|
ARNIS DE
MANO cont. . . . .
* * * *
* * * * *
Arnis
equipment is simple. Either a single stick or two hard wood sticks averaging
about thirty inches in length and about 3/4 to 1 inch in diameter are used.
No protective armor is worn. Arnis is employed in any close attack and make
used of feints to defeat the assailant. The emphasis is on the hand-arm
actions. A variety of skills must be developed during the kali days;
striking, parrying, offense and defense with a dagger, use of the leg or
leg-hip fulcrum over which to breaks the opponents balance and throw him,
and using the stick or as a free hand to apply leverage in disarming a foe.
Modern Arnis center more on stick use and hand movements rather than the
complex body movements or maneuvers vital to the ancestral kali forms. The
early kali forms used the sayaw and the sinulog dance movements for
training. Some parts of these dances are used in modern arnis and are
preserved in three traditional training methods.
1.) Pandalag- teaches the artistic execution of the swinging movement
and stroking for offense and defense in repetitive drills.
2.) Sangga at patama -the student practices striking thrusting, and
parrying in a pre arranged manner which permits excellent control
conditions.
3.) Labunang totohan- the ultimate phase of arnis training in which two
trainees try to outmaneuver each other , using all their skills.
The prime target of the stick is the armed assailant's weapon-bearing
hand or wrist. Any vital spot is considered a secondary target, for a head
or body blow, even though wounding the assailant might not stop him from
continuing his armed attack. Against unarmed assailants, however, the more
vital areas are attacked.
Like its kali ancestral forms, the best arnis styles were secret.
Training sessions were announced only to the initiated and carried out
secretly in remote places. Students were sworn, under threat of death, never
to reveal their knowledge...
The system of arnis that the Chinese Kempo System has incorporated in
its internal system is the Pikiti Tirsia under Punong Guro or Head Master
Leo Gaje and Modern Arnis System under Remy Presas.
|
