Filipino Martial Arts
Sifu Jonathan Jarvie
I'm Jarvie, and I teach Filipino Martial Arts commonly called Kali, Arnis, or Eskrima. There are thousands of styles. Many villages and families in the Philipines have their own style, and most styles train with rattan sticks. These aren't weapons, although they can hurt, they are training tools that represent batons, or machetes. But can represent an improvised weapon, such as a hammer, axe, or wrench.
One way we train is with sinawali, which means weaving pattern. It is done to train both hands to weave in and out attacking and defending, it's also just a fun game. In sinawali we are attacking each other's sticks, but in the real world, we would attack the opponent's hands. We can use the single stick, double stick, knife, or stick and knife. We use plastic knives to do drills that build muscle memory, so we can react to different attacks. I teach 9 angles of attack, 9 striking methods, evasive footwork, and disarms. There are many similarities in the concepts of Wing Chun and Eskrima, which I think makes them complementary arts.