Talk:Eskrima

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Wing Tsun has a special connection to Escrima, or at least the Wing Tsun club I briefly practised at liked to combine Wing Tsun with escrima -- is this anything interesting that should go in the article. I have no idea how these two relate, or how much. ✏ Sverdrup 17:22, 22 May 2005 (UTC)

Historically, they were unrelated until the last fifty years (or less). Bruce Lee was trained in Wing Chun and learned Eskrima from Dan Inosanto; since he and Dan Inosanto were instrumental in popularizing both arts, they tend to be linked.
Technically, they have certain similarities (and also some essential differences), so that teaching them together is more reasonable than teaching some other pairs of martial arts together.
Information about this, suitably researched, would be reasonable addition to the history section of this article. --Andrew 21:53, May 23, 2005 (UTC)
They are very related in thought, though can be seen as coming to the same place from different directions. However a philosophical discussion is beyond the scope of this article. It would be nice to add a small section about the comparisons however... 75.26.7.122 10:10, 14 December 2006 (UTC)


I think this article needs some serious clean-up...

"Many believe many of these philippine fighting system have strong historical roots from Indonesian martial arts that are Chinese influenced like Kun Dao. Kun Dao (literally the way of the fist) of course finds its roots from Ch'uan Fa(which is a generic word for what westerners would call kung fu(beautiful skill), it also literally means way of the fist.) Other systems that have similar movements to many Filipino systems that also find their roots from Ch'uan Fa. These systems are known by varying degrees of arguements in the west about the exact nature of their name whether it be Kempo or Kenpo both literally mean Way of the fist. There are even counts of lost Ch'uan and Tai Chi Double stick forms that many of the freeing rengade monks would of trained for that period. These Chinese based influences are not as powerful as the direct links to the cultural and politcal unrest found in the Philippines even today. However they are still important to note since they provide historical evidence that is overwhelming and can add to ones understanding of the much deeper nuances and movements of and in the systems. Many even belive the systems are totally intact in the way profound chinese arts onces were before events like the cultural revolution."

What is this actually trying to say? "According to some rumors eskrima may have a connection to a presumed lost two-stick form of tai chi"? Less speculation, more facts, please.

Did some clean-up.


BTW, the picture with the "eskrima sword" is not likely a real eskrima sword, but rather a product of Western imagination like the "ninja-to". I suggest it should be replaced with a photo of a real Filipino weapon.

Did some copy-editing, which may have changed some meaning. Namely, I changed "freeing monks" to "fleeing monks". I have no knowledge of eskrima, martial arts history, or Philippine history, so I'm just doing a best guess on what the original contributor meant. I was also hoping for a bit more background on this supposed connection between Philippine and Indonesian/Chinese forms. I was going to ask if anybody had anything to add on this issue, but it looks like someone already beat me to it. I'm going to place a cleanup notice on that section. Hopefully, it'll make readers alert and more likely to read critically until some expert can sort this thing out. crazyeddie 20:25, 20 July 2005 (UTC)


"BTW, the picture with the "eskrima sword" is not likely a real eskrima sword,[...]"

Agreed, removed it until a suitable replacement can be found. A kalis or barong, perhaps? --Lazyhound 03:10, 25 July 2005 (UTC)

Contents

[edit] history

the philippines was called "maharlika" before the spanish came??? can anyone please veryfiy this. I never heard the word used to call the country before the spanish came. Cloudhand 05:44, 8 October 2006 (UTC)

I don't think it was ever called 'Maharlika'; In tagalog "maharlika" literally means blue-blood/s or noble/s or majestic... The Wikipedia article on Pre-Hispanic Philippines also mentions Maharlika's are the warrior-upper-class caste (like Knights). I was told that Ferdinand Marcos tried to change it to Maharlika, but i can't find a credible source on that claim.

It annoys me that much of the Philippine's ancient literature, art, archeology and most of it's true culture were bombed away in WW-II by the Japanese. Luckily, pop-culture (to a degree) make attempts to (selectively) revive it. --Mousedanger134 (talk) 16:01, 9 December 2007 (UTC)

maharlika, probably from sanskrit mahalinga, meaning great phallus (maha=great, linga=phallus). i forgot the source, will post it as soon as i get the source. Cloudhand (talk) 11:49, 1 June 2008 (UTC)

[edit] spelling

The spelling "Matrial Arts attire" is a mistake, no? P0M 06:20, 7 September 2005 (UTC) Could be worse... ever see someone get confused between "martial arts" and "marital arts"? I'll go ahead and edit it. Thank you for the heads-up. -Fuzzy 14:36, 7 September 2005 (UTC)

[edit] List of Eskrima systems

It has become real messy. It looks like a horribly written article about one style.Peter Rehse 03:57, 28 December 2006 (UTC)

I did what I could - but it needs work. Still feels like everyone is trying to outsell the other.Peter Rehse 07:46, 2 January 2007 (UTC)

I think this is OK now - but an eye needs to be kept on it.Peter Rehse 04:02, 16 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Subjective opinion regarding 'tempers' and weapon use?

I've not visited, nor am I an expert on the Philippines, but this paragraph strikes me as both biased and subjective in opinion (4th Paragraph under History):

Local folk in the Philippines are much more likely to carry knives than guns, and much more likely to use them when tempers rise, than people in North America or Europe. As a result, knife-fighting (and to a lesser extent, fighting with machetes) is still very much a living skill in the Philippines, particularly in rural areas and especially in areas where insurgents are based.

The specific term that seems off is:

...much more likely to use them when tempers rise...

That is an opinion, not a factual statement based on research or data. It's akin to me writing:

"Local folk in Oakland are much more likely to carry knives than guns, and much more likely to use them when tempers rise, than people in San Francisco or Hayward. As a result, knife-fighting (and to a lesser extent, fighting with machetes) is still very much a living skill in Oakland, particularly in rural areas and especially in areas where Oakland people are based."

Removing it would add credibility to the historical influence or citing a specific notation as to why a specific race or country of people are 'much more likely to use' weapons 'when tempers rise'. --Bradyjfrey 04:08, 21 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] removed seciton

This was getting very long & needs a trim if it's going to be returned. --Nate 09:11, 26 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Eskrima in popular culture

  • In the game Mortal Kombat, the character Quan Chi and Dairou practice Eskrima, also, Sonya and Kobra use Kali sticks. In Mortal Kombat Annihilation, Sultan Uddin not only portrayed Reptile, but choreographed Princess Kitana's fight sequence showcasing movements of Eskrima Serrada. In Mortal Kombat Conquest, the television series, Sultan Uddin showcased Eskrima Serrada as the character Noob Saibot.
  • Marvel Comics' blind hero, Daredevil, uses what are very likely Escrima fighting sticks. The two sticks gradually evolved from a blind man's walking stick to the escrima sticks seen in modern Daredevil comics.
  • DC Comics characters Nightwing and Oracle (Barbara Gordon) also use Escrima sticks; the latter is able to use them while wheelchair-bound.
  • Video game characters Eagle and Mr. Big Also use modified forms of Escrima.
  • The Bourne Identity features kali, according to Matt Damon during DVD featurettes and director Doug Liman in the commentary track (fight coreographer was Jeff Imada, a kali instructor who trained under Dan Inosanto). Liman stated that the kali's principles of minimal effort informed their development of Bourne's character.
  • The Hunted featured Sayoc Kali.
  • In the Soul Calibur series, the character Talim (who is also Filipina) uses techniques similar to those found in Escrima. In particular, the abaniko, and several of her techniques are named in Tagalog. Her weapons also vaguely resemble those found in the practice of Escrima.
  • The movies Mission Impossible 3 and Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life feature short fight scenes with the lead stars Tom Cruise and Angelina Jolie respectively, using rattan sticks
  • In the movie Equilibrium the commentary reveals that Eskrima is used in the fight between John Preston and Brandt.
  • Dan Inosanto, who is Bruce Lee's most successful martial arts student, is shown using Eskrima in the unfinished film Game of Death.
  • In the 1996 movie Barb Wire, Temuera Morrison's character uses empty handed Eskrima techniques to take out Customs Agents, Diana Lee Inosanto and Ron Balicki.
  • In the 2002 movie Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever, Lucy Liu's character uses Eskrima to fend off her opponents with Kali sticks.
  • In the 2003 movie "Resident Evil: Apocalypse", Milla Jovovich's character was trained by Ron Balicki to use Eskrima to finish off several opponents with expandable batons.
  • In the 2006 movie "The Sensei", Diana Lee Inosanto's character uses Eskrima to train a young boy nearly beaten to death.
  • The fighting style of the character Teyla Emmagan from Stargate: Atlantis is based on Eskrima.
  • In the 2004 Atlus Game Boy Advance game - Double Dragon Advance features the use of Kali sticks and the ability to wield and attack in the Escrima style. Also in Double Dragon II and Advance, the enemy character Chin, uses Kali sticks against the player.
  • In the 2004 movie, "The Prodigy", Fight / Stunt Coordinator Ron Balicki stylized all the fights in the movie using Eskrima / Kali techniques.
  • In the Chronicles of Riddick series Riddick (Vin Diesel) employs a fighting style that is a more aggressive variation of Eskrima.

I have added Rapid Arnis as a style popular in Europe as we have mention of popular styles in the USA, bearing in mind Europe also has many styles that are popular. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.149.106.199 (talk) 00:57, 17 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] what is not kali

The Thai have their on stick fighting form based on their traditional sword movements. Not everyone that does a double stick is practicing FMA. Ong Bak did not use FMA. Tony Jaa has a lot of material available to him as Thai.

The Brits have their own single stick fighting as well as much as we want to promote FMA it cannot be propelled by false claims —Preceding unsigned comment added by 202.128.37.174 (talk) 17:57, 3 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Trivia

Renmoved the section, as itis all unsourced & adds littel to the article can any be integrated?

==Eskrima in popular culture==


—Preceding unsigned comment added by Nate1481 (talk • contribs)

I can source the Chronicles of Riddick thing ([1]) and the Teyla from Stargate Atlantis thing ([2]). I'm not sure if that will be of any use though.. 72.79.217.249 (talk) 14:50, 4 April 2008 (UTC)
A couple of places like Capoeira have a few references where it's not just one scene in a movie, and then a separate entry that is Capoeira in popular culture that has a more expanded list including the one-scene items. -Fuzzy (talk)