Features

Categorizing Eskrima

Arnis Jugado

This is a recent development in the world of Arnis/Eskrima where it is practiced and promoted as a sportive competition in tournaments participated by practitioners matured and young alike. Rules and guidelines on points, safety and protection are laid down to ensure a certain degree of safety of the participants. Tournament is one of the many ways to develop discipline, sportsmanship and the competitive spirit of the Arnisadors. Promoting Arnis Jugado is one of the most effective ways to propagate, capture and sustain the interest of the young people, and new comers into the world of Arnis.

Currently there are two categories in Arnis Jugado: “Labanan” (Combat) and “Anyo” (Forms). If Arnis is to be made popular & acceptable to the majority of the masses in the world from kids, teenagers and young adults alike, this is the kind of Arnis that is very appropriate. It is basically inherent to man to prove that he is better than others and in return gets recognized and rewarded for being so. It is in the venue of controlled environment such as in tournaments that these sense of competition and need of recognition get fed with lesser risks of broken limbs, cracked skulls, cracked clavicles, torn ligaments, dislocated joints, contusions, bruises, wounds and even death that normally go with Traditional Arnis/Eskrima confrontations and duels.

Arnis Entablado

This is the kind of Arnis/Eskrima that is inherently practiced for exhibition and to entertain the spectators since Pre-Hispanic times, Hispanic times and our present modern times. Flashy and spectacular moves, techniques and motions are dominant and some even performed with more acrobatic routines, with some degree of exaggeration to make it look more impressive and powerful, formidable, complex and flowery but artistic and entertaining.

It can also be in the form of linked forms, dances, pre-arranged choreographed fights and duels conveying a story like “moro-moro”, "komedya" and “zarsuela” in Barrio and Town fiestas. Practitioners in this category need not be very good fighters but must have the basic arnis skills and gift of choreography, artistry and creativity. This kind of Arnis is also a good marketing tool as it is very attractive to the uninitiated.

Arnis/Eskrima Matador

This is the kind of Eskrima for the matadors who want to face the cruel world of survival. It is basically a kind of Eskrima born out of the survival instinct of man. Hence, this category is based on the mindset of “survival” not just reward of trophies and accolades of recognition. It is in this category that most of the Traditional Systems are based. Generally, for serious practitioners it evolves or practiced with other unarmed systems like boxing, grappling, wrestling, kicking, biting and many more making it a complete FMA system.

For those who detoured and started off from Arnis Jugado and or Arnis Entablado it is another step and field of growth in the world of Arnis/Eskrima after they get bored and fed up with trophies and medals. Most often, it is these practitioners that evolved from Arnis Entablado and or Arnis Jugado that get mixed up with their techniques and forms, making it less effective in the actual field of combat where the simple rule of victory or defeat is either survival or extinction. Training methodologies here are mostly geared towards honing not only the externals by being able to take hits confidently and delivering lethal strikes effectively, but the objective is also to temper the spirit of the fighter within.

Hence, traditionally, pads, armors and head gears are taboos in the practice under this category. Otherwise, if armors are used the practitioner will develop a false sense of security on his abilities, it breeds carelessness and the techniques honed have no real meaning since the air of realism is lost and it may not stand the acid test of actual confrontation where you no longer have protective armors and where life not just a trophy is at stake.

Arnis/Eskrima Guerrero

This is supposedly the Eskrima as Martial Arts for the elite warrior class, maharlikas, rajas and chieftains - a rarity (but very much alive) in these modern times. Very select few Eskrimadors pursue to elevate their growth FMA in this category. Very few in the Philippines in the context of quantity, since it is not economically viable teaching it as main means of livelihood in the Philippine Economic setting where volume is necessary to make it viable. For foreigners it is even of greater challenge with the prevailing mindset of the new generation who are always enchanted on anything that are fast. Not fast strikes and moves but fast cars, fast computers, fast courses, fast foods, “fast certificates”, “fast cash” just to name a few. Only a select few are able to access the door of this category because it is definitely not just for everybody.

Going through the door and growing in this category will require the practitioners to possess extraordinary interest, good "martial morality", courage & leadership, strength of character and of course the unquenchable thirst for excellence. Practice in this category is not just to protect self/person/practitioner but in a greater context-the community and society in general. Most often this has closely guarded disciplines, principles, theories and philosophies that require oral transmissions and elucidations for the entire system to be completely understood and honed to an ever higher level of mastery and perfection. The arts do not center only in fighting, killing and eliminating the opponents but focus on healing, and life management as well. It may take a lifetime to master the different facets in this category and mastery can be a lifelong journey but the travel itself is already rewarding.

Hopefully, this humble view in the categorization of Eskrima will help all of us Eskrimadores, find ourself and understand better the system we are in. Hopefully it will facilitate our understanding of the wide array of differences and diversity of the systems which is said to be more than the number of islands in the Philippine archipelago. And despite the diversity, it is my ardent hope that this brief categorization will help promote harmony, unity, understanding and sense of brotherhood among all Eskrimadores who are bound together by their common love and interest in the perpetuation of Arnis/Eskrima which is centered on the respect of human dignity and love of LIFE itself.

Written by "Talibung Antike" on 27 March 2008. "Talibung Antike" is from "UNO-BLANCO" Traditional Filipino Eskrima System, La Paz Plaza, Iloilo City, Philippines 5000

02 May 2008, Friday

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