Filipino Martial Arts

I have been practicing martial arts for approximately 13 years and I really enjoy it. I have practiced Japanese martial arts, such as Ninjutsu, Shotokan Karate, Judo, Jujutsu, Chinese Arts, such as Wu-Shu, San Soo, as well as Filipino Martial Arts. Many of the martial arts have similarities however, Filipino martial arts, which include Arnis, Eskrima, and Kali, are quite different than many arts that most people have studied. One of the main differences is that the student is taught how to use weapons first, and eventually move on to learning empty handed techniques. Contrary to popular belief, Filipino martial arts is more than just "stickfighting" or "knife fighting". Filipino martial arts typically consists of stick training, both double and single, blades, in various lengths, both single and double, as well as flexible weapons such as the whip, to name just a few. Outside of weaponry, the Filipino Martial arts teaches the practioner to use striking techniques and grappling techniques (dumog).

Martial arts such as Shotokan Karate, Tae Kwon Do, and Wu-Shu teach weapons, however most of these teach to use weapons for non-combative purposes, in other words they teach to use weapons mostly for demonstration, while Filipino Martial Arts teaches to use weapons in actual combat situations. While many people native to the Philippines have left the Filipino Martial Arts, it is interesting to note that for people outside the Philippines find the Filipino Martial Arts to be exotic, and often times more useful than other systems, especially those members of Law Enforcement and the Military. The reason for this is that Filipino Martial Arts uses and defends against weapons that are commonly used by and against Law Enforcement and Military Personnel. Basically, who would you entrust to teach you weapon defenses, those who do not know how weapons work, or those who do? The answer is quite obvious. Some of the most popular schools of Filipino Martial arts include, Sayoc Kali, Doce Pares, Modern Arnis, Kombatan, as well as many others.

If you are interested in learning realistic self defense it would not be a bad idea to learn Filipino Martial Arts. Those who are already involved in martial arts other than Filipino Martial arts, it would be a great benefit to incorporate the Filipino Martial Arts into your system. If you are not close to a school, there are many options to learn these systems through long distance courses. The beauty of Filipino Martial arts is that most of the systems are very easy to learn and quite effective, part of this is due in part to the constant drilling that must be learned to become proficient. So if you are willing to learn do not hesitate, there are many schools that are most likely not too far from where you live so you can begin to learn many life saving techniques.