Kombatan Modern Arnis

1. What is Arnis? 

   Arnis is one of many Filipino names for the weapons arts from the Philippine Islands.

2. How is Arnis different than Escrima or Kali?

   These are all different names for similar systems. Kali tends to refer to pre-Spanish weapons arts. Kali often specializes in longer ranges, and has less controlling as a consequence. It also tends to have the most complex footwork systems of the three.

   Escrima is a variant of the word for "skirmish" in Spanish, and generally refers to post-Spanish systems. Escrima systems often times have very strong Spanish influences that came from war with the Spaniards and the subsequent Spanish occupation. Arnis is a variant of the Spanish word, "Arnes," which refers to the harness used to hold on a breast-plate. Arnis systems lean toward single stick fighting with extensive controlling of the opponent's weapon. Footwork also tends to be simple.

3. What is Modern Arnis?

   Modern Arnis was developed by the Presas brothers and Fred Lazo. It is a fusion of several different indigenous Filipino systems designed to provide a well-rounded martial art system. This particular flavor of Modern Arnis is that of Ernesto Presas (known as Kombatan) with some Lazo thrown in for taste.
   

4. What weapons are used in Arnis?

   We work in single stick, double stick, knife, espada (saber), staff, and a nerve stunning weapon known as the dolo. Our training weapons are made out of rattan for safety.

5. What do you do in Arnis Training?  Basically, training in Arnis can be divided into a systematic progression through 11 different areas:

1. twirling,
2. distances,
3. footwork,
4. striking methods,
5. blocking methods,
6. releasing,
7. disarming
8. trapping,
9. takedowns,
10. locks,
11. and flow techniques.
6. What makes Arnis unique? Is it any good?

   One of the big advantages of Arnis is that it is a living art, meaning that it is actively used, everyday, somewhere in the Philippines. Challenge matches are regularly fought, and occasional death matches still spring up. This means that the Filipino arts have an accurate picture of what weapons combat is like, and a knowledge of how to train someone to face the stresses of the fight.

7. Why is Arnis in Water Mountain?

   Arnis makes a nice fit, and more importantly, it has proved itself and continues to prove itself, qualities that Water Mountain demands of any system.

8. How strong do I have to be?

   The average Filipino is in the lower 5 foot range. The system is built to take advantage of this smaller size, so it relies upon multiple strikes, and rhythmic patterns rather than brute force. Besides this design, the weapon allows a small amount of strength to be converted to a large amount of effective power. For this reason, the system is an ideal art for women.

9. Are women allowed? I know the Philippines have a very male culture.

   In Filipino colleges, women make up a whopping 80-90% of Arnis students. In the U.S., it is not uncommon to have classes of 25% to 40% women. As you may know, this is far above the average for a martial arts class.
   

10. How hard is the workout?

    Most people don't break a sweat in the typical workout. Training is about learning the patterns and how to manipulate them while maintaining a state of relaxation. It gets occasionally aerobic, but that comes later. Arnis is more like a chess match than like boxing.

11. What about hand to hand?

    Arnis does have a hand to hand system, known as Mano-Mano, of which you'll learn the rudiments, because it's based off of the weapons' art. Hand to hand study in Water Mountain is handled through Heaven Fist and Chin Na, however.

12. A living art--that sounds brutal.

    Modern Arnis was designed to be safe in practice, that is, in fact, one of its innovations over earlier Filipino system. We train without pads, as per IPMAF standard, and have an extremely low injury rate. Since '94, I (Mike Steenrod) have see one moderate injury more serious than a bruise, and that was in the hand-to-hand system. Those seeking full contact stick work should go to the Philippines or contact the Dog Brothers. Given all of that, accidents do happen, and there is risk in training. Genuine martial arts always have risk involved.

13. What happens if the stick hits me?

    The stick is made of rattan, a light-weight, fibrous vine. It is durable, but is used because a lot of force or freakish bad luck (lightning hitting you type of odds) is needed to cause serious damage to your partner. If you are hit, it will likely sting, and may leave a mark, scrape, and/or swell.

14. If it's so safe, how can it be effective?

    Lethal force can be generated with rattan, but such force doesn't come from an accidental strike. Arnis is designed to be translated to other, more lethal, weapons with ease, so it can be used with traditional weapons like the machete, or non-traditional weapons like a spoon or a pencil.

15. Is it fun? 

    With proper instruction, Arnis is a potent system for self-defense that also provides fitness and stress-release.  It is challenging, but not too challenging.  You'll progress steadily, and find your "inner stick expert." Now that's fun!

16. How hard is it to get a black belt?

    First degree is relatively quick. It can be done with a steady, moderate training regimen in 2-3 years.

17. Why so easy?

    Remember, Arnis is pattern based. In hand to hand, you must be able to generate power to be effective, and your body must be able to tolerate generating power. This alone bumps up the training curve. Arnis is more fault-tolerant because of the weapons, and so first degree is acquired when a reasonable command of the patterns and rhythms are acquired.

18. You've said that training is governed by the IPMAF. What is the IPMAF?

    The International Philippine Martial Arts Federation. The IPMAF is the general governing body for Modern Arnis practitioners. Membership helps to insure minimum standards, and basic rank recognition.

19. How many practitioners are there?

    IPMAF Kombatan Arnis is an international organization with active training schools worldwide. I don't know the exact count of practitioners.  It is currently much larger in Europe than it is in America.

20. Can I meet the grandmaster?

    Yes. He has a regular seminar circuit, or you can go to the Philippines for the training camp. He also visits Flagstaff.

21. What is Kombatan?

    Kombatan is a recent name for the specific variant of Modern Arnis under GM Ernesto Presas. It is Modern Arnis. The official Kombatan page is at www.presas.org.

22. What is the ranking system like?

    Originally, Filipino systems did not have ranking systems. The skill level of a practitioner was apparent in contests. However, due to pressure from the West, most systems have adopted a ranking system imitating the Japanese systems. While individual schools can usually organize the curriculum according to a belt structure of their own design, the dominant Arnis system has 4 pre-black ranks, and 9 black belt ranks. The four colored-belts are yellow, green, blue and brown. Daga, dulo, stick, and staff can all have separate ranking. As one proceeds through the training, one can accumulate separate belts in these areas.

23. I've heard there's a Free Monthly Newsletter on Arnis Topics.  Where do I find that?  You can sign up for that by clicking here--Monthly FREE Report on Arnis.

24. Can you give me information on how to actually practice it?  Sure, visit Water Mountain's commerce site and examine the Filipino gear descriptions.  In the product descriptions are instructions and information about basic use.  There are also e-books, and video tapes for sale.  They go fast and cover topics like how to hold a stick, how to swing a stick, how to block, how to twirl, what is the six strike pattern:  All those answers can be found at www.arnisgear.com