Filipino Arnis-Eskrima

” Respect the weapon, accept the pain, train hard! ”

Besides the generic names of Arnis, Eskrima or Kali, the various filipino fighting systems

have one thing in common: they all begin with weapons training.

The main reason for this fact is the believe that  nobody will ever fight empty handed

if there is a chance to use a weapon or any surrounding object as a weapon.

Another reason is that training with weapons will develop good conditioning,

power and awareness and the transition to empty hands will be easier.

 

There are 3 main categories of Filipino Martial Arts systems:

A. Blade oriented systems – the stick used in training is regarded as a blade, hitting power

is not emphasized, footwork is very agile and the long distance is favored for fighting.

There are no blocks, only deflections.

B. Stick oriented systems – they emphasize the ”power shots” – devastating strikes.

The practitioners of such styles are succesful in modern competitions,

with protective gear. They fight in large and medium range.

C. Short range oriented systems – they place a great importance on the use

of the ”live hand” (the hand without weapon) and they make a very easy transition

to empty hands. Very suitable for self-defense and for military/police training.

 

In training there are various weapons used (long, medium and short stick,

knife, sword, flexible tools etc.), but all the FMA are based on principles – which can be

extended from stick to umbrella or glass-bottle, from knife to pen or cellphone.

 

 

My menthors and trainers in Arnis-Eskrima are:

 

Instructor Catalin Necula (London – UK), from which I have learned

De Campo 1-2-3 Original - a long range stickfighting system

 and Igmat Baraw  Knife Fighting System.

 

Instructor Bobby Dela Rosa (Batangas - Philippines), who taught me an explosive

short range stickfighting system named Kalye Todo Arnis

- his personal interpretation of  Balintawak Arnis-Eskrima.

 

We do not learn how to defend against weapons – this is utopic.

We learn how to efficiently use them in a fight.

Maraming salamat!

 

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