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Filipino Martial Arts: Stick & Knife Fighting, Philippines

The FMA course teaches you one of the world’s most effective combat systems using sticks, knives and unarmed combat. You can learn Arnis at our training academy located in the beautiful Philippines training 5 to 6 days a week. The program is run by Filipino grand masters who will take you to various settings to train in Esrima.

Learn the Filipino martial art modern Arnis in the Philippines.

Arnis is a deadly system of Filipino martial arts (FMA) also known as Escrima and Kali. As a self-defense system it is easy to learn and incredibly effective. During the training you will be leaning to use weapons and also un armed combat techniques. The primary weapon is the rattan stick, called a cane or baston (baton). Both single and double stick techniques are taught; unarmed defence against the stick and against bladed weapons (which the stick is sometimes taken to represent) are also part of the curriculum.

With the FMA Xtreme gap program, you get the unique opportunity to learn and train with Filipino grand masters in a beautiful, tropical Asian settings including Sipalay, Mambucal mountain resort and Bacalod City home to waterfalls

FMA Training

The teaching of the basic skills in FMA are traditionally simplified. With limited time to teach flashy and intricate techniques, only skills that were proven effective in battle and could easily be taught en masse were used. This allowed villagers, generally not professional soldiers, a measure of protection against other villages, as well as foreign invaders. This philosophy of simplicity is still used today and is the underlying base of the FMA. Because of this approach, the FMA are often mistakenly considered to be "simple" fighting arts. However, this refers only to its systematization, not effectiveness. To the contrary, beyond the basic skills lies a very complex structure and a refined skill set that takes years to master.

Your training will be in the form of lessons of up to 2 hours per day 6 days a week with Sundays off.

Could I be injured?

Modern Arnis is designed to teach you the principals and techniques of stick fighting with out causing injury. Originally, arnis practitioners were expected to hit their canes at the hand or forearm of his sparring partner and not at the their canes. This also had the advantage of being the preferred method in actual combat, referred to as "defanging the snake", that is, making the opponent drop his weapon so that he is less of a threat. However, it discouraged many would-be practitioners who found this training too painful and injury-inducing. The result was that the Filipino martial arts were in danger of dying out; in many areas of the Philippines, Japanese martial arts such as Karate and Judo were much more popular than the indigenous systems. So during training strikes are now made against the opponents stick.

What will I learn

Training covers empty-hand self-defense (striking, locking, throwing, etc.) as well as the trademark single and double stick techniques of the Filipino martial arts. Other aspects of the art include espada y daga (sword and dagger fighting), sinawali (double stick weaving patterns), and tapi-tapi (locking drills with the stick). In addition to partner drills, Modern Arnis includes the use of anyo (kata), solo forms both with and without the stick. Emphasis is placed on fitting the art in with a student's previous training ("the art within your art"), smoothly reacting to changing situations in the fight ("the flow"), and countering the opponent's attempt to counter strikes directed at him ("tapi-tapi)

Arnis teach the interrelationship between empty hand skills and weapons. Therefore the FMA should be considered a complete martial arts system that develops many different types of skills for combat.

Belt ranks & Terminology

Modern Arnis uses a ranking system similar to the Dan ranks used in Karate or other Japanese systems. There are some minor variations between organizations as to the exact number of belts. There are 10 or 11 black belt ranks in Modern Arnis , depending on the organization. They are numbered in Filipino:

Isa, Dalawa, Tatlo, Apat, Lima, Anim, Pito, Walo, Siyam, Sampu, Labing-isa (in some organizations)

Many groups use a "zero-degree" black belt rank as a probationary stage that comes before Isa. The actual name of the ranks is gender-specific. For men the rank is referred to as Lakan (Tagalog for male) while for women it is referred to as Dayang (Tagalog for "femaleThus, a first degree black belt in Modern Arnis would be referred to as either a Lakan Isa or a Dayang Isa, depending on his or her gender. The "zero-degree" rank, if used, is referred to as simply Lakan or Dayang. The black belt is traditionally bordered with red; however, some groups use a plain black belt.

What are the differences between Arnis, Eskrima, and Kali ?

Eskrima and Arnis are the names primarily used in the Philippines today. The name Kali is seldom used in the Philippines and in most cases is an unknown term for eskrima.

Eskrima" or "Escrima" refers to a class of Filipino Martial Arts that emphasize stick and sword fighting. The term and the art most probably originates from the Spanish word "esgrima" which is the term for fencing.

Other terms which have entered into common usage include "Kali" and "Arnis de Máno" ("harness of the hand"); occasionally the abbreviation "FMA" ("Filipino Martial Arts") is used. Eskrima and Arnis are among the many names primarily used in the Philippines today to refer to these arts. The name Kali, although primarily used in the United States and Europe, is seldom used in the Philippines and in most cases is an unknown word. But due to the popularity of the term outside of the Philippines and the influence of foreign practitioners, the term Kali is increasingly being recognized and accepted in the Philippines. However, for all intents and purposes, Eskrima, Arnis, Arnis de Mano, Kali and FMA all refer to the same family of Filipino weapons-based martial arts.