Individual Sports: Arnis

Physical Education 3

Module 1
Introduction

This module will discuss and present the legal basis, history, and early development, as
well as the rule and regulations of Arnis as sports. Creating warm-up applicable for arnis will
also be tackled in this module.
At the of the this module students will be able to:
1. underscored the legal basis of Arnis;
2. traced salient features of this history and development of Arnis;
3. explained the correct rules and regulation of Arnis as sports; and
4. create warm-up routine applicable for Arnis.

LEGAL BASIS OF ARNIS

Arnis was declared and approved as the Philippines National Martial Arts and Sports on
December 11, 2009, this is also known as Republic Act no. 9850, an act declaring Arnis as the
national martial arts and sports of the Philippines.
This is the policy of the state to inculcate patriotism, nationalism and appreciation of the
role of national heroes and symbols in the historical development of the country. Furthermore,
the State must give priority to education, science and technology, arts and culture, and sports to
foster patriotism and nationalism, accelerate social progress, and promote total liberation and
development (RA 9850, section 1).

HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT

Arnis is defined as Eskrima, Kali, Garrote and other names in various regional languages,
such as Pananandata in Tagalog; Pagkalikali, Ibanag; Kabaroan and Kalirongan, Pangasinan;
Kalirdman, Bisaya; Didja, Ilokano, is an indigenous Filipino martial and sports characterized by
the used of swinging and twirling movements, accompanied by striking, thrusting and parrying
the use of one (1) or two (2) stick or any similar implements or with bare hands and feet also
used for the same principles as that with the canes (RA 9850, section 2).
Arnis, as a martial arts, was spawned in Philippine soil. It was known as in ancient Philippines
as Kali, an ancient Malayan word which means implies a large bladed weapon longer than a knife.
This art was practiced primarily for self-defense by the pre-Spanish Filipinos who are
noted for their friendly nature and legendary hospitality.

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Kali, must have been derived from tjakalele which is a native fencing in Indonesia. This
linguistic kinship is not without basis 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 subjects 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 bothaon 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 a
bow and arrow or the longbow. The primitive Negritos, coming from Central Asia during
prehistoric times, were expert in these weapons.
However, about 200B.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 bladed weapon
had been proven in their untarnished history of success in repelling foreign invaders in their
land. The numerous attempts of the Spaniards, the Americans, and the Japanese to conquer the
Muslims and to colonize Mindanao always failed.
As a fighting arts, Arnis has three forms of play. They are the Espada y daga (sword and
dagger) in which a long wooden sword and a short wooden dagger is used; the solo baston (single
stick) in which a single long muton or baston (wooden stick or rattan cane hardened by drying
or heating) is used: and the sinawali, a native term applied because the intricate movements of
two muton resemble the weave of a sawali (crisscross fashion), the bamboo splits weave pattern
used in walling and matting.
Arnis is a close-combat affair, thus skills is parrying and striking must be developed with
utmost dexterity. The expert use of the leg and the leg-ship fulcrum maneuver to outbalance and
throw an opponent must be perfected. Unlike other martial arts which make used of complex
body maneuver, Arnis as it was then and as it is now in its modern form, puts emphasis on the
use of the stick and hand-arm movements.

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The glorious lives of Filipino heroes are linked with the awesome power of the martial
art of Arnis. They triumphantly waged their heroic battles for freedom and liberty as a testimony
of the power and effective of Arnis. Their successful stand against their superiorly armed
adversaries mortal combat in the arena of battle is now held in immortal inviolability by history.
It would not far-fetched to surmise that one of the earliest Filipino heroes, Lapu-lapu, was
a Kali (Arnis) expert. Pigafetta, Maggellan’s chronicler and historian, recorded that on April 27,
1521, Lapu-lapu felled the great Spanish warrior with a bladed weapon thus marking a Filipino’s
first victorious stand against a foreign invader.
In 1564, another conquistador, Miguel Lopez de Legaspi, landed in Abuyog, Leyte where
they were hospitably met the chief of the island Malitik, and his son Kamutunan. Legaspi and his
men were treated to a feast and shown a sample of the early Filipino’s skill in the combat with
kali as the best part of the show.
Legaspi was given the same hospitality and display of the Filipino dexterity in arms when
they visited Limasawa and Kamiging, the latter visit occurring in March 11, 1564. During both
visits, the Spaniard were wined, dined, and shown the Filipino skills in kali (Arnis).
When Legaspi and his mken landed in Cebu in April 27, 1564, they were met the native
chief Tupas and his warriors. Again they were treated hospitably and shown the Filipinos’ skills
in arms.
Legaspi was so impressed with the Filipinos’ skill in combat, especially in kali, that he
decided to befriend them fully. The bond between the two leaders grew so strong that on June
4, 1564, chief Tupas entered the folds of Christianity. He was the named “Felipe” in honor of
King Phillip of Spain.
Kali (Arnis) became so popular during the early days that it was known as the sports of
the kings and the members of the royal blood. The first and foremost expert of the art were the
rajah and Maharlika of the Visayas and Tagalog regions, Amandakwa in Pangasinan, and Baruwang
of the Cagayan Valley region.
Kali was a standard fighting technique in hand-to-hand combat of the Filipinos when tey
revolted against Spain. Using the itak or bolo the Katipuneros engaged the Spanish soldiers in
savage skirmishers. History states that Bonifacio brandished a bolo, a standard weapon in the
kali his famous “ Cry of Balintawak”. The greatest Filipino hero, Dr. Jose P. Rizal, studied kali or
Arnis before he left to Europe. General Gregorio del Pilar and Antonio Luna also studied Arnis
even before the start of the Revolutions. Rev. Fr. Gregorio Aglipay, was known to have practiced

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 Individual Sports: Arnis
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the art too. Acceptance of the Arnis became so widespread that in 1896 Jose de Azas started a
school for the study of Arnis and foil fencing.

BENEFITS IN LEARNING ARNIS

The following listed below are some of the benefits of learning Arnis according to
Alvarez, et.al, (2010):
• Practical self-defense is learned
• Upper body, arms and legs will become toned.
• Fitness and aerobic capacity increased.
• Parts of the body, such as, forearms, elbow and hands will be conditioned and will be
conditioned and will be more resistant to pain and injury.
• Flexibility is increased.
• Ability to use any weapon, even the one that is not used before is developed.
• It complements and enhance any martial arts. It can be learned independently from
other martial arts, or grafted seamlessly into any form of exercise done already.
• Many of the techniques do not require strength of power. Instead, most power is
derived from body movement and economy motion.
• Any one can learn Arnis since strength is not needed.
• It does not require expensive equipment.
• It can be practiced anywhere.
• It promotes a sense of nationalism and pride as a Filipino.

Arnis Code of Ethic.

The following code of ethics are stated in the handbook of i-Arnis of 2015.
1. Arnis is an event that aim bond and develop friendship and brotherhood.
2. It is never a sport to hurt and defeat the opponent but to improve the skills of the
players.
3. It aims to develop the mind, the physique and the character of the player.
4. Arnis is played to develop the social aspect that will lead to the close bonding of all
practitioners.

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5. All practitioners respect each other. They salute each other when they meet and
from a meeting before they depart. The juniors must salute first and maintain the
position until the seniors answer their salute
6. The juniors do not have the right to challenge to fight the seniors unless in the
program set by their association to fulfill an objective.
7. All the practitioners continue to move on as there is room for improvement or
advancement.
8. Each practitioners must share with other beginners or practitioners the advancement
attained.
9. Practitioners must desire to strengthen the Arnis family he belongs to by sharing
love, knowledge and understanding.
10. Partitioners must remember that Arnis is not a means to fight people but to bond
with them for life improvement.

RULES AND REGULATIONS OF SPORTS ARNIS

INTRODUCTION
This Rules and Regulations have been prepared by Arnis Pederasyong Internasyonal,
Inc. or (i-ARNIS) as a standard in the conduct of Local, National and International tournament
in sports Arnis. This was presented to the i-ARNIS Board of Directors of 2015 for ratification
and was subsequently approved.
i-ARNIS reserves the right to propose changes, amendments or revisions to suit the
interest of the Arnis community in all its tournaments in sports Arnis worldwide.
FULL CONTACT EVENT
Arnis A combative sport played by two
individuals using padded sticks with full body
protective gears in a court measuring 8.0 x
8.0 meters, in smooth and well-kept surface.
Players are paired / blind matched in
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disarming the opponent to gain scores. The winner of the match is decided by best of three
rounds. Each round lasts for two minutes.
A. Participant
a. Composition
A. MEN’s team may consist of a maximum of eleven (11) players, one (1)
player per weight division; one coach; one trainer; one medical doctor and
two officiating RJs licensed by i-ARNIS (same composition for WOMEN’s
team).
B. BOY’S team may consist of a maximum of eleven (11) players, one (1)
player per weight division; one coach; one trainer; one medical doctor and
two officiating RJs licensed by i-ARNIS (same composition for GIRLS’ team).
C. Only players listed in the entry form shall participate in the game.
b. Qualifications

Shall mean the approval by the Tournament Screening

Source:

Committee for an individual or group to participate provided that

https://milo.com.ph/ms
co/arnis

the following requirements are met:

i. The players shall meet the requirements of the weight division in which
he/she is to compete.
ii. The players shall meet the age requirement set by the organizing
committee.
iii. The player shall be physically and mentally fit to compete as certified by a
licensed medical practitioner from the player’s origin. In special cases, the
official tournament physician may certify the player’s fitness. This should
be submitted together with the tournament application form.
iv. The player shall fill-up a competition application form and it should be
properly and completely accomplished.
v. Sex test may also be required in cases where there are doubts in real sex
of the participants.
vi. Drug test may be required in cases where there are doubts.

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c. Divisions (Age & Weight Categories)

MEN AND WOMEN’S DIVISION (AGE 18 & ABOVE)

B. CONDUCT OF THE TOURNAMENT, SCORING AND PENALTIES

a. Conduct Of the Tournament
A. The conduct of the competition shall be on two-
out-of-three round system. Each round shall be Source:
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round, the referee shall allow both players to

display artistic Arnis movements, unique to their
styles.
C. The player must continuously perform artistic Arnis strokes depicting their styles
whenever apart during the game.
b. Salutation
At close stance, salutation is done by
placing the right hand with the weapon
pointing upward over the left chest, while the
left arm is at the side and is followed by a
Nod. Upon entering the playing area, players
must do the salute to the officials together
Source: https://milo.com.ph/msco/arnis

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with the referee. Finally, salute must be given to the opponent. This shall be
done before and after every game.
c. Matching & Pairing
Blind matching & pairing of single elimination or knock out system shall
be adopted in most cases where the number of participants will allow it.
Otherwise, a round robin system shall be used. This shall be done at least one
day before the tournament. Representatives from the respective teams
concerned shall be invited to witness the matching & pairing.

d. Scoring
A. A score shall mean a strike or thrust with a padded stick using one hand only,
delivered to a specific body point and is counted upon confirmation by the two (2)
or at least one (1) of the judges, simultaneously recorded on the scoreboard.
B. A legitimate strike is given a point if it is
delivered to a specific body point in correct
form, that is –with power, right timing,
with art, distance and intent.
1. Simultaneous Strike - When the two
players deliver strike
simultaneously, it will not be given
Source: https://www.vectorstock.com/royalty-free-vector/group-
judges-jury-people-hold-up-scorecards-vector-18621450

a point.
2. Spontaneous strike is allowed, but the judges can only give maximum three
(3) points per encounter per player.
C. A thrust to body points C and E (abdominal area and leg area) is a point, provided
that the requirements for a legitimate thrust, which are with power, right timing, with
art, distance (at least one arm length) and intent are met.
D. A disarming execution is awarded a point.
E. Follow-up strike after a legitimate disarming is given a point.
F. A score is recorded on the scoreboard by the judges.

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e. Body Points

A. Head and Neck

B. Arms and collars including hands
C. Torso (from chest down to waist)
D. Armpit to thigh
Source:
https://asia. E. Full length of leg including feet
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ARNIS EVENT RULES AND REGULATIONS

Arnis have different styles of events, and these are Form or Anyo competition which is
divided into two categories such as individual
and team events. Full contact events which is
Source:
https://asia.
nikkei.com/
divided into three categories such as full
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contact individual (Labanan Isahan), full
martial-art-
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contact team (Labanan Kampihan) and full
in-its-
native-land contact sword and dagger (Labanan espada y
daga) which is for a demonstration events.

FULL CONTACT EVENT (Individual)

1. A match for individual full-contact event shall have a maximum of two (2) rounds. Round will
last for two (2) minutes.
2. Players shall have a maximum of five (5) fouls and two (2) disarming violations on the entire
duration of the match.
3. Points scored, foul/s and disarming accumulated by the players on the 1st round shall be
carried over on the 2nd round.
4. There shall be NO limitation on the score to be acquired by each player.

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5. If incase the score difference reaches 8 points in the 1st or in case that reaches the 2nd round,
there shall be a declaration of TECHNICAL KNOCK-OUT and player with the 8 points
advantages shall be declared the winner of the match.

FULL CONTACT EVENT (Team)

1. A match for team full-contact event shall have a maximum of two (5) rounds. Round will last
for one and a half (1.5) minutes.
2. Players will be designated per round/entry specifically 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th player
designation shall mean the round each will play in respectively.
3. A team may still play in the Team Full-Contact even with just 4 members but shall mean 1
automatic loss for the said team.
4. Changing order of player designation will not be allowed once the official line up is submitted
and called to play.
5. Player on each round shall have a maximum if two (2) fouls and one (1) disarming violation
and shall mean loss.
6. There shall be NO limitation on the score to be
acquired by each player.
7. If in case the score difference on the specific
Source:
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round reaches 8 points the players with the bs-
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inferior score shall be declared TECHNICAL oys-thrilled-
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KNOCK-OUT and shall lose the round to his martial-art-
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opponent who has an eight (8) point advantage. sea-games

8. If at the end of the match the score, fouls and

disarming of the opposing player are identical the winner will be decided upon consultation
of the judges considering the criteria in declaring a winner.
9. The team that wins three (3) out of five (5) rounds will be declared the winner of the match.

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FUNDAMENTAL SKILLS IN ARNIS

I. Warm-up
Source:
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ww.tucso Warm-up activities are perhaps the most important parts of any
naz.gov/w work-out for the following reasons:
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arm-up-
to-work • It prepares the muscles and the lubricants of the joints for easier mobility.
• It accelerates the heart rate to get the body ready for movements that require a high
heart rate.
• It increases body temperature so that the muscles, tendons, and ligaments will be
warmer and more pliable when contracting during the workout.
• It improves blood flow to the muscles to help supply oxygen and glucose required for
energy production more efficiently.
• It boosts blood flow to the heart to help Source:
lessens potential difficulty for exercise- https://www.
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induced cardiac problems. rg/news/2015/
• It prepares the cardiovascular system to meet 11/the-
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the demands of the work-out. warmup

Here are some examples of warm-up exercises that you may use to get started.

1. Combine light jogging with skipping, sidestepping, carioca, high knees, and butt kicks. The
body needs to move in multidirectional patterns before a workout.
2. Stretch major muscle groups first. It should never be painful. Perform each stretch two
to three times.
3. Stretch sport-specific group next. Example: Tennis players would want to stretch their
wrist and shoulders.
4. Start with the basic skills to help the body know what is going to be expected of it.
Example: For volleyball, do the passing drills. For badminton, do the footwork drills.

You may click this link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qQKz5E2CNY (Title: Basic

Stick Warm Ups in Filipino Martial Arts | Kali | Eskrima | Arnis) to watch an example of warm-
up exercise applicable for Arnis.

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REFERENCE

Apalin, R.R. D., & Balmores, T.M. Arnisppt. Retrieved June 7, 2021, from
https://www.slideshare.net/RendellApalin/arnis-ppt

Alvarez, M.N., Erpelo, R.N., Victorio, R.M., & Capundang, M.G (2010). Physical Education:
individual/dual sport. Mandaluyong City: Books Atbp. Publishing Corp.

i-Arnis (2015) Rules in sports arnis. Retrieved June 4, 2021, from,

http://www.arnisphilippines.com/Downloads/iARNIS_Rules-2015-v03.pdf

Guerrero Arnis de Mano. Kinds of stances Filipino martial arts way. Retrieved June 7, 2021, from
https://guerreroarnis.com/resources/arnis-kali-eskrima-articles/kinds-of-stances-filipino-
martial-art-way

Presas, R.(1983). Modern arnis: the Filipino arts of stick fighting Retrieved June 7, 2021, from
https://www.pdfdrive.com/modern-arnis-the-filipino-art-of-stick-fighting-e160045908.html

Robles, C. (1998). Republic act no. 9850. Retrieved June 4, 2021,

from htps://www.chanrobles.com/republicacts/republicactno9850_pdf.php

Steemit (2019). 12 striking techniques in arnis. Retrieved June 8, 2021, from

https://steemit.com/sportstalk/@khalee/12-striking-techniques-in-arnis

Survival Fitness Plan (2021). The 12 striking techniques in Arnis. Retrieved June 8,
2021, from https://www.survivalfitnessplan.com/striking-techniques-arnis/

Triangle Kung Fu Arnis Academy (2019). Modern arnis. Retrieved June 4, 2021,
from https://www.kungfuarnis.com/modern-arnis-1

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