[3] Due to Cebuano language pronunciation quirks, they are also pronounced natively as pangamut and pakamut, thus the variation of spelling across literature.

[4] Panantukan (often erroneously referred to as panantuken by USA practitioners due to the way Americans pronounce the letters U and A) is a contraction of the Tagalog term pananantukan, according to Dan Inosanto.

[5] It is generally attributed to the empty hands and boxing system infused by FMA pioneers Juan "Johnny" Lacoste, Leodoro "Lucky" Lucaylucay and Floro Villabrille[6] into the Filipino martial arts component of the Inosanto Academy and Jeet Kune Do fighting systems developed in the West Coast of the United States.

It is said that originally, Lucaylucay wanted to call his art Suntukan, but he was concerned that it would be confused with Shotokan Karate, so he used the term Panantukan instead.

[7][8][9][10] The main source of this section is taken from a book written by Krishna Godhania entitled: Eskrima: Filipino Martial Art.

According to the author, Doce Pares grandmaster Eulogio Cañete said that a certain book entitled De los Delitos ("For the Criminals") which was said to be published in 1800 and written by a certain Don Baltazar Gonzales, made or contained references to an empty hand fighting system.

Another instructor, Abner Pasa, then said that the copy of the book that Cañete saw was destroyed during World War II and is now lost.

[11][12] The author then postulates that the origin of suntukan as a martial art today is said to be traceable to the introduction of Western Boxing in the country, which was already a codified sport.

The combatants held their hands high and kept their distance, occasionally charging forward to throw chopping punches, most of which would be fouls not tolerated in American rings."

The techniques have not been adapted for safety or conformance to a set of rules for competition, thus it has a reputation as "dirty street fighting".

Common limb destructions include guiding incoming straight punches into the defending fighter's elbow (siko) to shatter the knuckles.

This is accomplished by the use of arm wrenching, shoving, shoulder ramming, and other off-balancing techniques in conjunction with punches and kicks.