Kali, Eskrima, Arnis
These are the names of the Filipino martial arts, born in an archipelago of more than seven thousand islands. Kali is today the term for the Filipino arts as a whole, which are very ancient; Eskrima and Arnis de mano name the art that developed under European influence. There are many other local variants, but the heart is shared: weapons and empty hands studied with the same principles.
A history of warriors
According to tradition, around the middle of the 13th century ten tribal chiefs (Datu) arrived from Borneo, bringing their warrior culture with them. Kali’s technical roots are traced to fighting with the kris, or kalis, the wavy-bladed sword, and were forged in centuries of clashes between tribes and sultanates.
In 1521, at the battle of Mactan, rajah Lapu-Lapu and his blade-armed warriors defeated the Spanish expedition and killed Ferdinand Magellan. The south of the archipelago resisted conquest for more than four hundred years.
In the central islands, under Spanish rule, the natives were trained in Western weapons to defend churches and monasteries from raids by the southern Moros and by Chinese and Japanese pirates: this is how Eskrima was born, blending local guerrilla tactics with 16th-century European fencing, with numbered strikes, the study of counters and sword-and-dagger work. When natives were forbidden to own blades, training moved to sticks, and many styles specialised in that weapon.
Principles
- Same principles, armed and unarmed: what you learn with stick or knife transfers to empty hands and vice versa. The two are interchangeable.
- Angles and positioning: the angles-of-attack system teaches how to strike, defend and get off the line.
- Fluid, fast footwork, continuous attacks and counters.
- Not strength, but agility, flow and coordination: the weapon becomes an extension of the body.
- Versatility: it works with any weapon and with everyday objects.
What we study
- Single and double stick (solo baston, doble baston): angles, parries, disarms, coordination and ambidexterity.
- Single and double sword, and sword and dagger (espada y daga): long and short weapon together.
- Knife (daga): handling and above all defence against an armed attack.
- Empty hands: panantukan, “Filipino boxing”, low kicks, locks and takedowns derived from weapon work.
- Partner flow drills (sumbrada, hubud-lubud) for reflexes, reading the attack and reacting.
- Everyday objects: umbrella, bag, keys, pen as tools for defence.
Lineage
The Kali of the Magda Institute programme is rooted in the teachings of Filipino masters John LaCoste, as reworked by Dan Inosanto, Floro Villabrille and Leo Giron, among others.
In the Black Bull programme
Kali brings weapon and object work into the system and develops an awareness of distance and attack lines that makes empty-hand Jeet Kune Do more effective too.
Who it is for
Everyone, from absolute beginners to experienced practitioners. Stick training is also excellent work for coordination and control.