|
Filipino
Martial Arts history
Grand Masters Max Sarmiento and Angel Cabales
I) Influences:
The fighting
arts of the Philippines were influenced by many different
cultures and migrants. There are at least 3 very clear martial
influences to the Filipino fighting arts: Indonesian Pencak
Silat, Malaysian Silat Melayu, and Chinese (Hakka) Kuntao.
Chinese martial
arts were introduced during a trade era with the Tang Dynasty
of China (AD 618-907), and also by the migration the Hakka
soldiers who bring with them their fighting art of Kuntao.
Today, almost every Southern Asian country can find Kuntao
influence in its local martial arts.
II) The Majapahit:
In the 5th and
6th centuries in Indonesia, an empire was formed due to the
migration of the Buddhist tribes of India to Sumatra and Java.
The Malay Srivijaya Empire, as it came to be known, eventually
spread as far as the Philippines. Their martial arts skills,
advanced weaponry and superior organization made it possible
for them to conquer the earlier settlers. Some fled to distant
islands, others stayed and the two cultures merged, creating
varieties of Malayo-Polynesian cultures and languages (ancestors
of the Tahitian and Hawaiian ones).
The Srivijayas
brought the influence of Buddhism and Hinduism philosophies,
arts, and combative forms to the Philippines. They introduced
laws (the famous Code of Kalantaw), a calendar, written alphabet
(Sanskrit, on which the future Alibata alphabet will later
be developed), new religion, and a system of weights and measures.
This new culture developed a social unit called the barangay.
The next major
incursion of foreign ideas and culture occurred in the late
13th century. The Majapahit Empire of Java, which eclipsed
the Srivijaya Empire, spread throughout Southeast Asia and
into the Philippines. Those were the golden days of the Malay
culture.
At its height,
the Majapahit Empire included areas that are today Indonesia,
Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Brunei and the Philippines. Deeply influenced by a Hindu-Buddhist culture,
the Majapahits brought their styles of Pencak Silat to the
Philippines where they settled most heavily in the South (Mindanao
and Sulu). This was when the Bugis warriors of Sulawesi have
introduced the Keris sword (Kris) to the Philippines. It is
thought by many Filipinos that the islands of Mindanao and
Sulu were the birthplaces of Kali (the “mother art” of Filipino Martial Arts) during the Majapahit Empire.
From the Majapahit
Empire and its connected kingdoms, a very specific Southern-Asian
martial art culture was born.
What we informally
refer today as “Majapahit Martial Arts” include:
- Filipino Martial
Arts (Kali, Arnis, Eskrima, Silat Kuntao, etc.)
- Indonesian
Pencak Silat
- Malaisian Seni
Silat Gayong
- Muay Boran
(traditional Thai boxing)
- Krabi Krabong
(Thai weapons system)
- Tomoi (traditional
Malaysian boxing)
- Myanma yuya
louvi (traditional Myanmar boxing)
- Bokador (traditional
Cambodian boxing)
Long before the
Spanish invasion, the Filipinos had developed their own systems
of medicine (Hilot), astronomy, engineering, as well as written language
and history. Most of these writings were destroyed during
the Spanish conquest. Written and oral languages differed
according to region so that today there are over 300 major
dialects in addition to Tagalog, the national language.
Kampilan against Barong
III) The Spanish invasion:
In 1543 the Spaniards
started colonizing the Maharlikas islands (ancient name of
the Philippines), and named those the Philippines after Philippe
the 2nd, king of Spain. When they arrived to the Philippines
in the 16th century, the Spanish found a mixture of local,
Chinese, Malaysian and Indonesian fighting methods. The first
known Filipino hero, Lapulapu, was believed to be one of the
foremost masters of Kali, a terrible fighting art inherited
from the ancient Silat of the Madjapahit Empire. Lapu Lapu’s
Kali subsystem was known as Kali Pangamut. Lapu Lapu and his
Kalista warriors are famous for having given a hard time to
the Spanish conquistadors.
Lapu Lapu 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.
When the first Spaniards tried to subdue the recalcitrant
Lapu Lapu, they were met not with fire harms, but with wooden
sticks, spears, Kampilan swords and bolos. It was ironic that
when the smoke of that epic battle cleared, the Spanish conquistadors
"modern" weapons were no match for the traditional
weapons of Lapulapu and his warriors. In this battle, Magellan
was slain by Lapu Lapu with a Kampilan sword by a blow to
the leg and then a thrust to the neck.
When Miguel Lopez
de Legaspi landed in the Philippines and established the first
settlement in 1565, he and his men noted that the local warriors
were a class by themselves in the art of stick fighting and
swordsmanship. He had his first glimpse of the natives’ exceptional skill and ability during his landing in Leyte
in 1564 when he was entertained with a Kali demonstration
by the warriors of Raja Malitik. Similar demonstrations were
made upon visits in Limasawa, Camiguin, Cebu and other places.
When bladed weapons
were declared illegal by the Spaniards, Filipinos focused
on wooden hardwood sticks. These sticks were said to be so
hard that they could break a sword blade with one blow. Before
long Filipino fighters had become so accomplished with their
sticks, they centered entire fighting systems around stick
fighting alone. Through time the Filipinos began to realize
that because the stick had different handling qualities, certain
lines of attack were open to them that were not available
with the sword curved and snapping strikes. Once they began
to appreciate the combat effectiveness of the stick the use
of the knife also changed and began to be used more aggressively
in terms of blocking, parrying, checking, scooping, thrusting
and slashing.
As we said, Kali
is believed to be the oldest name given to the Filipino martial
art. The word Kali may be a contraction of the words Kamut
Lihok which mean movements of the body. Some say it would
rather come from the word Kalis (derived from the Malay Keris
or Kris sword)
Following the
Spanish invasion, the name Eskrima replaced the word Kali
in several islands. The term Eskrima is derived from the Spanish
term Esgrima (fencing). Spanish fencing had a strong influence
on the fighting arts of the Philippines, with the introduction
of angles of attack, and the use of Espada y daga (sword and
dagger).
After WWII and
the “stay” of the Japanese, Jujitsu techniques
were included to certain Eskrima styles, especially in the
northern islands. The term Arnis became more popular at this
time.
IV) FMA systems and styles:
Nowadays, the
names Kali, Arnis or Eskrima are all used to refer to the
Martial Arts of the Philippines. Nevertheless, some masters
claim that there is more than a simple name or geographic
difference between those styles, and don’t tell a Kali
or Eskrima master he is doing Arnis (or vice and versa…).
Most schools of Filipino Martial Arts teach some or all of
the following systems:
- Sinawali (double
sticks)
- Solo baston (single stick)
- Daga (knive)
- Espada y Daga (stick [or sword} & knife)
- Kadena de Mano
(Empty hands)
- Panantukan (boxing)
- Sikaran (High
kicks & throws) / Pananjakman (Low kicks and leg destruction)
- Dumog (Filipino
wrestling)
- Largo Mano (long range system)
- Sibat / bangkow
(spear / long staff)
The 1st public FMA school in the US. Mike Inay, Dan Inosanto and Jeff Eliot were already there.
Among the many
FMA styles (ancients and moderns), some of the most famous
are:
- De Querdas
(Dizon Eskrima)
- Kali Illustrisimo
- Cabales Serrada
Eskrima
- Inayan Eskrima
- Lameco Eskrima
- Balintawak
- Doce Pares
- Kali Villabrille
- Tendencia Arnis
- Hilot
- Kali Sikaran
- Kali Silat
- Silat Kuntao
- Cinco Terro
- Kali / JKD
- Kali De Leon
- Lacoste Kali
- Modern Arnis
- Kombatan
- Kali Majapahit
|