Historical background

Arnis, as a martial arts, was spawned in Philippine soil. It was known in ancient Philippines as Kali, an ancient Malayan word which implies a large bladed weapon longer then a knife.

This art was practised primarily for self-defense by the pre-Spanish Filipinos who were noted for their friendly nature and legendary hospitality.

Kali must have been derived from "tjakalele" which is a native fencingin Indonesia. This linguistic kinship is not without basic considering that what is now Indonesia was once, in ancient times, a part of the Sri Vishayan and Madjapajit empires whose spheres of influence reached the Philippines. Scanty records show that it is possible that the ten Bornean datus who landed in the island of Panay in the 13th century were subject of either of these two ancient empires. History is quite definite, however, that during the reign of the ten datus in Panay, kali was taught to children in a school called "bothoan" as part of their education.

The art of hand-to-hand combat has always been an integral part of the Filipino in his long, turbulent, and bloody history. By force of necessity and self-preservation he became an expert in fighting with his hands, either bare or with a stick and a bladed weapon. Even before the introduction of the bladed weapon, the early Filipinos were already a fighting people using the bow and arrow or the longbow.

However, about 200 B.C., the Malays migrated to the Philippines and brought with them the long knife. Their coming enriched the Filipino arsenal in the fighting arts. Besides their sticks and bows and arrows, the early Filipinos were now also experts in the use of bladed weapons and daggers. This is especially true of the Muslims in Mindanao and Sulu who have a special inclination for these weapons. Their skill in hand-to-hand combat with a bladad weapon had been proven in their untarnished history of successes in repelling foreign invaders in their land. The numerous attempts of the Spaniards, the Americans and Japanese to conquer the Muslims and to colonize Mindanao always failed

As testimony of the Muslims love for the bladed weapons is their variety of the styles and types of knifes whichinclude the kris, bolo, kalis, laring, barong, gunong, kampilan, gayang, pira, punal, itak, banjal, bangkcon, lahot, and the panabas. Even today, one can find the most artistic knifes in Mindanao and Sulu in different sizes and styles.

Arnis de mano is the best known and most systematic fighting art in the Philippines. It is a perfected art after a long historical development from the kali systems to defend himself against armed or unarmed attacks. Arnis, as it is commonly called, has been also known in other dialects as "estocada" among the Tagalog provinces and estoque or fraile in other regions.

Kali (Arnis) became so popular during the early days that it was known as the sport of kings and of the members of the royal blood. The first and foremost experts of the art were the rajah and maharlika of the Visayas and Tagalog regions, Amandakwa in Pangasinan, and Baruwang of the Cagayan Valley region.

The art was not confined to the elite alone. Ordinary Filipinos practised kali not only for self-defensebut also for entertainment. It was the awaited entertainment feature in fiestas and other gatherings. Sometimes, combatants used their skill in kali to settle their differences.

Decline of Kali and the emergence of the word Arnis

Kali declined in popularity as early as 1596 when the Spanish authorities discouraged, and eventually banned the practice of the art in 1764. They said that Filipinos were so englossed in the art that they left their lands untilled. The Spaniards also stated that the practice of the art also led to death or injury to combatants especially when tempers got out of hand. Sources intimated that the Spaniards may have other reasons for discouraging the practice of kali.

The Spaniards must have considered the art lethal or dangerous since they decreed that natives found practicing kali(Arnis) would be considered Tulisanes or outlaws.

In 1637, the friars introduced the moro-moro, a socio-religious play dramatizing the triumph of the Christian Spaniards over the Muslim Moors of Granada, Spain.
The play called for the use of fighting techniques using a sword or a similar bladed weapon. With the introduction of the moro-moro, the Filipinos again had a chance to practice their art, thus interest in kali was revived.

In said play, Spanish soldiers fighting for Christianity were supposed to wear "arnes", a Spanish word for the English harness, the colorfull trappings worn by medieval soldiers. From the word arnes came present Arnis. In 1853, the word kali was completely replaced by Arnis.
However, some regions in the Philippines still retain the word kali in their vocabulary for this art.

Arnis today has experienced changes in the weapons used. Much of the antiquated techniques of the old Arnis has been modernized to avoid injury to students.

Notes:
Modern Arnis - "Stick Fighting"
by Remy Amador Presas