Editing Arnis (section)

==Origins==
===Legend===
According to legend, It was introduced by [[Bodhidharma]], a Buddhist Monk born in [[Central Asia]] or [[India]] (5th or 6th century CE), who came to Southeast Asia via the Srivijayan capital of [[Palembang]] and then reached the island of [[Luzon]]. Upon his travel, he saw dried [[Rattan|Ratan canes]] on the ground and introduced this rare, martial art to the locals.

===History===
As ''arnis'' was an art usually practiced by the poor or commoner class (as opposed to [[nobility]] or [[warrior]] classes), most practitioners lacked the scholarly education to create any kind of written record. While the same can be said of many martial arts, this is especially true for arnis because almost all of its history is anecdotal, oral or promotional. Another origin of arnis can be traced back to native "[[Pintados]]" or then "Tintadus" fighting techniques during [[Military history of the Philippines|conflicts among the various Prehispanic Filipino settlements]], though the current form has Spanish influence from old [[fencing]] which originated in Spain in the 15th century. It has other influences as well, as settlers and traders travelling through the Malay Archipelago brought the influence of [[silat]] as well as [[Chinese martial arts|Chinese]] and [[Indian martial arts]].<ref>Mark V. Wiley (1997). ''Filipino Martial Culture''. Tuttle Publishing. {{ISBN|0-8048-2088-0}}.</ref>{{Page needed|date=July 2022}}<ref>Sam Buot (1991–2009) 'Eskrima-Arnis, Martial Arts of the Philippines.</ref>{{Page needed|date=July 2022}} Some of the population still practise localized Chinese fighting methods known as [[kuntao|kuntaw]].

It has also been theorized that the Filipino art of arnis may have roots in [[India]] and came to the Philippines via people who traveled through [[Indonesia]] and [[Malaysia]] to the Philippine islands. [[Silambam]], a stick/staff-based ancient martial art of [[India]] influenced many martial arts in Asia like [[silat]]. As such, arnis may share ancestry with these systems– some arnis moves are similar to the short stick (kali or kaji) and other weapon based fighting styles of Silambam{{Citation needed|date=May 2024}}.

When the Spaniards first arrived in the Philippines, they already observed weapons-based martial arts practiced by the natives, which may or may not be related to present-day Arnis. The earliest written records of Filipino culture and life, including martial arts, come from the first Spanish explorers. Some early expeditions fought native tribesmen armed with sticks and knives.<ref name="Draeger">{{cite book |last =[[Donn F. Draeger]] & Robert W. Smith |title = Comprehensive Asian Fighting Arts |year = 1969 |publisher = Kodansha International |isbn =978-0-87011-436-6 }}</ref> In 1521, [[Ferdinand Magellan]] was killed in [[Cebu]] at the [[Battle of Mactan]] by the forces of [[Datu]] [[Lapulapu]], the chief of Mactan. Some Arnisadors hold that Lapulapu's men killed Magellan in a sword-fight, though historical evidence proves otherwise. The only eyewitness account of the battle by chronicler, [[Antonio Pigafetta]], tells that Magellan was stabbed in the face and the arm with spears and overwhelmed by multiple warriors who hacked and stabbed at him:

<blockquote>The natives continued to pursue us, and picking up the same spear four or six times, hurled it at us again and again. Recognizing the captain, so many turned upon him that they knocked his helmet off his head twice, but he always stood firmly like a good knight, together with some others. Thus did we fight for more than one hour, refusing to retire farther. ''An Indian hurled a bamboo spear into the captain's face'', but the latter immediately killed him with his lance, which he left in the Indian's body. Then, trying to lay hand on sword, he could draw it out but halfway, because he had been wounded in the arm with a bamboo spear. When the natives saw that, they all hurled themselves upon him. One of them wounded him on the left leg with a large cutlass, which resembles a scimitar, only being larger. That caused the captain to fall face downward, when immediately they rushed upon him with iron and bamboo spears and with their cutlasses, until they killed our mirror, our light, our comfort, and our true guide. ''When they wounded him, he turned back many times to see whether we were all in the boats.'' Thereupon, beholding him dead, we, wounded, retreated, as best we could, to the boats, which were already pulling off.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/magellan.htm |title=The Death of Magellan, 1521 |publisher=Eyewitness to History.com}}</ref></blockquote>

[[File:Katipuneros.jpg|thumb|285x285px|[[Katipunan]]]]

Due to the conflict-ridden nature of the Philippine archipelago, where [[Military history of the Philippines|settlements (Kedatuans, Rajahnates and Sultanates) were often at war with one another or raiding each other]], warriors were forged in the many wars in the islands, thus during the precolonial era, the geographical area acquired a reputation for its capable mercenaries, which were soon employed all across South, Southeast and East Asia. [[Lucoes]] (warriors from [[Luzon]]) aided the Burmese king in his invasion of [[Siam]] in 1547 AD. At the same time, Lusung warriors fought alongside the Siamese king and faced the same elephant army of the [[Toungoo Dynasty|Burmese]] king in the defense of the Siamese capital at Ayuthaya{{Citation needed|date=May 2024}}.<ref name="Pigafetta">{{Cite journal
  | last = Pigafetta
  | first = Antonio
  | author-link = Antonio Pigafetta
  | title = First voyage round the world
  |translator=J. A. Robertson
  |year=1969
  | place = Manila
  | publisher = Filipiniana Book Guild
  | orig-year = 1524
  }}</ref>
The former [[Sultanate of Malacca|sultan]] of [[Sultanate of Malacca|Malacca]] decided to retake his city from the [[Portuguese Empire|Portuguese]] with a fleet of ships from Lusung in 1525 AD.<ref name="AD. SOURCE 1777, page 194">The former sultan of Malacca decided to retake his city from the Portuguese with a fleet of ships from Lusung in 1525 AD. SOURCE: Barros, Joao de, Decada terciera de Asia de Ioano de Barros dos feitos que os Portugueses fezarao no descubrimiento dos mares e terras de Oriente [1628], Lisbon, 1777, courtesy of William Henry Scott, Barangay: Sixteenth-Century Philippine Culture and Society, Quezon City: Ateneo de Manila University Press, 1994, page 194.</ref> Lucoes influence even manifested in East Asia at [[Japan]] where Lucoes sailors initially guided Portuguese ships to the Shogunate<ref>Bayao, Bras, Letter to the king dated Goa November 1, 1540, Archivo Nacional de Torre de Tombo: Corpo Cronologico, parte 1, maco 68, doc. 63, courtesy of William Henry Scott, Barangay: Sixteenth-Century Philippine Culture and Society, Quezon City: Ateneo de Manila University Press, 1994, page 194.</ref> and even South Asia in [[Sri Lanka]] where Lungshanoid pottery from Luzon were found in burials there.<ref>"Quest of the Dragon and Bird Clan; The Golden Age (Volume III)" -Lungshanoid (Glossary)- By Paul Kekai Manansala</ref>

Pinto noted that there were a number of them in the Islamic fleets that went to battle with the Portuguese in the Philippines during the 16th century. The Sultan of Aceh as well as Suleiman, the Ottoman Commander who was brother of the Viceroy of Cairo, gave one of them (Sapetu Diraja) the task of ruling and holding Aru (northeast Sumatra) in 1540. Pinto also says one was named leader of the Malays remaining in the Moluccas Islands after the Portuguese conquest in 1511.<ref name="Pinto">{{Cite document
  | last = Pinto
  | first = Fernão Mendes
  | author-link = Fernão Mendes Pinto
  | title = The Travels of Mendes Pinto
  | language  = en
  | translator = Rebecca Catz
  | date =  1989
  | place = Chicago 
  | publisher = University of Chicago Press
  | orig-year = 1578
}}</ref> Pigafetta notes that one of them was in command of the Brunei fleet in 1521.<ref name="Pigafetta"/> One famous Lucoes is [[Regimo de Raja]], who was appointed by the Portuguese at Malacca as [[Temenggung]] ([[Jawi script|Jawi]]: تمڠݢوڠ <ref name="turnbull">{{cite book|last=Turnbull|first=C. M.|author-link = C. M. Turnbull| title=A History of Singapore: 1819–1975|year=1977|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Kuala Lumpur|isbn=0-19-580354-X}}</ref>) or Supreme Governor and Chief General. The Luzones were so commercially and militarily influential that the Portuguese soldier Joao de Barros considered them, "the most warlike and valiant of these parts."<ref>The Mediterranean Connection by William Henry Scott Page 138 (Published By: Ateneo de Manila University) Taken from "Translated in Teixera, The Portuguese Missions, p. 166."</ref>

Opinions differ on the degree to which Spanish rule in the Philippines affected Arnis. The fact that a large number of techniques and the names of the arts themselves (arnis/''arnes'', eskrima/''esgrima'', ''garrote'', ''estoque'', etc.) have Spanish names suggest an influence. Some argue though that Spanish names in the martial art simply reflect the fact that [[Spanish language|Spanish]] was the [[Spanish language in the Philippines|lingua franca of the Philippines]] until the early 20th century, and that actual Spanish martial influence was limited.

What is certain is that the Spaniards brought with them and used their [[Historical European martial arts#Renaissance|bladed weapon arts]] (including the system of [[Destreza]] developed by [[Jerónimo Sánchez de Carranza|Carranza]]) when they started colonizing the archipelago in the 16th century. What is also known is that the Spaniards recruited soldiers from [[Mexican settlement in the Philippines|Mexico]]<ref>"In 1637 the military force maintained in the islands consisted of one thousand seven hundred and two Spaniards and one hundred and forty Indians." ~''Memorial de D. Juan Grau y Monfalcon, Procurador General de las Islas Filipinas, Docs. Inéditos del Archivo de Indias, vi, p. 425.'' "In 1787 ''the garrison at Manila consisted of one regiment of Mexicans comprising one thousand three hundred men, two artillery companies of eighty men each, three cavalry companies of fifty men each.''" ''La Pérouse, ii, p. 368.''</ref> and [[Peru]]<ref>[http://www.zamboanga.com/html/history_1634_moro_attacks.htm "SECOND BOOK OF THE SECOND PART OF THE CONQUESTS OF THE FILIPINAS ISLANDS, AND CHRONICLE OF THE RELIGIOUS OF OUR FATHER, ST. AUGUSTINE"] (Zamboanga City History)
"He (Governor Don Sebastían Hurtado de Corcuera) brought a great reënforcements of soldiers, many of them from [[Peru]], as he made his voyage to [[Acapulco]] from that kingdom."</ref> and sent them to fortify the Philippines and they had also trained mercenaries and warriors from local people like the [[Pangasinan people|Pangasinenses]], [[Kapampangan people|Kapampangans]], [[Tagalog people|Tagalogs]], [[Ilonggo people|Ilonggos]], [[Cebuano people|Cebuanos]] and [[Waray people|Warays]] to pacify regions and put down revolts, thereby positing the possible cross-training between Arnis de Mano and the [[Venezuela]]n Martial Art of [[Juego del garrote]]. Of the Kapampangans, [[Casimiro Díaz|Fray Casimiro Díaz]] relates in 1718:

<blockquote><poem>''Los primeros que se decidieron á experimentar fortuna fueron los pampangos, nación la más belicosa y noble de estas Islas, y cercana á Manila. Y era lo peor hallarse ejercitada en el arte militar en nuestras escuelas en los presidios de Ternate, Zamboanga, Joló, Caraga y otras partes, donde se conoció bien su valor; pero este necesita del abrigo del nuestro, y así decían que un español y tres pampangos, valían por cuatro españoles.''<ref name="revistaAgustinianaVolumenXI">{{cite journal |url=https://archive.org/details/laciudaddedios11madruoft|title=Ciudad de Dios – Revista agustiniana dedicada al Santo Obispo de Hipona en su admirable conversión á la fe.|volume= XI|location=Valladolid |publisher=Colegio de Agustinos Filipinos |date=1886}}</ref>

The first who decided to experiment with their fortune (revolt) were the Pampangos, the most warlike and prominent people of these islands, and close to Manila. And it was all the worse because these people had been trained in the military art in our own schools in the [[presidio]]s (fortified outposts) of [[Ternate]], [[Zamboanga City|Zamboanga]], [[Jolo]], [[Caraga]] and other places where their valor was well known; but this needs the help of ours, and so they say that a Spaniard plus three Pampangos equal four Spaniards.<ref name="WarriorMercenaryMacabebes">{{cite news |url=http://www.manilatimes.net/macabebes-as-warriors-and-mercenaries/109319/ |title=MACABEBES as WARRIORS and MERCENARIES |author=Perry Gil S. Mallari |newspaper=The Manila Times |date=July 5, 2014}}</ref></poem></blockquote>

It is likely then that these native warriors and foreign soldiers would have passed on to very close friends and family members these newly learned skills to augment already existing and effective local ones. They would have also shared tactics and techniques with each other when placed in the same military group and fighting on the same side in foreign regions such as [[Spanish Formosa|Formosa]], [[Mindanao]], the [[Maluku Islands|Moluccas]]<ref name="revistaAgustinianaVolumenXI" /> and the [[Mariana Islands|Marianas]].<ref name="micronesianPampangosMarianas">{{cite journal|title=The Pampangos in the Mariana Mission 1668–1684|url=http://marshall.csu.edu.au/MJHSS/Issue2005/MJHSS2005_101.pdf|last=de Viana|first=Augusto V. |journal=Micronesian Journal of the Humanities and Social Sciences |volume= 4|issue= 1, Dry Season Issue |publisher=[[Charles Sturt University]], Australia|date=June 2005|location=[[National Historical Institute]], Manila |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060514021845/http://marshall.csu.edu.au/MJHSS/Issue2005/MJHSS2005_101.pdf |archive-date=May 14, 2006 |url-status=live }}</ref>

One of the more prominent features of Arnis that point to possible Spanish influence is the ''Espada y Daga'' (Spanish for "sword and dagger") method, a term also used in Spanish fencing. Filipino ''espada y daga'' differs somewhat from European [[rapier]] and dagger techniques; the stances are different as weapons used in Arnis are typically shorter than European swords.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://fencingclassics.wordpress.com/2008/12/08/eskrima-spanish-rapier-and-the-lost-continent-of-mu/ | title=Eskrima, Spanish rapier, and the Lost Continent of Mu | author=J. Christoph Amberger| date=December 8, 2008 }}</ref> According to Grandmaster Federico Lazo† (1938–2010), unlike in European [[historical fencing]], there is no lunging in the Northern Ilocano ''Kabaroan'' style of Arnis&nbsp;– it is more of an evasive art. On the other hand, it is present in some Visayan styles documented by FMA researchers Celestino Macachor and Ned Nepangue such as ''Yasay Sable Estocada'' from [[Bago, Negros Occidental|Bago]].<ref name="yaysaySableVid1">{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-QO5xr4Efc  |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/h-QO5xr4Efc| archive-date=December 11, 2021 |url-status=live|title=Yasay Sable sparring |author=Lapulapu Viñas Arnis Huck Combat System |publisher=YouTube |date=December 8, 2010}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Having done comparative studies, [[Kalis Ilustrisimo]] archivist Romeo Macapagal also estimates that 40% of the blade-oriented style of [[Antonio Ilustrisimo|Antonio "Tatang" Ilustrisimo]]† (1904–1997) descends from European styles, brought by the Spanish.<ref name="musingsMacapagal">{{cite magazine |url=http://www.realfighting.com/issue7/romyframe.html |title= ?|website=Real Fighting |date=February 21, 2008 |access-date=December 1, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080221002253/http://www.realfighting.com/issue7/romyframe.html |archive-date=February 21, 2008 }}</ref> Some authors state that these Filipino Martial Arts were also cross-trained with martial arts brought over by Spanish soldiers and Jesuit priests.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://public-history-weekly.degruyter.com/9-2021-3/history-capoeira-eskrima/#_ftnen13|title=History Culture, Identity, and the Post-Colonial Martial Arts - Public History Weekly - The Open Peer Review Journal|first=Parkes|last=Robert|date=April 1, 2021|website=Public History Weekly}}</ref>

After the Spanish colonized the Philippines, a decree was set that prohibited civilians from carrying full-sized swords (such as the [[Kris]] and the [[Kampilan]]). Despite this, the practitioners found ways to maintain and keep the arts alive, using sticks made out of rattan rather than swords, as well as small knives wielded like swords. Some of the arts were passed down from one generation to the other. Sometimes the art took the form choreographed dances such as the ''Sakuting'' stick dance<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=sakuting |title=sakuting |publisher=YouTube |access-date=March 15, 2015}}</ref> or during mock battles at ''Moro-moro'' (''[[Moros y Cristianos]]'') stage plays. Also as a result, a unique and complex stick-based technique evolved in the [[Visayas]] and [[Luzon]] regions. The southern [[Mindanao]] retains almost exclusively blade-oriented techniques, as the Spaniards and Americans never fully conquered the southern parts of this island.<ref>{{cite book| last = Wiley| first = Mark V.| title = Filipino Martial Culture| publisher = Tuttle Publishing| year = 1997| location = Vermont| isbn = 0-8048-2088-0}}</ref>

Although Arnis combines native fighting techniques with old Spanish fencing and other influences, a degree of systematization was achieved over time, resulting in a distinguishable Philippine martial art. With time, a system for the teaching of the basics also evolved. However, with the exception of a few older and more established systems, it was previously common to pass the art from generation to generation in an informal approach. This has made attempts to trace the lineage of a practitioner difficult. For example, aside from learning from their family members like his uncle Regino Ilustrisimo, [[Antonio Ilustrisimo]] seemed to have learned to fight while sailing around the Philippines, while his cousin and student Floro Villabrille claimed to have been also taught by a blind Moro princess in the mountains; a claim later refuted by the older Ilustrisimo. Both have since died.