Mark M - Espada y Historiya

Great historical references for Filipino martial arts - arnis, eskrima, “kali”

𝙁𝙈𝘼 𝙃𝙄𝙎𝙏𝙊𝙍𝙔 𝙁𝘼𝙌: 𝙀𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙝𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮 𝙤𝙛 𝙁𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙥𝙞𝙣𝙤 𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙖𝙡 𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙨

𝐛𝐲 𝐀𝐧𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐚 𝐑𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨

𝐍𝐎𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐋𝐀𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐄

#𝟏. 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐬, 𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐚, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐤𝐚𝐥𝐢?
None. They are three names for the same martial art. For simplicity, I will use the term 𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘴, as it is the most widely used term in the Philippines.

#𝟐. 𝐈𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐤𝐚𝐥𝐢 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐅𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐝𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐝?
No. This is a conjecture by Buenaventura Mirafuente, who was the first to use this term in 1948. He believed it was the root of 𝘬𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴 (sword) and other ancient terms referring to dueling, such as 𝘬𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘮𝘢𝘮, 𝘬𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘢𝘯, and 𝘱𝘢𝘨𝘬𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘢𝘭𝘪.

#𝟑. 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐭𝐲𝐦𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐬?
𝘈𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘴 comes from the Spanish 𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘦́𝘴, an old Spanish term referring to fencing equipment (helmet, armor, and weapons) or used more specifically to mean a weapon.

#𝟒. 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐭𝐲𝐦𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐬 𝐝𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐨?
While 𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘦́𝘴 generally referred to fencing equipment, the Filipino term 𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘰, or the Spanish 𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘴 𝘥𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘰, referred specifically to fencing weapons; in the Philippines, the sword and dagger. In archaic Spanish, this combination (𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘥𝘢 𝘺 𝘥𝘢𝘨𝘢) was also referred to by the plural term 𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘴.

#𝟓. 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐭𝐲𝐦𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐚?
𝘌𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘢 (or 𝘦𝘴𝘬𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘢) comes from the Spanish 𝘦𝘴𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘢, which means “fencing.” It does not derive from “skirmish,” which in Spanish is 𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘮𝘶𝘻𝘢. Both these Spanish terms, 𝘦𝘴𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘢 and escaramuza have their roots in the Italian verb 𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘳𝘦, meaning “to fight,” “to skirmish,” or “to fence”. Specifically, the English “skirmish” and the Spanish 𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘮𝘶𝘻𝘢 are derived from the Italian 𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘤𝘪𝘢, earlier 𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘶𝘨𝘪𝘰.

#𝟔. 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐚, 𝐞𝐬𝐤𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐚, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐬𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐚?
𝘌𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘢 and 𝘦𝘴𝘬𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘢 refer to FMA, while 𝘦𝘴𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘢 refers to Spanish fencing. However, this distinction is very recent. Older sources use 𝘦𝘴𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘢 to refer to 𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘴 (Filipino fencing) and others use 𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘢 or 𝘦𝘴𝘬𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘢 to refer to Western fencing.

#𝟕. 𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐤𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐨 𝐩𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐧 𝐏𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐦 𝐅𝐌𝐀?
No. FMA is usually used in its narrower sense to refer exclusively to 𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘴, or 𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘢, practiced in areas subject to Spanish colonization. However, in its broader sense, as martial arts practiced in the archipelago, it may include 𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘢𝘵, 𝘬𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘰, and the fighting arts or traditions of Igorot, Moro, Lumad, and other tribal peoples.

#𝟖. 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐌𝐅𝐀 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧?
MFA stands for Moro Fighting Arts, a term recently coined by Moro practitioners who claim the right to distinguish their own arts (𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘢𝘵, 𝘬𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘰, and other unnamed local arts) from 𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘴.

#𝟗. 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐅𝐌𝐀 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐌𝐅𝐀?
Everything. They differ in technique, tactics, training, spirituality, and mindset.

𝐌𝐘𝐓𝐇𝐒 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐋𝐄𝐆𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐒

#𝟏𝟎. 𝐈𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐤𝐚𝐥𝐢 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐏𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝟏𝟐𝐭𝐡 𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐲 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐁𝐨𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐨?
No. It is mistakenly believed that this story is told in an old book called 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘵𝘢𝘴. In reality, the text, considered ancient for many decades, was published by Pedro Monteclaro only in 1907. Historians regard it simply as a collection of legends, not as a source of historical value. Moreover, it does not mention the martial art at all.
At other times, this legend is linked to the 𝘊𝘰𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘒𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘸, a hoax invented by José Marco and written by him in a forged text that he claimed dated back to 1838–1839. This text does not mention Filipino martial arts either.

#𝟏𝟏 𝐈𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭, 𝐝𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐝, 𝐤𝐚𝐥𝐢 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥𝐬 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐚𝐧?
No. This information comes from a text written in 1917 by Josué Soncuya, titled 𝘏𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘩𝘪𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘢 𝘥𝘦 𝘍𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘴. More precisely, Soncuya used the Spanish term 𝘦𝘴𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘢, not 𝘬𝘢𝘭𝘪. His text drew on the 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘵𝘢𝘴 and the 𝘊𝘰𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘒𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘸, the former being a collection of legends and the latter a hoax. In any case, neither mentions 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘢𝘯. In fact, Soncuya never specified where he obtained the information about these precolonial schools. Filipino historians, familiar with the traditional methods through which local culture was transmitted, consider them an unsupported invention by Soncuya.

𝐋𝐀𝐏𝐔-𝐋𝐀𝐏𝐔 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐁𝐀𝐓𝐓𝐋𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐌𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐀𝐍

#𝟏𝟐. 𝐖𝐚𝐬 𝐋𝐚𝐩𝐮-𝐋𝐚𝐩𝐮 𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐫?
No. Lapu-Lapu was undoubtedly a great warrior, but he did not practice 𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘴.

#𝟏𝟑. 𝐈𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐃𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐬 𝐃𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐨𝐬, 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐛𝐲 𝐁𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐚𝐳𝐚𝐫 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐢𝐝-𝟏𝟖𝟎𝟎𝐬, 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐋𝐚𝐩𝐮-𝐋𝐚𝐩𝐮’𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦?
No. The text in question, titled 𝘋𝘪𝘤𝘤𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘰 𝘥𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘰𝘴 𝘺 𝘥𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘴 𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘴, which was published in Madrid in 1848 by the printing house of Don Baltasar Gonzalez, is a legal book and has nothing to do with Lapu-Lapu, let alone the Philippines.

#𝟏𝟒. 𝐃𝐢𝐝 𝐋𝐚𝐩𝐮-𝐋𝐚𝐩𝐮 𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐌𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐧?
No. Magellan was killed by Lapu-Lapu’s warriors. According to recent research by Filipino historian Danilo Gerona, Lapu-Lapu was an elderly chief at the time of the battle and probably did not personally take part in it.

#𝟏𝟓. 𝐈𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐌𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐧 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐚 𝐤𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐥𝐚𝐧 𝐝𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐌𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐚𝐧?
Yes. Pigafetta used the term 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘪𝘭𝘢𝘯 to describe a sword “similar to a scimitar [a long curved sword], but larger.” However, it should be considered that during the precolonial period the term 𝘬𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘪𝘭𝘢𝘯 was widespread throughout the archipelago to refer to a long sword, with some exceptions. Therefore, the sword that wounded Magellan was probably not the straight, fork-tipped Moro sword that we all know today.

#𝟏𝟔. 𝐈𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐋𝐚𝐩𝐮-𝐋𝐚𝐩𝐮’𝐬 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐞-𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐬?
No. This comes from an incorrect translation of Pigafetta’s Italian text, first made by Buenaventura Mirafuente and later repeated by several FMA enthusiasts and writers. In his travel journal, Pigafetta wrote about fire-hardened spears, not sticks.

𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐆𝐈𝐍𝐒 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐇𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘

#𝟏𝟕. 𝐈𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐬, 𝐨𝐫 𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐚, 𝐚 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐫𝐭?
No.

#𝟏𝟖. 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐞?
In the mid-18th century.

#𝟏𝟗. 𝐃𝐢𝐝 𝐚 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐞𝐱𝐢𝐬𝐭?
During the precolonial period, the term 𝘬𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴, in addition to referring to the sword, was used to mean using a sword, cutting with a sword, wounding with a sword, fighting with a sword, and fencing. If a martial art is understood as a codified set of techniques, then ancient 𝘬𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴 was probably not a martial art. If, instead, martial art is understood in the broader sense of skills used in war or in combat, then 𝘬𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴 may be considered one.

#𝟐𝟎. 𝐈𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐤𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭-𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐅𝐌𝐀?
It is unknown whether, or to what extent, ancient 𝘬𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴 was passed down into 𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘴. If Filipinos in areas under the Spanish Crown managed to preserve knowledge of 𝘬𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴, it was probably through war dances.

#𝟐𝟏. 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐬?
𝘈𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘴 developed as a civilian dueling fencing art, alongside the widespread popularity of 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘰-𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘰 theater.

#𝟐𝟐. 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐟𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐬?
𝘈𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘴 originated as a dueling art, but from the beginning it also served as self-defense, recreation, and entertainment.

#𝟐𝟑. 𝐖𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐬 𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐛𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞?
Yes, but this was not the reason for its origins. 𝘈𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘴 was used in battle only later. The earliest sources date to the late 1800s, both among soldiers aligned with Spain and during the independence revolutions.

#𝟐𝟒. 𝐈𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐆𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐨𝐫-𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐒𝐢𝐦𝐨́𝐧 𝐝𝐞 𝐀𝐧𝐝𝐚 𝐲 𝐒𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐳𝐚𝐫 𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐅𝐌𝐀 𝐢𝐧 𝟏𝟕𝟔𝟒?
No. The decree of Don Simón de Anda y Salazar, issued precisely on December 29, 1763 (two days before 1764) banned only gambling, specifically card games, dice games, and cockfighting.

#𝟐𝟓. 𝐈𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐢𝐝𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐨-𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐨 𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬?
No. 𝘈𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘴 was simply a fundamental component of 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘰-𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘰 plays. At first, 𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘢𝘥𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘴 were 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘰-𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘴, and 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘰-𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘴 were 𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘢𝘥𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘴. On stage, two types of combat scenes had to be distinguished: 1) 𝘉𝘢𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘴, in which the techniques and winners were predetermined; and 2) the 𝘛𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘰, in which stage duels were free and represented tests of skill or even genuine matches (except for duels whose winner had to be predetermined to follow the plot, usually those involving the Christian prince and the Moro prince).

#𝟐𝟔. 𝐖𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐢𝐝𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐲𝐩𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬?
No.

#𝟐𝟕. 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐲𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐬?
𝘔𝘰𝘳𝘰-𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘰 and 𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘥𝘢 𝘺 𝘥𝘢𝘨𝘢.

#𝟐𝟖. 𝐌𝐢𝐫𝐚𝐟𝐮𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞 𝐰𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 “𝐃𝐫. 𝐉𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐑𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐥, 𝐆𝐞𝐧. 𝐀𝐧𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐨 𝐋𝐮𝐧𝐚, 𝐆𝐞𝐧. 𝐆𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐨 𝐝𝐞𝐥 𝐏𝐢𝐥𝐚𝐫, 𝐆𝐚𝐭 𝐀𝐧𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐁𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐨, 𝐑𝐞𝐯. 𝐅𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐆𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐨 𝐀𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐩𝐚𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐬.” 𝐈𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐞?
Yes. All the heroes mentioned, as well as many other heroes of the revolution, were 𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘢𝘥𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘴.

#𝟐𝟗. 𝐃𝐢𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐊𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐩𝐮𝐧𝐚𝐧 𝐩𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐬?
Yes. 𝘈𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘴 was a very widespread martial art at the time, already known by many people, and many older sources attest to its teaching within revolutionary ranks.

𝐒𝐏𝐀𝐍𝐈𝐒𝐇 𝐈𝐍𝐅𝐋𝐔𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐄

#𝟑𝟎. 𝐖𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐬 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐅𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐨𝐬 𝐨𝐫 𝐒𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬?
𝘈𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘴 is a Filipino art, created by Filipinos for Filipinos.

#𝟑𝟏. 𝐃𝐢𝐝 𝐒𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐟𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐥𝐮𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐬?
Yes, but an important distinction must be made. At first, Spanish influence was only cultural, specifically, the passion for fencing and the tradition of chivalric dueling. Genuine technical influence came only from the mid-19th century, when Spain began training Filipino soldiers in fencing.

#𝟑𝟐. 𝐃𝐢𝐝 𝐒𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐟𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐬𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐝𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐯𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐨 𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐬?
No. Spanish friars taught military tactics and the use of fi****ms. No older source attests to the teaching of fencing. Besides, Filipino warriors already knew how to use their own weapons.

#𝟑𝟑. 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐝𝐨 𝐅𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐨 𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐢𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐒𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬?
Just as the authors of 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘰-𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘰 plays wrote their titles and stage directions in Spanish to elevate the status of their works, 𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘴 masters (who often were also the authors and directors of the plays) used Spanish to elevate popular Filipino fencing to the status of aristocratic Spanish fencing.

𝐓𝐄𝐂𝐇𝐍𝐈𝐐𝐔𝐄

#𝟑𝟒. 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐛𝐥𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐬?
At first, the main weapons used by 𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘢𝘥𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘴 and 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘰-𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘴 were the sword and dagger, used together in the 𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘥𝘢 𝘺 𝘥𝘢𝘨𝘢 style. They could be metal, sharp or blunt, or made of wood. Most likely, sticks were simply a quick, readily available, inexpensive, and safer alternative, reducing injuries.

#𝟑𝟓. 𝐖𝐚𝐬 𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐮𝐤𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐅𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐨 𝐝𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐲 𝐛𝐨𝐱𝐢𝐧𝐠?
No. 𝘗𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘶𝘬𝘢𝘯 is the name of an FMA system created in the late 1970s by Lucky Lucaylucay, combining boxing techniques with Filipino knife techniques. The name is probably a corruption of the Tagalog term 𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘶𝘬𝘢𝘯.

#𝟑𝟔. 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐮𝐤𝐚𝐧 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧?
𝘗𝘢𝘯𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘶𝘬𝘢𝘯 is an old Tagalog term meaning a fistfight, but it was also used to refer to the sport of boxing. Although less common, the term is still used today. In essence, it did not refer to a particular Filipino empty-hand fighting system.

#𝟑𝟕. 𝐃𝐨 𝐛𝐮𝐧𝐨 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐮𝐦𝐨𝐠 𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐅𝐌𝐀 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠?
Although these terms refer to specific styles of traditional wrestling, respectively in the Tagalog provinces of Luzon and in Panay, Visayas, they also have the general meaning of wrestling. For this reason, many Filipino masters use them to refer to the grappling techniques within their own systems.

#𝟑𝟖. 𝐈𝐬 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐨𝐦𝐮𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐡 𝐨𝐟 𝐅𝐌𝐀 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐛𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐲𝐞-𝐠𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠?

No. The term 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘰𝘮𝘶𝘵𝘢𝘺, along with variants such as 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘰-𝘮𝘶𝘵𝘢𝘺 and 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘰𝘮𝘶𝘵𝘢𝘪, began to spread within the Western Filipino martial arts community in the late 1980s, largely through Paul Vunak. However, the existence of such a system is not supported by the available Philippine documentation or by the accounts of senior Filipino masters.

#𝟑𝟗. 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐚𝐲𝐚𝐧, 𝐣𝐮𝐞𝐠𝐨 𝐭𝐨𝐝𝐨, 𝐛𝐚𝐡𝐚𝐝, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡?
Etymologically, 𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘢𝘺𝘢𝘯 derives from the root patay (death) and can be translated as “fight to the death.” Antonio Ilustrisimo used it to refer to life-or-death challenges.
𝘑𝘶𝘦𝘨𝘰 𝘵𝘰𝘥𝘰 refers to the rules of a match: specifically, no protective equipment and strikes delivered at full power. Matches held under 𝘫𝘶𝘦𝘨𝘰 𝘵𝘰𝘥𝘰 rules are called 𝘫𝘶𝘦𝘨𝘰 𝘵𝘰𝘥𝘰 fights. Other rules also existed, such as 𝘫𝘶𝘦𝘨𝘰 𝘵𝘰𝘲𝘶𝘦, a form of controlled sparring, and 𝘫𝘶𝘦𝘨𝘰 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘺𝘢𝘴 or 𝘫𝘶𝘦𝘨𝘰 𝘯𝘰 𝘵𝘰𝘲𝘶𝘦, which involved no contact (strikes were “called” when they came close to the opponent’s face).
𝘉𝘢𝘩𝘢𝘥 is a Cebuano term that referred to a challenge of honor, fought under juego todo rules. Later, it came to refer to challenges between schools or clubs (i.e. 𝘋𝘰𝘤𝘦 𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘴 versus 𝘉𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘬).
“Death match,” on the other hand, is a term coined in Hawaii to refer to public fights under 𝘫𝘶𝘦𝘨𝘰 𝘵𝘰𝘥𝘰 rules, often organized at the Honolulu Civic Auditorium. The term probably originated after the death of an 𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘢𝘥𝘰𝘳 in 1947. Such fights had already been held in the Philippines since the 1920s, often at Manila’s Olympic Stadium.

#𝟒𝟎. 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬?
I believe the oldest term was 𝘮𝘢𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰, as in the “maestro de arnis” of 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘰-𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘰 plays. All the others, such as 𝘨𝘶𝘳𝘰, 𝘵𝘶𝘩𝘰𝘯, 𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘶, and 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘮𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳, were introduced only in recent decades.