While the sixth category, empty hands, is certainly not undeveloped,
battlefield commanders considered training in hand-to-hand combat less
pragmatic than weapons training. It is notable that the experiences of Fil-
ipino guerrilla fighters in World War II infused realism into the modern Fil-
ipino martial arts. The late Felimon “Momoy” Canete of Doce Pares Es-
krima devised many-bladed striking techniques based on his experiences in
jungle patrols fighting against Japanese soldiers. For him, the stick repre-
sented a blade. The unarmed methods of Filipino combat (mano-mano) in-
clude kicking (sikaranor sipa), boxing (suntukin), trapping (gapos), grap-
pling (buno, dumog), and disarming (disarma). Sikaran is similar to
taekwondo(Korean), with emphasis on high-line kicking. Sipa is a chil-
dren’s kicking game like hacky-sack (a game in which a small footbag is
kicked between players without being allowed to touch the ground). Dan
Inosanto calls kicking pananjakman. Suntukinis “to box.” Inosanto calls
punching Panantukan.Trapping (gapos) refers to immobilization or hack-
ing, but may include strikes such as thrusting and palming. Grappling in-
cludes sweeps, throws, and locks. Locking the joints is called trankaor
kunsi.Pinching, biting, gouging, and tearing are elements of close-range
combat. Native grappling methods are called buno in Luzon and dumog in
the Visayas. Traditionally, local disputes were settled and justice dispensed
through trial by ordeal. Bultongwas a “trial by ordeal” FMA in which ad-
versaries wrestled until the victor proved the other party guilty. The Fil-
ipino term agawmeans “disarming,” but the Spanish term is disarma. Dis-
arma refers to using weapons and/or empty hands to neutralize armed
opponents by taking away weapons. For example, the Lapu-Lapu Arnis Af-
fecianados practiced a unique method of disarming by using reverse prin-
ciples. They used reverse psychology like jûdô (Japanese) in which they
pushed when the attacker pulled.
The short stick in category seven is a pocket weapon, such as a roll of
coins, that can be held in the hand and used for striking. This category in-
cludes closed knives like the balisong.The balisong, or butterfly knife, is a
three-piece, gravity-operated (not automatic) folding knife. The kubotan
(hand-sized cylinder with a key ring attached) is a similar Japanese
weapon.
The flexible weapons (ligas armas) in category eight include the flail
(panlugas, tayak tobok), whip (latiko, kaburata), chain (cadena), and
stingray tail (ikog-pagi). Like the Okinawan/Japanese nunchaku,the flail is
a farm tool (rice thresher). Flails are portable, concealable, and quick to
strike their targets, but difficult to control. Rikarte Eskrima prefers short
whips, approximately 6 feet long. Panandata Arnis uses a 52- or 60-inch
horsewhip. Filemon Canete made 12-foot-long rope whips by hand and
wove spells into them. This is considered to be Christian white magic. Al-430 Philippines