History of Arnis Summarized PDF

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Arnis History (Paragraph Form)I. HISTORY OF ARNIS 1. TRIBAL ERAThe potential origin of Arnis can be traced from the influence of India in one of its oldest known martial arts known as Kaliripayat, which is a complete fighting system involving the use of different types of weapons and empty hand figh...

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Arnis History (Paragraph Form)

I.

HISTORY OF ARNIS 1. TRIBAL ERA

The potential origin of Arnis can be traced from the influence of India in one of its oldest known martial arts known as Kaliripayat, which is a complete fighting system involving the use of different types of weapons and empty hand fighting using techniques such as striking and grappling. It is named after the Hindu Goddess of death, Kali, whose image is shown as a woman with six-to-ten-armed wielding a sword and other weapons in one of her hands. These aspects of Kaliripayat were eventually brought to the Philippines when indo-malay households migrated to the country. Although it should be noted that Arnis in general, through adaptation, exchange and experience, bears a lot of influence from different martial arts in Asia. Prior to the Spanish Colonization, Arnis or Kali was already practiced by Filipino Natives, with different types of weapons such as large kampilans, swords, daggers, soears, and other types of edged weaponry as a form of self-defense. Arnis have attributed to the victory of Lapu-lapu and his people during the battle of Mactan. This art was mostly practiced by common folk and had no form of record, before the Philippines was colonized by the Spaniards, Arnis was also influenced by other Asian martial arts such as Silambam, a stick-based ancient martial art of India, and Silat, the collective term for indigenous martial arts in areas of Nusantara and surrounding areas of southeast asia, to name a few. This is because of the influence of settlers and traders travelling to the Philippines which brought Silat and other Martial arts from China, Arab and India. In addition, the conflict-ridden nature of the Philippine Archipelago which trained warriors from different port-kingdoms of the country and has gained a good reputation for its capable mercenaries which were employed all across South, Southeast and East Asia. Many accounts of war in different parts of Asia, have indicated the aid of Filipino warriors during their battles. Which helped introduce and refine Arnis as an Art before the Spanish fully colonized the Philippines.

2. SPANISH OCCUPATION During the Spanish occupation, the art of Arnis was banned due to its effectiveness in combat and danger to the Spaniards, which would help suppress rebellion among the Filipinos at the time. In connection to this ban, the Spaniards also banned civilians from carrying full-sized swords, except for their hired Filipino mercenaries and spies that would check and stop acts of rebellion. Although this did not stop Filipinos at that time in practicing their art. Arnis was practiced through ritual dances and disguised as mock battles at Moro-moro plays, instead of sharp

weapons, sticks made of Rattan and small knives wielded like swords served as substitutes so as to not cause suspicion. This form of disguise also gave way to the term Arnis, since it was derived from the Spanish word “Arnes” which means armor or harness, this term became a codeword for the practice of Kali (the term referred to the Martial art before Arnis was used), which would make the Spaniards think that the Filipinos were referring to armor or the costumes of stage actors, when in actuality it they were referring to their martial art. Arnis and Eskrima were widely used and developed during the Philippine war of independence from Spain. The revolutionary movement called the Kataastaasang Kagalang-galangang Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan (The Highest and Most Honorable/Noble Gathering of the Sons of the Nation) or Katipunan or KKK for short, trained using Arnis and fought with bolos or machetes since they had very few guns. 3. AMERICAN OCCUPATION After the Philippines gained independence from Spain, the country was soon occupied by the United States of America. During the Philippine-American War, Filipino warriors and soldiers lack enough resources for guns, they still used sharp weapons and illustrated the effectiveness of Arnis as a martial art by taking advantage of its offensive nature. As American and Spanish soldiers had to take time to reload their guns, Filipino warriors and soldiers have the opportunity to strike and defeat their enemies. A report from the Cincinnati Enquirer during the Battle of Manila in 1898, indicated that Most American soldiers at that time exhibited many knife wounds which proved the efficiency of Arnis and its contributions to Philippine Independence. When the Philippines came under American rule, especially during World War II, the Filipinos fought along with the American forces against Japanese Invaders. Under the control of the United States Armed Forces in the Far East (USAFE), the elite Bolo Battalion was formed as part of the guerilla resistance. This war gave attention to the effectivity of Arnis. It has been said that the Japanese fled upon seeing the Bolo Battalion charging against them. Which helped in the victory of the Americans against the Japanese. 4. MODERN ERA Through the years up to modern day, Arnis has been refined and spread around the world not just in the Philippines. It has been standardized with rules, ranks, and competitions which has made it complete and recognizable as the martial arts of the Philippines. Its various systems have also been modified to be more appealing to a worldwide audience. Specific modifications such as increased emphasis on locking, controls, and disarms, focusing mainly on aspects of self-defense. However, most styles follow the philosophy that the best defense is a good offense. In addition, modern

training methods tend to de-emphasize careful footwork and low stances, stressing the learning of techniques in favor of more direct and often lethal tactics designed to instantly end an encounter. As part of bringing attention to Arnis, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo signed the Republic Act. No. 9850 in 2009 which is a to help propagate arnis as a modern martial art/sport that can compete with popular non-Filipino arts, such as taekwondo, karate and judo. The Act also mandates the Department of Education to include the sport as a Physical Education course. It is also consolidation of House Bill No. 6516 authored by South Cotabato Rep. Arthur Pingoy Jr., and Senate Bill No. 1424 authored by Majority leader Juan Miguel Zubiri with the help of Richard Gialogo. Arnis was first introduced in 1969 to some public and private school teachers when Remy Presas taught his personal style of Arnis which he called "Modern Arnis". He taught his own style to the students of the National College of Physical Education (NCPE) when he was given the chance to teach there. In Modern Arnis, the primary goal is a self-defense fighting system. Remy Presas’ goal was to create an injury-free training method and an effective self-defense system for the sake of preservation of older Arnis systems. The term Modern Arnis was used by Remy Presas' younger brother Ernesto Presas to describe his style of Filipino martial arts. Since 1999, Ernesto Presas has called his system Kombatan. It is derived from the traditional Presas family style of the Bolo (machete) and the stick-dueling art of Balintawak Eskrima, with influences from other Filipino and Japanese martial arts. Although it still faces the problem of being sidelined and its legacy being forgotten or simplified, which is why there are organizations such as World Eskrima Kali Arnis Federation (WEKAF), and Arnis Philippines (ARPI) aiming to preserve, practice, and spread the knowledge of Arnis to the future generation. These two organizations also provided the WEKAF system and ARPI system which has been used in competitions as a basis for rules. The WEKAF System works on a 10-point must system similar to boxing where the participants spar with live sticks while wearing a long-padded vest with skirt and sleeves and a helmet similar to Kendo headgear. Hitting below the thigh is prohibited. To avoid sudden and unfair attacks, a “four second” rule is introduced. This system of Arnis is risky, since many players tend to have injuries on their bones and tendons after tournaments. Its format is most commonly used internationally. While in the ARPI system, Arnis competitions uses foam-padded sticks about an inch in diameter with thin rattan cores roughly a centimeter in diameter. These sticks are made to break before serious injury occurs. For protection, the same headgear used in the WEKAF system, and a large groin guard is required for males. In addition, Vests which are optional for men, and required for women, optional armguards, shin guards and leg wraps are used. Scoring is more similar to fencing where fighters are separated

after solid clean hits are made. Alternative ways to score are to disarm one's opponent or to force him to step outside the ring. In continuation of ARPI system’s rules, any part of the body, from head to toe, except for the back of the head, which the headgear does not protect can serve as a target. Stabs to the face are also not allowed, because the thin rattan core may penetrate the padding and slip through the grills of the headgear into the player's eye. Punches, kicks, and throws are not allowed. Prolonged clinching to prevent the opponent from striking is also not allowed to keep the game moving and more interesting for audience that may not appreciate the fine and practical aspects of grappling. In 2006, when the Task Force on School Sports had a new program for Arnis which was the "National Training of Trainors in Arnis and Dance Sports", sponsored by the Task Force on School Sports, Department of Education (DepEd), which was held at Teacher's Camp, Baguio City on March 13–17, 2006 and was conducted by two top-caliber figures in the Arnis community: Mr. Aniano Lota, Jr. and Mr. Richardson Gialogo, then Secretary-General and vice-president respectively of the National Sports Association for Arnis. And this was the start of the modern, contemporary and prevailing Arnis in the Department of Education. Arnis then became a part of the Palarong Pambansa (National Games) as a demonstration sport. National, regional, and provincial Arnis Seminars were conducted by the tandem of Mr. Aniano Lota, Jr. and Mr. Richardson Gialogo from 2006 to 2007 in coordination with the TFSS National Coordinator, Mr. Feliciano "Len" Toledo, and with the financial and logistical backing of the Department of Education. Arnis Seminars were continued in national, regional and provincial levels. These were all conducted by the tandem of Mr. Aniano Lota, Jr. and Mr. Richardson Gialogo, now both Arnis Consultants and official Lecturers of the Task Force on School Sports of the Department of Education....