Kali/Escrima/Arnis
Intro
Kali, Escrima, and Arnis are all terms for the native fighting arts of the
Philippines, specifically the arts that use weapons.
Arnis is a Northern Term, Escrima more Central, and Kali is from the South.
In this view, the terms just refer to indigenous weapons fighting systems. Arnis
would be the term used in Northern Luzon, Escrima from Manila through the central
islands, and Kali on Mindanao. People who use this definition tend to say that
the words don't matter - every village, and often every master, has a distinct
style, and that's what the important thing is - "do you study Illustrisimo, Caballero,
or Cabales style?" Not "do you study escrima or kali?"
Origin
Philippines
History
Kali is an older art than Escrima or Arnis, and more comprehensive. Escrima
and Arnis were developed as streamlined, simplified ways to teach people to fight
the Spanish invaders. Hence, Kali is more of a "warrior's art" while Escrima and
Arnis are "soldier's arts". Kali is usually considered to have 12 areas of combat,
with Escrima containing 8 or 9 of them, and Arnis 4 to 6.
Description
The "full" coverage alluded to above usually contains the following:
- Single Stick (or long blade)
- Double long weapon
- Long & Short (sword & dagger, e.g.)
- Single dagger
- Double Dagger
- Palm Stick/Double-end Dagger
- Empty Hands (punching, kicking, grappling)
- Spear/Staff, long weapons (two-handed)
- Flexible weapons (whip, sarong, etc.)
- Throwing weapons
- Projectile weapons (bows, blowguns)
- Healing arts
A further distinction that some people make is to say that Kali is, at its
heart, a blade art, while Escrima and Arnis are designed to work with sticks.
This is a matter of some contention among practitioners of the various styles
and schools.
A distinctive feature of all of these Filipino arts is their use of geometry.
In strikes/defenses and movement, lines and angles are very important. In addition,
the independent use of the hands, or hands and feet, to do two different things
at the same time, is a high-level skill sought after a fair amount of experience.
Training
Filipino styles normally classify attacks not by their weapon, or their delivery
style, but by the direction of their energy – for example, a strike to the head
is usually analyzed in terms of "a high lateral strike." A punch to the gut is
treated much the same as a straight knife thrust to that region would be. Students
learn how to deal with the energy of the attack, and then apply that knowledge
to the slight variations that come with different lengths and types of weapons.
Filipino arts place great emphasis on footwork, mobility, and body positioning.
The same concepts (of angles of attack, deflections, traps, passes, etc.) are
applied to similar situations at different ranges, making the understanding of
ranges and how to bridge them very important. The Filipinos make extensive use
of geometric shapes, superimposing them on a combat situation, and movement patterns,
to teach fighters to use their position and their movement to best advantage.
Some styles emphasize line-cutting (a la Wing Chun), while some are very circular
(like Aikido). Some like to stay at long range, some will move inside as soon
as possible. These differences are hotly debated, as are most things, but they
all work differently for different people.
Most Filipino arts, but Kali in particular, stress the importance of disarming
an opponent in combat. This is not usually done gently, but by destroying an attacking
weapon (break the hand, and the stick will fall.)
Sub-Styles
- Latosa Escrima
- Serrada Escrima
- and others
(This article comes from the
rec.martial-arts FAQ and is printed
with permission.
This article is authored by: Andy Maddox)
|
A - C