Filipino martial arts have seen an increase in prominence due to several Hollywood movies and the teachings of modern masters such as Venancio "Anciong" Bacon, Dan Inosanto, Ben Lema, Elmer Banes, Teddy Buot, Sam Buot, Bobby Taboada, Cacoy Canete, Leo Giron, Leo Gaje, Mike Inay, Remy Presas, Ernesto Presas, Angel Cabales,Christopher Sayoc, Sr., Art Miraflor, Peter J.A. Arriola, and Amante P. Marinas Sr.
Malays from Indonesia and Malaysia are theorized to have made three separate mass migrations to the Philippines and brought with them the influence of silat to the south. Early settlers and traders from China also had a large impact on the local fighting techniques and certain Filipino styles contain characteristically Chinese movements. Additionally, the migrants practiced localized Chinese martial arts, which they called kuntaw. These Malay and Chinese settlers are considered progenitors of the classical Filipino combat methods.
The first western account of Filipino martial arts comes from the 16th century from the accounts of Antonio Pigafetta who chronicled Ferdinand Magellan's expedition (and last stand) where they were routed by the men of local chieftain Lapu Lapu who used spears, swords and wooden shields.
Decades after Magellan's contact, Spaniards returned to what is now known as the Philippine islands and conquered it through superior technology (guns), religion, alliances and by exploiting local enmities and rivalries by setting the different tribes and kingdoms against one another. For more than three hundred years Spain had control over much of the Philippines. The European regime often enforced royal laws and decrees limiting and prohibiting weapons among the indigenous people. These restrictions were partly responsible for the secretive and underground nature of Filipino martial arts. During this period of colonization, fighters trained in secret and only passed down skills to family members. It was this isolation between the practitioners that gave birth to the vast number of Filipino fighting styles that exist today. Despite their prohibitions, Spaniards often employed Filipino warriors to fight in various battles and skirmishes such as the ferocious Macabebes of Pampanga.
As bladed weapons (tools specifically made for war like swords as opposed to farming implements like the bolo) were eliminated by the Spaniards from the areas of populace they "civilized", fighters hid their fighting systems into stick dances such as the Sakuting in Luzon and Moro-moro stage plays where they engaged in mock battles with wooden swords and a unique and highly complex form of stick fighting developed and emerged.
After independence, martial arts in the Philippines could be practiced publicly and freely influenced each other. Modern styles use weapons and techniques taken from numeorus sources especially silat, karate, jujitsu and the Chinese martial arts. Today there are said to be almost as many Filipino fighting styles as there are islands in the Philippines. In 1972, the Philippine government included Filipino martial arts into the national sports arena. The Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports also incorporated them into the physical education curriculum for high school and college students. Knowledge of the Filipino fighting skills is mandatory in the Philippine military and police.
Filipino Martial Arts are considered as being the most advanced practical modern blade system in the world and is now a core component of the U.S. Army's Modern Army Combatives program and used by the Russian Spetsnaz (special forces).
The word Eskrima derives from the Spanish term esgrima which means skirmish or fencing.
Arnis comes from arnes, old Spanish for harness or armor (harness is also an archaic English term for armor with the same roots), which is what the costumes worn during Moro-moro (MorosSIS y Cristianos) stage plays were called when practitioners disguised their art as merely stage fight choreography for public entertainment under the Spaniards' noses.
The origins of the word kali are uncertain. One theory is that it may come from the Indonesian word tjakalele., another is that it's a contraction of Kamot Lihok (Cebuano for hand-body movement) The multitude of languages spoken in the 7,107 islands have not only diverged into over 170 dialects, but they have been constantly mixing with one another and as a result, Filipino martial arts comprise a vocabulary of heterogeneous terms.
Eskrima, Arnis and Kali are used interchangeably for weapon-based martial arts, particularly those that focus on bladed weapons or stick-fighting. Panantukan, pangamut and pamuok all refer to empty-handed striking methods, while pantadyakan and pananjakman are kick-based. Dumog or wrestling is considered one of the oldest unarmed Filipino fighting styles.
Aside from the more commonly seen blade and stick-oriented arts Escrima/Arnis/Kali, there are also distinctly separate arts such as Kuntao, which came from the Chinese settlers/traders, Silat (practiced in the South, next to Indonesia), Sikaran (practiced in Rizal province, which is primarily kick-based) and Yaw-Yan, a recent style very similar to Muay Thai.
Another thing to note is that the Philippines is a blade culture. The Southern Philippines with the Moros were never really conquered by the Spaniards and the Americans nor the Northern mountains of Luzon with their feared headhunter tribes so they kept their weapons and their fighting skills. For the more "civilized" provinces and the towns where citizens had been "disarmed", bolos (a cutting tool similar to the machete) and other knife variants are still commonly used for general work (farming in the provinces, chopping wood, coconuts, controlling talahib (sword grass), which could grow higher than roofs if not cut, etc.) and of course, the occasional bloody fight. Until the 80s, balisong knives were still commonly used in the streets of Manila as general purpose pocket knives much like Swiss army knives or box cutters until new laws on allowable kinds of knives made it illegal to carry them in public without a permit or proof that it was a vital to one's livelihood (e.g. Martial arts instructor, vendor). They're still openly sold in their birthplace of Batangas, in the streets of Quiapo, souvenir shops and martial arts stores, wielded by practitioners and of course, street gangs. Thus, even when fighting systems were outlawed by the Spaniards, Filipinos still maintained their centuries-old relationships with blades and blade fighting techniques that survive from ancient times and are still much alive as they have been adapted and evolved to stay relevant and practical in colonial and modern times.
What separates Filipino Martial Arts from other weapon-based martial arts like Japanese Kendo & Kenjutsu, European Fencing and traditional Chinese Martial arts that teach the usage of classical Chinese weapons is that FMA teaches weapon use that is practical today: how to use and deal with weapons that one can actually encounter in the streets and how to turn ordinary items into improvised weapons. No one walks around with sabers, katanas or jians anymore, but knives, machetes and clubs are still among commonly encountered weapons on the street and in the field, thus making FMA very practical and geared towards military and street fighting.
Traditional weaponry varies in design, size, weight, materials and usage but because of the similarity of techniques and that the human being can move in only so many ways, any object that can be picked up can be turned into a weapon by a Filipino martial artist as a force multiplier.
During training, non-verbal gesture communication and recognition is used in teaching and identification. This sign language, utilizing hand, body, and weapons signals, is used to convey ideas, desires, information, or commands.
:*Solo baston - single stick :*Doble Baston - double stick :*Bati-Bati - butt of stick methods :*Dulo-Dulo/Dulo y Dulo - palm stick methods :*Bantay-Kamay, Tapi-Tapi - "guardian hand" or "alive hand", auxiliary weapon used in conjunction with the primary weapon for checking, blocking, monitoring, trapping, locking, disarming, striking, cutting, etc. Examples include the empty hand when using a single stick or the dagger when fighting with sword and dagger :*Mano Mano, pangamut, pamuok - empty hands :*Baraw - knife and dagger :*Mano y Daga - hand and dagger :*Baston y Daga - stick and dagger :*Daga y Daga - pair of daggers :*Espada y Daga - sword and dagger :*Latigo y Daga - whip and dagger :*Tapon-Tapon - hand thrown knives and weapons tactics
:*Numerado - striking and blocking by the numbers, refers to the most basic strikes and angles :*Cinco Teros - five strikes, refers to the five most basic strikes and counters :*Doblete - two-weapon blocking and countering method of doubles :*Sinawali - "weaving"; rhythmic, flowing, striking patterns and tactics, utilizing two impact or edged weapons. :*Redonda - circular double-stick vertical downward pattern of six strikes :*Ocho ocho - repeating pattern, strikes and tactics, such as the figure-eight. This also refers to a dance move. :*Palis Palis - meeting force with force :*Abaniko - fanning techniques :*Witik - whipping, snapping back or picking movements :*Lobtik - follow-through strikes; horizontal, vertical, diagonal methods :*Crossada - cross blocking methods, hands and weapons :*Gunting - "scissors"; armed and unarmed scissoring techniques aimed at disabling an opponent's arm or hand :*Lock and block - dynamic countering, attacks based on the striking and blocking methods of the system :*Free flow - live interaction and play, flowing practice, rapid, rhythmic, weapons tactics :*Kadena De Mano - chain of hands, close quarters, continuous, empty-handed combat :*Hubud Lubud - to tie and untie, continuous trapping methods :*Trankada - joint locking and breaking techniques :*Kino mutai - a sub-section of pangamut that specializes in biting and eye-gouges :*Panganaw - disarming techniques :*Panantukan / Panuntukan - kickboxing method :*Pananjakman, Sipat - low kicks (heel impact point) :*Suntukan - empty-hand striking (usually with closed fist) :*Dumog - wrestling or grappling methods with an emphasis on disabling or controlling the opponent by manipulation of the head and neck. This also refers directly to a wresting competition on muddy ground. :*Tigbas - slashing and cutting stroke :*Dunggab - stealthy stabbing stroke
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Kent Nelson (born 1943) is a contemporary American author specializing in fiction and poetry. He holds a Juris Doctor in Environmental Law from the Harvard Law School.
Aside from writing and holding 15 different academic positions, he has held various part-time and odd jobs which have influenced his writings. These include:
Category:1943 births Category:Living people Category:Harvard Law School alumni Category:American short story writers Category:American poets
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| Coordinates | 41°52′55″N87°37′40″N |
|---|---|
| Name | Dan Inosanto |
| Birth date | July 24, 1936 |
| Birth place | Stockton, California, United States |
| Occupation | Martial arts Instructor, Actor |
| Spouse | Paula Inosanto, former wife Sue Inosanto |
| Parents | Sebastian Inosanto, Mary Arca Inosanto |
| Children | Diana Lee Inosanto, Lance Arca Inosanto and Danielle Inosanto |
| Son / daughter-in-law | Ron Balicki, Suzanne Inosanto |
| Grandchildren | Sebastian, Zachary, Keeanu |
Daniel Arca Inosanto (born July 24, 1936) is an Filipino-American martial arts instructor from California who is best-known as a student of the late Bruce Lee and authority on Jeet Kune Do Concepts.
Category:1936 births Category:American practitioners of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Category:American eskrimadors Category:American Jeet Kune Do practitioners Category:American karateka Category:American Muay Thai practitioners Category:American people of Filipino descent Category:Filipino eskrimadors Category:Filipino martial artists Category:Living people
This text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
