By
Dionisio A. Canete
Arnis, the only known traditional Filipino Martial Arts, has its roots deep in the culture and history of the Filipino people. The exact date of its origin, however, remains unclear. Traces of historical evidence. Reveal that this manly art of self defense involving the use of a single stick, two sticks and a long and a short stick, a dagger, or some other blunt instruments no doubt existed long before the arrival of the first Spanish colonizers in the country.
The first known Filipino hero, Lapulapu, was believed to be the one of
the foremost masters of arnis, which was known during that time in the native
dialect as pangamut. In fact,
Lapulapu had vigorously trained and prepared his men for “showdown” fights
against his enemies long before his historic battle with Ferdinand Magellan on
April 27, 1521, in Mactan Island. It
was no surprise then, that when the first circumnavigator of the world tried to
subdue the recalcitrant Lapulapu, who refused to come and meet him in Cebu.
Magellan and his men were met not with a hail of bullets but with wooden
instruments, spears, and bolos. It
was ironic that when the smoke of the epic battle cleared, the Spanish
conquistadors more “modern” weapons were no match for the crude wooden arms
of Lapulapu and his warriors. Magellan
lost his life in the battle.
In the book DeLos Delitos, printed in 1800 by Don Baltazar Gonzales in
Madrid, Spain, the author tells that it may have been Datu Mangal, the father of
Lapulapu, who brought the stickfighting of Mactan Island, and Sri Batubong and
his son Sri Bantug Lumay who brought the art to the neighboring island of Sugbu
(Cebu). Bantug Lumay was the father
of Sri Humabon or Rajah Humabon. Humabon
was the chieftain of Sugbu at the time when Magellan arrived in 1521.
The tribes of Lapulapu and Humabon were part of Sri Visayan Empire in the
14th Century. After the
Empire was defeated by the Maja Pahit Empire of ancient Sumatra and Borneo, the
tribes became part of a group of those Sri Visayans, that included the tribes of
Datu Puti and Datu Sumakwel, went out and settled in Panay Island.
Lapulapu, even before his momentous meeting with Magellan, had been
training his men because of his bitter rivarly with Rajah Humabon, whom he
accused of having grabbed a portion of his father’s land, particularly the sea
area between Mactan Island and Cebu. The
feud between these two locals
chieftains contributed significantly to the early development of the “old”
Arnis. The showdown between
Lapulapu and Humabon, however, was never realized.
Rather, it was in the battle of Mactan where the native martial art was
put to a real test against the modern weapons of the foreign envaders. The rest is history.
When Miguel Lopez de Legaspi landed in the Philippines and established
the first settlement in 1565, he and his men noted that the Filipinos were a
class by themselves in the art of stickfighting and blade sword fighting.
He had his first glimpse of the natives exceptional skill and ability
during his landing in Leyte in 1564 when he was entertained wit
an Arnis demonstration by the warriors of Chieftain Malitik.
Similar demonstrations were made upon his visits in Limasawa, Camiguin,
Cebu and other places.
Arnis was then the favorite sport of the royalties that everytime a
demonstration or competition was held, people usually came in droves to watch.
Its popularity spanned well up to the Spanish times.
However, when the Spaniards gained substantial control of the country, it
discouraged the practice of Arnis. Fearful
of the Filipinos exceptional skill, the imposed a total ban in the practice of
the art. Although the reason given
was the unusual long hours spent by the natives in the practice and training,
hence, neglecting their works it was obvious the authorities were fearful of the
threat to their lives at the hands of the very skillful and well trained people.
Hence, the Filipinos put aside their training devices and abandoned the practice
of Arnis.
It was not until the 19th century that Arnis began to surface
again into popularity among the natives. The
rapid growth was attributed to the introduction of the Moro-Moro plays and
dances which became popular among the Filipinos and gave them the opportunity to
circumvent the rules which prohibited the display and carrying of bladed
weapons. It was believed that the
Moro-Moro plays and dances were invented to primarily give the Filipinos excuse
or cover to resume the practice and training of Arnis.
As a result, the people concentrated in mastering the art with the use of
a piece of hardwood called “bahi” or “kamagong” or with the use of rattan
or cane known as “oway”. Through
some kinds of subterfuge behind the disguise of performing stage-plays and
dances or dance movements, the Filipinos were able to practice and continue
their Arnis training with the use of bladed weapons known a “kali”.
Kali is a type of broad sword still popular among the Filipinos
particularly those in the southern part of the country including the Muslim
provinces.
Due to the Spanish influence, this Filipino Martial Arts came to be known
as “Arnis de Mano” – derived from the Spanish word “arnes”, meaning
trappings or defensive armor. It
also acquired namesakes such as “estokada”, “estoque”, “fraile,
“arnes de mano”, or simply “arnis”.
Among the Tagalogs, it is known as “pananandata”, the Pangasinan
natives, “kalirongan”, the Ilocanos “didya” or “kabaraon”, the
Ibanags “pagkalikali”, Pampanguenos “sinawali” and the Visayans
“kaliradman” or “pagaradman”, later “esgrima” or “eskrima”.
The word “eskrima” is derived from the Spanish word “esgrima”
which means ‘a game between two combatants with the use of blunt
instruments”. The name of the
stick which could either be rattan or piece or hardwood used in “eskrima is
called either “olisi”, “baston” or “garote”.
The word “eskrima” became popular in the early years of the American
regime, when the first Arnis club organized in Cebu City, Central Philippines in
1920, the Labangon Fencing Club used the term in their practice of the art.
Although this group was dissolved in later years due to serious political
conflicts among its officers.. In
1932, Doce Pares Association, with all the well known grandmasters based in Cebu
as nucleus, came into being. This
organization in years to come become popular that its name was almost synonymous
with martial art of Arnis and it was to its credit that Arnis was widely
practiced as sort of competitive sport. Its rule on sparring matches had received broad acceptance,
that in early 1970, was generally accepted by all the Arnis clubs, schools and
organizations in the country. In
fact, the present tournament rules adopted by the World Eskrima Arnis Federation
(WEKAF) had been substantially lifted from this old rules of Doce Pares.
The development of the Filipino stickfighting art, more widely known as arnis or eskrima, has grown to spectacular proportion, making it today one of
the most popular martial arts in the world.
Major events held in the Philippines as well as in the USA, England,
Australia, Germany, and other countries in the world more than confirmed the
universal acceptance of Arnis as a popular sporting event.
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Thursday, 01 June 2006