Sometimes called “the art of traditional fencing”, escrima is a Filipino martial art where bare handed combat is interchangeable with knife or stick-based techniques.

History and Philosophy

There are many systems of escrima, each with a different history, but most historians agree that escrima is derived from a form of stick-fighting which came from Indonesia and Malaysia.

Before the Spanish conquest of the Philippines during the 16th century, escrima was taught as a recreational activity together with reading, writing, religion and Sanskrit. During Spanish rule, it was suppressed and driven underground and only re-surfaced in dances and plays ironically performed to entertain the Spaniards. Over three centuries of Spanish rule the techniques of escrima changed, incorporating Spanish systems of sword and dagger fighting. The name escrima comes from the Spanish word skirmish.

The ban on escrima was lifted in 1898 when Spanish rule ended and the Americans took over. Competitions and tournaments were held but the art still remained secretive. It was used, however, during the Second World War against the invading Japanese by many Filipino freedom fighters during their guerilla activities.

When the war ended, many Filipinos migrated to the United States, taking escrima with them. Since the 1970s, escrima has grown in popularity and spread throughout the Western world, especially in America.

Escrima Training

Escrima fighting has many different schools and styles but most are focused on the use of weapons, especially sticks, followed by bare handed combat. The wooden escrima stick is about two feet in length and about one inch thick – some techniques use one stick, others use one in each hand. Weaponless techniques like kicking, punching and grappling are taught to supplement the stick fighting. Escrima uses everyday objects as weapons to “level the playing field”.

Body shifting techniques and footwork are vital – in escrima the most important concept is balance. Practitioners also go through conditioning exercises to toughen hands and feet for striking blows.