Recently, a prospective student attended a trial class. She had some previous martial arts experience, consisting of karate. I taught her the 12 angles of attack and other Modern Arnis basics. She absorbed the material quickly and enthusiastically.

After the class ended, I asked her if she had any questions about the material we covered or my general program. During the post-class conversation, she admitted that she had never heard of Filipino Martial Arts. For those of us in the martial arts industry, this is not too surprising.

Me: Were you familiar with Filipino Martial Arts before tonight?

Her: No.

Me: Have you ever heard of Filipino Martial Arts?

Her: Never.

Having taught for several years,  I was not surprised to hear this. Many of my students had never heard of FMAs before joining Bamboo Spirit.

So….

What are Filipino Martial Arts (aka Kali, Eskrima and Arnis)?

In dry terms, Filipino Martial Arts is an umbrella term to describe various weapons-based martial arts systems in the Philippines. Kali, eskrima, and arnis are different terms to describe the same thing. Quite often, empty hand concepts are based on weapons movements. Many Filipino Martial Arts instructors are passionate in their belief that they are pretty practical for self-defence.

Nearly all Filipino martial arts programs emphasize weapons training from day one. Most weapons training transfers pretty well to everyday objects such as tote umbrellas, pens, rolled-up newspapers, and magazines and is only limited by your imagination.

First, some systems are based on stick work. Modern Arnis, Doce Pares, Kombatan, and Balintawak are stick-based. Below is GM Bobby Taboada of Balintawak, demonstrating his fantastic skill.

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Others are more sword-oriented.  Below is a clip of the late Master Tony Diego of Kalis Illustrisimo training a student at a park as an example of a sword system.

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Blade-based systems, such as Sayoc Kali, abound as well.

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Whether they teach stick, sword, or knife, many instructors teach empty-hand techniques based on weapons movements.  Thus, one of the significant advantages of training in Filipino Martial Arts is training both weapons and empty hands concurrently.

See the video below. How cool is that?

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Want to look like Jason Bourne or Bruce Lee? They both had some training in Filipino Martial Arts. Yes, sir, they did!

Well-known FMA proponent and long-time student Dan Inosanto influenced Bruce. Here’s a “Enter the Dragon” clip depicting Bruce with eskrima sticks.

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Matt Damon trained extensively in Filipino Martial Arts at the Inosanto Academy for all his Bourne movies. The movie clip below demonstrates the adaptability of FMAs.

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Lastly, sport sparring has become quite popular, resulting in worldwide competitions such as WEKAF (World Eskrima Kali Arnis Federation) Championships. Testing your skills with protection is hugely appealing for many eskrimadors.

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Movies such as “The Book of Eli,” “Quantum of Solace,” “The Hunted,” and a few others have exposed many to this exciting art form. Hollywood has wised up to the excitement of fight scenes involving FMA choreography. Most notable are the fight scenes in the “Bourne” movies.

The bottom line: FMAs, because weapons and empty hand techniques are taught concurrently, are highly functional for self-defence and are fun!

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