It is said to derive from the armour costumes used in traditional Moro-moro stage plays, where actors fought mock battles with wooden swords.

The name kali is most likely derived from the pre-Hispanic Filipino term for blades and fencing, kalis (Spanish spelling: "calis"),[10] documented by Ferdinand Magellan's expedition chronicler Antonio Pigafetta during their journey through the Visayas and in old Spanish to Filipino Mother Tongue dictionaries and vocabulary books dating from 1612 to the late 1800s, such as in Vocabulario de Lengua Tagala by Fr.

[24] In their book Cebuano Eskrima: Beyond the Myth however, Dr. Ned Nepangue and Celestino Macachor contend that the term kali in reference to Filipino martial arts did not exist until the Buenaventura Mirafuente wrote in the preface of the first known published book on arnis, Mga Karunungan sa Larong Arnis by Placido Yambao, the term kali as the native mother fighting art of the Philippine islands.

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.

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.

[32] One famous Lucoes is Regimo de Raja, who was appointed by the Portuguese at Malacca as Temenggung (Jawi: تمڠݢوڠ [37]) or Supreme Governor and Chief General.

What is certain is that the Spaniards brought with them and used their bladed weapon arts (including the system of Destreza developed by Carranza) when they started colonizing the archipelago in the 16th century.

What is also known is that the Spaniards recruited soldiers from Mexico[39] and Peru[40] and sent them to fortify the Philippines and they had also trained mercenaries and warriors from local people like the Pangasinenses, Kapampangans, Tagalogs, Ilonggos, Cebuanos and Warays to pacify regions and put down revolts, thereby positing the possible cross-training between Arnis de Mano and the Venezuelan Martial Art of Juego del garrote.

[42] 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.

[44] According to Grandmaster Federico Lazo† (1938–2010), unlike in European historical fencing, there is no lunging in the Northern Ilocano Kabaroan style of Arnis – 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.

[49] 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.

Filipinos living in Louisiana at the independent settlement of Saint Malo were recruited to be soldiers commanded by Jean Lafitte in the defense of New Orleans during the War of 1812 against a Britain attempting to reconquer a rebel America.

Isidoro Montes de Oca was a celebrated war hero famous for the battle action of the Treasury of Tamo, in Michoacán on September 15, 1818, in which the opposing forces numbered four times greater, yet they were totally destroyed.

Some of the grandmasters who are known to have used their skills in World War II are Antonio Ilustrisimo, Benjamin Luna-Lema, Leo Giron,[67][68] Teodoro "Doring" Saavedra,[69] brothers Eulogio and Cacoy Cañete,[70] Timoteo "Timor" Maranga, Sr,[71] Jesus Bayas[72] and Balbino Tortal Bonganciso.

It was said that to proclaim a student a "master" was considered ridiculous and a virtual death warrant as the individual would become challenged left and right to potentially lethal duels by other Arnisadores looking to make names for themselves.

Modern training methods tend to de-emphasize careful footwork and low stances, stressing the learning of techniques in favor of more direct (and often lethal) tactics designed to instantly end an encounter.

In the Philippines, the spread is more significant due to the efforts of Richardson "Richard" Gialogo and Aniano "Jon" Lota, Jr. through the Department of Education (DepEd) Task Force on School Sports (TFSS).

These were all conducted by the tandem of Mr. Aniano Lota, Jr. and Mr. Richardson Gialogo, now both Arnis Consultants and official Lecturers of the Task Force on School Sports of the Department of Education.

In 2009, the "Writeshop of the Revision of the Physical Fitness Test and the Development of Learning Competencies in Arnis and Archery" was held in Teacher's Camp, Baguio City in October 5–8, 2009.

In modern times, public dueling with blades has been deemed illegal in the Philippines due to high potential of severe injury or death.

Arnis students start their instruction by learning to fight with weapons, and only advance to empty-hand training once the stick and knife techniques have been sufficiently mastered.

This is in contrast to most other well-known Asian martial arts but it is justified by the principle that bare-handed moves are acquired naturally through the same exercises as the weapon techniques, making muscle memory an important aspect of the teaching.

In modern times, many Arnis practitioners have also come to wear head and hand protection while sparring with rattan sticks, or otherwise use padded bastons.

For a very traditional school, conscious of battlefield necessities, stances are usually very low, often with one knee on the ground, and footwork is complex, involving many careful cross-steps to allow practitioners to cope with multiple opponents.

Several classes of exercises, such as sombrada, contrada, sinawali, hubud-lubud and sequidas, initially presented to the public as a set of organized drills by the Inosanto school, are expressly designed to allow partners to move quickly and experiment with variations while remaining safe.

Rhythm, while an essential part of eskrima drills, is emphasized more in the United States and Europe, where a regular beat serves a guide for students to follow.

Sinawali exercises provide eskrima practitioners with basic skills and motions relevant to a mode of two-weapon blocking and response method called Doblete.

Some eskrima styles are complementary with Chinese Wing Chun because of the nervous system conditioning and body mechanics when striking, twirling or swinging sticks.

For example, American Kenpo and Kajukenbo cross-training traces back to the interactions between Chinese, Japanese and Filipino immigrants in territorial/pre-statehood Hawaii, and to a lesser extent in other parts of the United States.