What Is Escrima?

Escrima, Kali, and Arnis de Mano are the three main martial arts of the Philippines. Escrima is a weapons based art that uses sticks to represent swords and crushing weapons.

Escrima utilizes a short, 18-22 inch stick as a close quarters fighting weapon, as opposed to Kali - which uses longer weapons at a greater distance. The blade techniques employed in the practice of Escrima are as deadly with an impact weapon as they are with a bladed one. The techniques are designed for close quarters combat to "finish" or kill the enemy as quickly as possible (to facilitate moving on to face numerous enemy combatants).

Escrima has been practiced in secrecy for hundreds of years in the Philippines, and has flourished in the U.S., the land of its adoption. Practitioners of this art are called Escrimadors, and stand as a select few in the scope of martial arts as a whole.