Eskrima is a catch-all term for the indigenous martial arts of the Philippines, also known by the names Kali, Arnis, Silat, Kuntao or Arnis de Mano.

The Philippines is a vast archipelago, comprising over 7,000 islands. Granted that many, even most, of these islands are little more than atolls and sandbars, there are still quite a few habitable landmasses. The peoples of the Philippines are as diverse as the many islands; with three major tongues, and over 80 dialects and 50 sub-dialects - it's a nation of many different ethnicities, which has led to a history of minor warfare caused by provincialism and tribal ethics.

This, of course, led to many different styles of combat. Using the materials that came freely to hand, the stick became the principle weapon used in defending home and village.

The vast majority of clans and villages were naturally extremely reluctant to reveal their individual means of self-defence, for fear of having it studied and nullified by an opposing style of fighting. This led to the development of many diverse forms of eskrima, with individual techniques differing between clans and even teachers. It is steeped in actual combat usage throughout its history and is one of the few Asian martial arts that has allowed itself to be influenced by many other cultures and races. Bruce Lee's system of Jeet Kune Do had its foundation syllabus rooted in Filipino Eskrima. It is also one of the few arts that is still used, in one degree or another, in actual combat in the Philippines today.

Methods

Eskrima is one of very few martial arts in which training is undertaken using weapons from the first lesson¹. The art concentrates on the development of attributes necessary to defend oneself against violent assault.

Students practise effective defensive techniques against stick, knife or empty-handed assault. Techniques include disarming, locking, limb destruction, boxing, low-line kicking, throwing and grappling. The art of eskrima develops a wide range of skills and attributes at all fighting ranges. These include speed, accuracy, timing, footwork, co-ordination, reaction speed and the ability to flow with any form of attack.

There are several techniques that students are taught using a variety of weapons:

• Single stick (Solo Olisi)
• Double cane (Doble Baston)
• Knife (Baraw)
• Stick and Knife (Olisi y Baraw)
• Sword and Dagger (Espada y Daga)
• Empty hands, Boxing, Kicking and Grappling (Pangmut, Panantukan, Sikaran and Dumog)

Rankings

There are six grades to black belt level. Although belts are not worn to distinguish rank, this entry uses the 'black belt/dan' comparison so that practitioners of other arts can make sense of the system. The sixth grading (black belt level) is the first time that full contact is allowed. Full contact isn't allowed before sixth grade because otherwise the injury rate would significantly increase! Originally, to be recognised as an eskrimadore - a master of eskrima - you would have to be able to accept and overcome any attack using any weapon apart from projectiles such as guns.

Movement

A distinctive feature of all eskrima styles is their use of geometry. In strikes/defences and movement, lines and angles are very important. In addition, the independent use of the hands, or hands and feet, to do two different things at the same time is a high-level skill sought after a fair amount of experience.

These styles classify attacks not by their weapon, or their delivery style, but by the direction of their energy - for example a strike to the head is usually analysed in terms of 'a high lateral strike' and a punch to the gut is treated in much the same way as a knife thrust to that area would be. Students learn to deal with the energy of the attack, and then apply that knowledge to the slight variations that come with different lengths and types of weapon.

Filipino arts place great emphasis on footwork, mobility and body positioning. The same concepts (of angles of attack, deflections, traps, passes, etc.) are applied to similar situations at different ranges, making the understanding of ranges and how to bridge them very important. They also make extensive use of geometric shapes and movement patterns, superimposing them on a combat situation, to teach fighters to use their position and movement to best advantage. Some styles emphasise line-cutting (Wing Chun), while some are very circular (Aikido). Some like to stay at long range, whereas some will move inside as soon as possible. They work differently for different people.

Abilities and application

As a martial art, eskrima doesn't require excessive amounts of flexibility or fitness at the basic level, although those do become necessary as you ascend the grades.

Eskrima does have the advantage of accurately transferring well into real life combat situations. Some martial arts work very well within the structured confines of the studio but have very little application in confrontational experiences outside of the studio - where your opponent will not be following any rules whatsoever, and you can't tap out. Eskrima deals with these situations rather more effectively, because you are taught to remove the weapon from your opponent, (be it knife/bottle/ashtray/chair leg, etc), and then use that weapon to defeat the opponent. It doesn't hold back, but it proves extremely handy in situations which necessitate this type of action.

Obviously, you should attempt to avoid the situation escalating to the level of physical violence, but if it has regretfully got that far, eskrima is a reliable method of bringing things to a hasty close with the minimum amount of damage incurred to yourself!

Further reading

Filipino Martial Arts Resources. A good starting point for further study.