Historical research show that the term "arnis" is of fairly recent usage. In fact, before the boom in the early 70s, the term was not used in the Visayas and Mindanao. Escrima was the word for it in those regions. My instructors never said lets practice arnis but escrima. All the old folks in my barrio alone refer to it as escrima.
The earliest known book on the matter "Mga Karunungan sa Larong Arnis" by Don Placido Yambao published in 1957 is the oldest known work to use the term. Definitely during the American period and the earlier Spanish administration the term Eskrima was used instead.
But is Arnis and Escrima the same? The old masters and practioners in the Visayas and Mindanao refer to their art as a form of fencing. They trained with flat sticks simulating fencing swords for the lack of available training epees. They never refer to it as a cane fighting art. The cane fighting aspect got into popular attention only during the rise of the Modern Arnis school which concentrated on using sticks and as the focal point of techniques and not as a simulation of swords.
But people also point to the fact of stick fighting tournaments during the American period as proof of authenticity of Arnis. However, we must note that these tournaments were only the poor man's version of the fencing tournaments of the illustrados.
All the old methodology used fencing terms, specifically Spanish fencing terms like "largo", "corto" and "medio". Escrima is actually a corruption of the Spanish "esgrima" meaning fencing. The Spanish fencing style La Verdadera Destreza was very popular during those times as opposed to the Italian and English schools. All the drills came from fencing. The positioning and the angular and circular footwork all came from Spanish fencing.
In the 70s Modern Arnis emulated the Karate katas and called its version "sayaw". The success of Modern Arnis urged the other schools to adopt similar methodologies but this does not erase the fact that this is a modern creation rather than being rooted in actual tradition.
The stick technology developed later. At the beginning of the 20th century at the earliest. So you have the sinawali method, etc. The Philippine islands did not develop a sword culture. Being tied to the Malay archipelago by culture and race, the islands were never a center for sword development. The best Kris samples came from Java and Borneo. Most bladed weapons in the Philippine islands were of cheap farm tools like the bolo. We did not develop the sword metallurgy we see in China, Japan and India. The myth of the Filipino sword is in fact just that, a myth. The cultural center in ancient times was Java and Sumatra and the Philippine islands being a sort of a remote province or vassal of Bornean oligarchy. So you will read accounts of Bornean Datus having vacations in Tundun and Taal, etc. The baybayin was a derivative of the Javanese Dravidian script.
Writers propagating the myths of Filipino Martial Arts overlook the glaring fact that the tribes in the Philippine islands did not develop the sophistication of martial systems in China, Japan and India.
So what is the authentic Filipino martial art? I would say to this that we should look into our cultural roots to answer this question. If we connect ourselves to our Malay roots then there is no ancient Filipino martial arts, but we share common heritage in Pencak Silat, and other Malay martial systems. What about arnis? If we detach it from the myth that it is ancient and accept its modern pedigree then yes, we can call it at that. As a political term, Filipino, applies to the American period up to our independence from which time "Arnis" as a cane fighting art developed into what is now today.
So is Arnis a legitimate martial arts? My answer is no. As a sport yes. It does not have martial roots unlike Escrima. Escrima being a derivative of fencing and is actually fencing is the legitimate martial art.
I remember my Esgrima instructor in my barrio years ago after he saw me doing sinawali movements. He said laughing, "why are you doing those twirling stuff?",simultaneously whacking my head and rapping my hand in one smooth fencing thrust and slash. Later on I learned La Verdadera Destreza and learned the secret to the old Eskrimador technique of thrusting their canes in broken rhythm -- a basic fencing movement.
But is Arnis and Escrima the same? The old masters and practioners in the Visayas and Mindanao refer to their art as a form of fencing. They trained with flat sticks simulating fencing swords for the lack of available training epees. They never refer to it as a cane fighting art. The cane fighting aspect got into popular attention only during the rise of the Modern Arnis school which concentrated on using sticks and as the focal point of techniques and not as a simulation of swords.
But people also point to the fact of stick fighting tournaments during the American period as proof of authenticity of Arnis. However, we must note that these tournaments were only the poor man's version of the fencing tournaments of the illustrados.
All the old methodology used fencing terms, specifically Spanish fencing terms like "largo", "corto" and "medio". Escrima is actually a corruption of the Spanish "esgrima" meaning fencing. The Spanish fencing style La Verdadera Destreza was very popular during those times as opposed to the Italian and English schools. All the drills came from fencing. The positioning and the angular and circular footwork all came from Spanish fencing.
In the 70s Modern Arnis emulated the Karate katas and called its version "sayaw". The success of Modern Arnis urged the other schools to adopt similar methodologies but this does not erase the fact that this is a modern creation rather than being rooted in actual tradition.
The stick technology developed later. At the beginning of the 20th century at the earliest. So you have the sinawali method, etc. The Philippine islands did not develop a sword culture. Being tied to the Malay archipelago by culture and race, the islands were never a center for sword development. The best Kris samples came from Java and Borneo. Most bladed weapons in the Philippine islands were of cheap farm tools like the bolo. We did not develop the sword metallurgy we see in China, Japan and India. The myth of the Filipino sword is in fact just that, a myth. The cultural center in ancient times was Java and Sumatra and the Philippine islands being a sort of a remote province or vassal of Bornean oligarchy. So you will read accounts of Bornean Datus having vacations in Tundun and Taal, etc. The baybayin was a derivative of the Javanese Dravidian script.
Writers propagating the myths of Filipino Martial Arts overlook the glaring fact that the tribes in the Philippine islands did not develop the sophistication of martial systems in China, Japan and India.
So what is the authentic Filipino martial art? I would say to this that we should look into our cultural roots to answer this question. If we connect ourselves to our Malay roots then there is no ancient Filipino martial arts, but we share common heritage in Pencak Silat, and other Malay martial systems. What about arnis? If we detach it from the myth that it is ancient and accept its modern pedigree then yes, we can call it at that. As a political term, Filipino, applies to the American period up to our independence from which time "Arnis" as a cane fighting art developed into what is now today.
So is Arnis a legitimate martial arts? My answer is no. As a sport yes. It does not have martial roots unlike Escrima. Escrima being a derivative of fencing and is actually fencing is the legitimate martial art.
I remember my Esgrima instructor in my barrio years ago after he saw me doing sinawali movements. He said laughing, "why are you doing those twirling stuff?",simultaneously whacking my head and rapping my hand in one smooth fencing thrust and slash. Later on I learned La Verdadera Destreza and learned the secret to the old Eskrimador technique of thrusting their canes in broken rhythm -- a basic fencing movement.
23 comments:
'Escrima is actually a corruption of the Spanish "esgrima" meaning sword.'
Very wrong. Esgrima means fencing in Spanish. Espada is sword. If something as basic and easily verifiable as that is wrong, why should the rest of your assertions be taken on faith? Give some proof.
Also, from whom did you learn La Verdadera Destreza?
Please refer to books by Mark Wiley particularly "Filipino Martial Culture" where he researches on the roots of Kali, Escrima and Arnis.
I do not consider what I write as gospel truth. These are merely my observations and personal research. If verified to be wrong then good, we both learn from it.
Being a Visayan, however, I stand pat on my assertion that the term "arnis" was quite alien in our region before the 70s and everybody referred to swordplay as eskrima that it has been absorbed into local dialect as "naginiriskrima" when referring to drills.
I stand corrected on the meaning of esgrima. Indeed it is fencing. The particular sentence has been corrected in the article. Thank you for pointing this out.
I found an interesting article in http://www.thearma.org/essays/influence.htm entiled "The influence of Spanish Renaissance Swordsmanship on Filipino Martial Arts?
What of arnis in Luzon? If your statements only apply to the Visayas, perhaps you should state that in your article? To claim that 'arnis' has no martial roots, because the term wasn't used in one area until recently, is just bad reasoning.
Clements' article has been around for a long time, and contains just as much bad 'history' as he complains about in others.
Again, who taught you La Verdadera Destreza?
I might be misconstrued again but in the last years of his life, Grandmaster Roland Dantes came to our office and discussed with me and Guro Rodicius Saccuan the lobbying of the Arnis Law which had been enacted recently. I supported this law and personally thanked its main sponsor Sen. Migz Zubiri, a fellow martial artist.
I support the teaching of Arnis and the cataloguing of all fighting arts practiced and taught in the Philippines.
It is very sad that Grandmaster Roland Dantes did not live to see this law but I guess he is happy for us here looking down from Kahimayaan.
Put it this way, was pre-Spanish fighting arts in the islands arnis? or did any of them actually is arnis?
We have yet to see a manuscript from that era purporting to arnis. But indeed there are fighting arts in those times. Most Javanese, Malay extracted fighting forms practiced in the Philippine islands are not referred to as arnis but as Silat. But when it came to fencing forms Eskrima had always been the term used.
As I have stated the oldest book to refer to arnis is Yambao's 1957 publication. Pigafetta and other historians have not mentioned arnis in their writings when referring to pre- and Spanish era.
I myself studied Modern Arnis under Grandmaster, and much respected, Rogelio Dagooc, and I do not wish to disparage arnis as an art, my only aim is to put it in the proper cultural and historical perspective.
There is nothing wrong with arnis being a modern creation. A lot of arts nowadays are modern, like BJJ and even Jeet Kune Do.
There a lot of writers questioning the term Kali also, but that is another story.
I have often wondered then why the older folks called themselves eskrimadores.
Things I have learned about the La Verdadera Destreza came from various instructors. I fondly remember all of them. The gentleman who fought in Zamboanga and the old friend I met in Luneta park. Because the old warriors did not have a systematic way of teaching their art and also because I met them in the winter of their lives (which I regret) I had to supplement what they taught with discussions and research. I oftentimes asked about how the old escrima was taught to them. Grandmaster Dagooc was also very helpful (after the Modern Arnis drills I would have these chit-chats with him about how it was like when he was still learning the arts)(and I do recommend studying Modern Arnis under Grandmaster Dagooc).
Again, thank you very much for sharing your thoughts here. Discussions open horizons and help us in our personal journeys. Keep writing.
"But when it came to fencing forms Eskrima had always been the term used."
So, you are saying that arnis is a modern invention because there are no old references to the term? Where are the old references to eskrima?
"As I have stated the oldest book to refer to arnis is Yambao's 1957 publication."
Balagtas used the word 'arnes' in Florante at Laura.
"Things I have learned about the La Verdadera Destreza came from various instructors. I fondly remember all of them. The gentleman who fought in Zamboanga and the old friend I met in Luneta park. Because the old warriors did not have a systematic way of teaching their art"
Did they teach you fencing, or La Verdadera Destreza? If they did not have a systematic way of teaching it, I have a hard time believing it was La Verdadera Destreza. What did they call it?
Thanks for your comments. True, eskrima was never referred to as a Filipino martial arts in older times. They were referring to fencing. It was not something that they claimed culturally.
Arnes refers to the "harness" or gear used in fencing. It was a common knowledge then as college students in the Walled city practiced fencing with "arnes". The term was loosely used to the set-up used during fencing practice.
Another term "garote" was loosely used. As in the Chiquito movie "Enter Garote". But I haven't read about it being used popularly. In that movie, Chiquito was using a single flat stick, much like the eskrima practice sticks of old.
The old escrimadores that I had the opportunity to meet had mentioned La Verdadera Destreza. Sort of having it incorporated on the art they were practicing at that time. Actually I was cluesless about it. It only lit a lightbulb when I was doing research on the roots of arnis-kali-escrima that I came upon the term again. They mention the term when they used to demonstrate the non-telegraphic angular thrust.
Eskrima was never a stick art. The flat stick carved like a straight sword was only used for practice and due to the unavailability of actual fencing swords. My great grandfather ordered his swords from Manila.
The sinawali movement resembles the butterfly swords movement in Gung Fu, but even that was practiced with real swords and not with sticks.
I really believed the cane art of Arnis had a profound evolution sometime in the late 60s and early 70s and focused more as a cane art rather than as a blade art. My instructor from Ateneo used to tell us they created new sinawali drills to add to the syllabus. That was circa early 1990s. Supposedly, the purpose was to develop ambidexterity. I appreciate it at that but it does not connect (at least to me) when blade is used.
With an edged weapon, direct and simple thrust and slash had been proven effective in combat, much like the way they taught it in eskrima.
Thanks Anonymous for writing. I hope we can exchange notes further. I am a perpetual student and interaction with fellow practitioners enriches and enlivens our common vocation.
Thanks again Kapatid!
Who were the escrimadores that mentioned La Verdadera Destreza? Direct evidence of fencing influence on eskrima/arnis is virtually undiscovered, so if this link that you've come across can be explored further, it would be very enlightening.
"Supposedly, the purpose was to develop ambidexterity. I appreciate it at that but it does not connect (at least to me) when blade is used."
What do you mean?
Also, I don't mean to be anonymous, it just puts me as anonymous when I sign in.
-Tim Rivera
Glad to meet you here Grandmaster Tim Rivera.
Being familiar and having studied Indonesian arts you would recognize that southern Philippine fighting arts are actually the same as that you find in the Malay peninsula because the people are actually culturally and racially connected. They share the same terms such as Silat and Kuntao.
And I would say these Malay and Chinese-derivative martial arts are the true historical fighting arts that you would find in ancient times in the Philippine islands.
The Spaniards later brought with them esgrima to the islands.
Some writers say that there was somehow a fusion of older Malay blade arts with Spanish esgrima.
Again, thank you Kapatid Tim for writing.
Nice to meet you here Kapatid Tim. My instructor and even Grandmaster Dagooc emphasized some sinawali drills to develop "ambidexterity", which by that they mean functional use of both hands in wielding the sticks -- in strength and speed. We used to have these drills with both hands twirling the sticks at opposite directions and also movements that would further develop the left hand if you were right handed and vice versa.
Eskrima is not influenced by fencing but it is fencing actually. The transition from bladed weapon to totally stick fighting resulted to a totally different art, as far as I am concerned. As I have mentioned before, it is not coincidence that the old escrima terminologies were fencing related. Somehow along the way, escrima evolved into a stick art which is now Arnis. Of course some schools nowadays claim to be blade oriented and call themselves Kali schools.
I have come across research materials that would give you ideas on the escrima fencing nature. But most don't connect it directly, interpreting the data instead as escrima being a different art. And because Arnis forms differ much now from older escrima schools it is no wonder that we don't connect it to fencing anymore. In fact, I wont call Arnis now as fencing derivative. That is why I refer to escrima instead.
For me, Arnis has evolved into something totally different. Arnis is not fencing but escrima is.
Please, I'm no grandmaster. I am very familiar with fencing, however. What I would like to know is which eskrimadores mentioned La Verdadera Destreza.
Also, is it your contention that all of arnis is a stick art, while all of eskrima is a blade art?
Greetings Kapatid Tim,
Nowadays, Arnis schools incorporate blade training. So we can not categorically state that it is pure stick art now. But if you research on the drills circa late 60s and early 70s you can observe it was not blade oriented. Even in sports competition you can see that the "rap" or witik is not designed to cut or slash deeply.
Escrima being fencing is definitely blade oriented. The flat stick training tool attest to this.
One of my instructors Don Licerio Merino mentioned Verdadera. He was a pure escrima practitioner and was not influenced by Silat or Kuntao.
Kapatid Tim,
I am fascinated by fencing too being exposed to escrima. I am glad to hear from a fencer like you.
Being familiar with fencing you will notice that some stick movement in Arnis are not blade oriented. You don't need that much movement in thrusting and cutting. Secondly, swords are heavy. Authentic Keris and Kampilan swords have considerable heft and would be impractically wielded if twirled in a sinawali manner.
Thirdly, the Keris and the Kampilan was coupled with a heavy Kalasag or shield much like a medieval knight so I don't see a connection to the modern sinawali movements.
The two sticks form was popularized during the American period in the Pampanga area. And was actually named then as Pampango style.
My old instructors, being escrima trained only wielded single swords and used only single sticks during practice.
My mom who studied with her brothers also trained with single sticks.
Yes, I am familiar with the difference between blade and stick technique. I see some arnis that has blade, and some that has stick. I also see some eskrima that has blade, and some that has stick. I know of arnis styles that traditionally use a flat stick (brokil). So, I find it curious (and against my own experience) that you would say that arnis is a modern stick sport, while eskrima is an old blade fighting art.
I'm also confused as to why you would reference the kris or kampilan when talking about eskrima. The kris and kampilan are weapons of the bangsamoro, which is not where eskrima is practiced. Why not mention the more common visayan weapons like the pinuti, sansibar, talibong, or ginunting, or even tagalog weapons like the dahon palay or dahon buho?
Kapatid Tim,
I did not reference the keris and the kampilan to Eskrima but to Arnis schools because the latter have these weapons as motifs or emblems. Perhaps to give historical credence to their systems. So I pointed out why some sinawali drills would not be appropriate if indeed they were designed for actual battle swords.
The types of Visayan blades you mentioned such as ginunting, etc. actually are farm tools and not really designed for tribal warfare. If you examine the blades they are inferior to actual battle swords such as the kampilan or even the blades used by the tribes of the Mountain Province.
I have not referenced the keris and kampilan to eskkrima. In fact I believe those blades were not used during the escrima period during Spanish times. It would be safe to say that for escrima the swords were at least the European types brought by the Spaniards.
The keris and kampilan are not necessarily exclusive to the Bangsamoro but a shared heritage with our Southeast Asian brethren. The keris design flowered in Java. It was probably a product of the Majapahit culture that swept Southeast Asia. The Philippine islands being once extentions of both the Sri Vijaya and the Majapahit empires. Tundun actually was a remnant of the Hindu-Buddhist Majapahit settlements in Luzon. The Muslim kingdoms of Seludong or Manila came later. In short, the keris predated Islam in Southeast Asia.
Kapatid Tim,
If we go back to the earlier threads in our discussions I mentioned why I believe the Arnis is a modern nomenclature. Citing Yambao's book, the inclusion of "sayaw" as response to the 70s popular Karate katas, etc.
Please note that I am only making statements about "arnis" as a term. I am not questioning whether there were indeed historical fighting arts in the Philippine islands. Because obviously there are fighting arts in ancient times. My contention is that these historical warrior arts did not have "arnis" as one of them.
The Philippine islands being extensions of the Sri Vijaya and the Majapahit in older times would rationally have warrior arts. Couple this with the fact that there were tribal wars then. So indeed there were martial systems historically covering not only the Philippine islands but the whole Malay archipelago.
Arnis developed very much later. I would say during the American period and having a golden period in the 70s after the Bruce Lee-led martial arts explosion. Having mentioned Sigung Lee, please note that before him Arnis schools were nowhere. And Eskrima in the Visayas were taught privately. Arnis blossomed thanks to the effort of some pioneering work in the US by Guro Dan Inosanto, etc. Commercially it thrived after that time. And now because of the Arnis Law here, it is officially a national sport and schools are being catalogued.
Thanks again for writing Kapatid Tim.
Kapatid Tim,
As a side note, I remember that the swords used by my great grandfather were copies of European blades and not Southeast Asian types.
In addition, the salute in Modern Arnis is actually a modification of the salute by the Malay people of Borneo and Sulu. The putting of the palm on one's chest after greeting.
Thanks again for writing.
In all likelihood, Mr. Valdez, this will be my last post on the matter. You seem to have your mind made up about 'arnis,' and can give no evidence that doesn't apply to 'eskrima' as well. I don't know if you have something against arnis, or are attempting to discredit in an attempt to validate eskrima. I feel that further correspondence wouldn't bear any fruit.
Tim
Kapatid Tim,
I believe I presented my case reasonably. I have raised questions and suggested answers.
I do not aim to discredit Arnis or any art for that matter but rather put things into proper perspective.
Be that as it may, nice to meet you here. May your school prosper and I salute you.
Thanks
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