[1] Arnis is the Philippines' national martial art and sport,[2] after President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo signed the Republic Act.

RA 9850 is expected to help propagate arnis as a modern martial art/sport that can compete with popular non-Filipino arts, i.e. taekwondo, karate and judo.

Beginning with a small gymnasium in Bacolod in the 1950s, he attempted to spread the art to the local youth as both a cultural legacy and a form of physical development or sport.

His desire to reinvigorate interest in his country's traditional martial art grew over time, and he began making modifications and improvements to what he had learned.

He was assisted by individuals such as those who now are on the Modern Arnis Senior Masters Council: Rodel Dagooc, Jerry dela Cruz, Roland Dantes, Vicente Sanchez, Rene Tongson, and Cristino Vasquez.

Throughout the 1980s and 1990s he traveled extensively for seminars – the principal form of instruction in the system was through weekend training camps held around the world but especially in the U.S. – and produced books and videos.

During the 1990s Wally Jay, Remy Presas (Modern Arnis), and George Dillman (Kyusho Jitsu) traveled together throughout the United States and worldwide promulgating small-circle jujitsu.

In the United States, the International Modern Arnis Federation (IMAF) was the principal organization as far as certification was concerned, but the founder created a variety of titles that indicated some level of organizational or leadership authority in the art (as opposed to titles such as guro ("teacher") or Punong Guro ("Head teacher") that recognized teaching and/or technical ability).

Most prominent among these titles were Datu, meaning a chieftain or leader, awarded in this order to Shishir Inocalla, Kelly Worden and Ric "Bong" Jornales (of Arnis Sikaran) (all in the 1980s), Dieter Knuettel (1996), Tim Hartman and David Hoffman (both in 2000); and Master of Tapi-Tapi, awarded to Jeff Delaney, Chuck Gauss, Jim Ladis, Gaby Roloff, Randi Schea, Ken Smith, and Brian Zawilinski.

In many ways, the situation is analogous to what occurred in the Jeet Kune Do and American Kenpo communities following the deaths of their popular and charismatic founders.

The primary weapon is the rattan stick, called a cane or baston (baton), which varies in size, but is usually about 28 inches (71 cm) in length.

This had the advantage of being the preferred method in actual combat, referred to as "defanging the snake", that is, making the opponent drop his weapon so that he is less of a threat.

"Defanging the snake" remains a principle of Modern Arnis, however, and in practical application, one would typically strike the hand or arm.

[8] In addition to its Filipino influences, elements of Judo, Shotokan Karate, and Wally Jay's Small Circle Jujutsu appear in the system.

[10] Modern Arnis is perpetuated worldwide and some of the countries where the art is most popular are the Philippines, the United States, Canada, and Germany, but there are practitioners in many other nations as well.