Arnis,
the only known traditional Filipino Martial Arts, has
its roots deep in the culture and
history of the Filipino people. The exact date of its
origin, however, remains unclear. Traces
of historical evidence reveal that this manly art of
self defense involving the use of a single
stick, two sticks, a long and a short stick, a dagger,
or some other blunt instruments no doubt existed long
before the arrival of the first Spanish colonizers in
the country. The first known Filipino hero, Lapulapu,
was believed to be one of the foremost masters of Arnis,
which was known during that time in the native dialect
as pangamut. In fact, Lapulapu had vigorously trained
and prepared his men for "showdown" fights
against his enemies
long before his historic battle with Ferdinand Magellan
on April 27, 1521, in Mactan Island.
It was no surprise then, that when the first
circumnavigator of the world tried to subdue
the recalcitrant Lapulapu, who refused to come and meet
him in Cebu, Magellan and
his men were met not with a hail of bullets but with
wooden instruments, spears, and bolos.
It was ironic that when the smoke of the epic battle
cleared, the Spanish conquistadors
more "modern" weapons were no match for the
crude wooden arms of Lapulapu
and his warriors. Magellan lost his life in that battle.
In
the book DeLos Delitos, printed in 1800 by Don Baltazar
Gonzales in Madrid, Spain, the author
tells that it may have been Datu Mangal, the father of
Lapulapu, who brought the stickfighting
to Mactan Island, and Sri Batugong and his son Sri
Bantug Lumay who brought
the art to the neighboring island of Sugbu (Cebu).
Bantug Lumay was the father of Sri
Humabon or Rajah Humabon. Humabon was the chieftain of
Sugbu at the time when Magellan
arrived in 1521.
The
tribes of Lapulapu and Humabon were part of Sri Visayan
Empire in the 14th century. After
the Empire was defeated by the Maja Pahit Empire of
ancient Sumatra and Borneo, the tribes
became part of a group who fled and eventually settled
in the islands of the Visayas Central
Philippines. Another group of those Sri Vasayans, that
included the tribes of Datu Puti
and Datu Sumakwel, went out and settled in Panay Island.
Lapulapu,
even before his momentous meeting with Magellan, had
been training his men because
of his bitter rivalry with Rajah Humabon, whom he
accused of having grabbed a portion
of his father's land, particularly the sea area between
the Mactan Island and Cebu. The
feud between these two local chieftains contributed
significantly to the early development
of the "old" Arnis. The showdown between
Lapulapu and Humabon, however,
was never realized. Rather, it was in the battle of
Mactan where the native martial art
was put to a real test against the modern weapons of the
foreign invaders. The rest is history.
When
Miguel Lopez de Legaspi landed in the Philippines and
established the first settlement
in 1565, he and his men noted that the Filipinos were a
class by themselves in the
art of stickfighting and blade or sword fighting. He had
his first glimpse of the natives
exceptional
skill and ability during his landing in Leyte in 1564
when he was entertained with
an Arnis demonstration by the warriors of Chieftain
Malitik. Similar demonstrations were
made
upon his visits in Limasawa, Camiguin, Cebu and other
places.
Arnis
was then the favorite sport of the royalties that every
time a demonstration or competition
was held, people usually came in droves to watch. Its
popularity spanned well up
to the Spanish times. However, when the Spaniards gained
substantial control of the country
it discouraged the practice of Arnis. Fearful of the
Filipinos exceptional skill, they imposed
a total ban in the practice of the art. Although
the reason given was the unusual long
hours spent by the natives in the practice and training,
hence, neglecting their work it was
obvious the authorities were fearful of the threat to
their lives at the hands of the very skillful
and well trained people. Hence, the Filipinos put aside
their training devices and
abandoned
the practice of Arnis.
It
was not until the 19th century that Arnis began to
surface again into popularity among the natives.
The rapid growth was attributed to the introduction of
the Moro moro plays and dances
which became popular among the Filipinos and gave them
the opportunity to circumvent
the rule which prohibited the display and carrying of
bladed weapons. It was believed
that the Moro-Moro plays and dances were invented to
primarily give the Filipinos
an
excuse or a cover to resume the practice and training of
Arnis. As a result, the people concentrated
in mastering the art known as "oway". Through
some kinds of subterfuge behind
the disguise of performing stage plays and dances or
dance movements, the
Filipinos
were able to practice and continue their Arnis training
with the use of bladed weapons
known as "kali". "Kali" is a type of
broad sword still popular among the Filipinos particularly
those in the southern part of the country including the
Muslim provinces.
Due
to the Spanish influence this Filipino Martial Art came
to be known as "Arnis de Mano" - derived
from the Spanish word "arnes", meaning
trappings or defensive armor. It also acquired
namesakes such as "estokada", "estoque",
"fraile", "arnes de mano", or simply
"arnis".
Among the tagalogs, it is known as "pananandata",
the Pangasinan natives, "kalirongan",
the Ilocanos "didya" or "kabaraon",
the Ibanags "pagkalikali", the Pampanguenos
"sinawali" and the Visayans "Kaliradman"
or "pagaradman" , later "esgrima"
or "eskrima".
The
word "eskrima" is derived from the Spanish
word "esgrima" which means "a game
between
two combatants with the use of blunt instruments".
The name of the stick which could
either be rattan or a piece of hardwood used in "eskrima"
is called either "olisi", "baston"
or "garote". The word "eskrima"
became popular in the early years of the American
regime, when the first Arnis club organized in Cebu
City, Central Philippines in 1920,
the Labangon Fencing Club used the term in their
practice of the art. Although this group
was dissolved in later years due to serious political
conflicts among it officers. In 1932,
Doce Pares Association, with all the well known
grandmasters based in Cebu as a nucleus,
came into being. This organization in years to come
became very popular that its name
was almost synonymous with martial art of Arnis and it
was to its credit that Arnis was
widely practiced as sort of a competitive sport. Its
rule on sparring matches had received
broad acceptance, that in early 1970, was generally
accepted by all the arnis clubs,
schools and organizations in the country. In fact, the
present tournament rules adopted
by the World Eskrima Arnis Federation (WEKAF) had been
substantially lifted from this
old rules of Doce Pares. The development of the Filipino
stickfighting art, more widely known
as Arnis or Eskrima, has grown to spectacular
proportion, making it today one of the
most popular martial arts in the world. Major events
held in the Philippines as well as in the
USA, England, Australia, Germany and other countries in
the world more than confirmed
the universal acceptance of Arnis as a popular sporting
event.
History of 