Filipino Martial Arts These Days

The Filipino Martial Arts (FMA) as said is the most modified fighting technique of the country Philippines with combined Western and Eastern essentials. As the new changes of the environment ascends and the wicked fled, the art was use as a battle talent for self-protection. Hence, FMA’s ability was widely known to combat with weapon and even empty-handed locally called as “mano-mano” or “pangamut”.

FMA is where you learn how improvised weapon works all the time. You will learn the ability how an ordinary household item makes a real weapon to save you from a risky situation. Yet, a broom will stay as a broom used to sweep away dust and trash until you have the knowledge in using it to protect yourself in a fight.

From where it all started

Records of history from where it all started was unsure yet, but arnis or kali was then practiced back the past among tribes to defend themselves. A native warrior named Lapulapu of Mactan fought to gain Cebu’s liberty from the Spaniards led by a Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan thru kali or the Spanish fencing that impressively influenced Filipino-fighting arts on 1500s.

During the Spaniards regime, they have had proscribed the carrying of sharp bladed weapons and the practice of native fighting art. It was then brilliant arnis practitioners of the Philippines creatively used a rattan stick as replacement for swords.

Hollywood welcomes FMA

The most common martial arts that Filipinos used is Arnis, a weapon-based art focusing on strikes, grasps, and flinging moves using a stick or a blade in hand. These days, arnis or kali defines much of Filipino Martial Arts makes a great impact and now was mostly use into movies, comic books and magazines and to video games as well.

Even in Hollywood films, Filipino Martial Arts have been appearing and used for fighting scenes that are most watched film today, undoubtedly. A good example to present was the movie entitled “The Equalizer”. The scene where he aims to get out of a room full of thugs and uses a knife as a weapon, shot glass, broken glass bottle of champaign and a corkscrew as improvised weapons were into pushing attackers.

So, if Filipino Martial Arts intrigues you most I dare you to watch the movie. Get to know the real deal of FMA by watching the movie. Grab a bowl of popcorn because watching the movie will be a great way to spend pandemic quarantine days. Further, sprinkle some worthy radiance while learning the art. Who knows? You might just end up in Hollywood movies working up for some fighting scenes together with the main actor.