ARNIS
Mark Lester E. Tabuac
PE 3
Sir. Arturo Gim Jr.
Arnis is the national martial art sport of
Philippines. It is also known as Eskrima and Kali.
This sport actually emphasizes weapon based
fighting which is done using knives, bladed
weapons, sticks and various improvised
weapons. It also includes hand to hand combat,
grappling and weapon disarming methods.
In 1521, equipped with nothing more than
bladed weapons and their fearsome arnis
abilities, Filipino islanders defeated Ferdinand
Magellan’s armored, musket-bearing Spanish
conquistador forces when they tried to invade.
Arnis was developed by the indigenous
populations of the Philippines, who used an
assorted range of weaponry for combat and selfdefense. Encompassing both simple impact and
edged weapons, arnis traditionally involved
rattan, swords, daggers and spears.
When the Spanish eventually returned and
successfully conquered parts of the Philippines,
the traditions of arnis were preserved, despite its
prohibition, in the forms of ritual dance,
performance and mock battles.
While earlier Filipino martial arts were influenced
by Spanish colonization, the modern forms have
been affected by the country’s contact with both
the United States and Japan after gaining
independence in 1898.
Just over a century later, in 2009, the government of
the Philippines declared arnis to be the martial art
and national sport of the Philippines.
Republic Act No. 9850 is an Acy Declaring Arnis as
The National Martial Art and Sport of the
Philippines in which shall be promulgated by
inscribing the symbol of arnis in the official seal of
the Philippines Sports Commission and by making it
as the first sports competition to be played by
participating teams on the first day in the annual
Palarong Pambansa.
The Modern Arnis is the system of the Filipino
fighting arts founded by Remy Presas as a selfdefense system. Arnis was first introduced in 1969
to some public and private school teachers when
Mr. Remy A. Presas taught his personal style of
Arnis which he called “Modern Arnis.”