali” (“Arnis”) is becoming a popular sport. The slow growth is attributed to the fact that many of the masters of the various Arnis styles chose to teach only the people they trust most, restricted usually to members of their own family clan. One bad result of this is that until very recently, Arnis remains to be a closed-door art and so members of the Filipino population seldom see or hear of the art. The only thing that this segment of the Filipino population know of Arnis is what has been handed down in the history books, such as the story of the slaying of Ferdinand Magellan, the famous Spanish explorer, at the hands of the Filipino warrior, Lapu-Lapu and his fierce tribesmen.
Bearing only the simplest clothing on their bodies, and wielding “crude” swords—the kris, bolo, and pinuti—the tribesmen brutally slaughtered the Spaniards on that fateful morning in 1521 AD during the battle of Mactan, Cebu. Spain's best-trained swordsmen proved no match for the lightning quick twirls and swift slashes of Philippine crafted blades, and bone-shattering fire-heated kamagong.
But Spain was not the only foreign power to have a first-hand taste of the Filipino martial arts. In 1898, at the end of the Spanish-American War, the United States claimed the Philippines, along with Cuba, as its prize for its victory over Spain. It is said that the U.S. Government reissued the Colt .45 as the standard sidearm for their troops (last used in the Indian wars). This was because reports from the front line soldiers said that even after they had emptied their .38 caliber revolvers on kris-wielding Filipinos, the latter were still able to continue charging and decapitating American soldiers before they themselves died. Although the American Troops were better equipped and better trained, it still took the United States more than two years to defeat the Filipino people. Unlike their Spanish predecessors, the Americans did not ban the Filipino Martial Arts. Compared to Spanish rule, America was benevolent.
Until the modern era, Arnis continued to be a closed-door art. Many masters refused to bring their knowledge out into the open, so many Filipinos took to training in fighting arts of other countries like karate and tae kwon do. It was only during the late 1950's when some Arnis instructors came down to Manila, the capital city, to promote demonstrations of techniques. Now after many years of being hidden, Arnis is a part of the Physical Education curriculum of many schools around the country. Arnis is now being taught to many law enforcement and military branches of the Philippine Armed Forces. In the United States, several police departments from different states, as well as masters of other arts like karate, tae kwon do and kung-fu, have expressed interest in learning Arnis and supplementing it with what they already know.
In conclusion, briefly Arnis is a blade-oriented art, which utilizes geometric and dimensional angles of offense and defense in response to human anatomy. This is the art, which outlines and educates for the separation of the separable parts of the body.
The Filipino master is very well aware of the spiritual aspect behind his art (orascion) spiritual gift. In conjunction with hilot and herbal medications, they are also healers of the human body. |
