This page is dedicated to
Professor Allen Magdangal of the
Villabrille - Largusa Kali System
and Magdangal School of Kali

  

                              

        

Kali - Escrima - Arnis : These three words describe the highly refined martial  arts of the Philippines. The southern, central, and northern Filipino stickfighting systems with Kali being the oldest and mother art of the three.

These rattan stick and dagger arts also incorporate the use of swords and empty hands is based on theories of angles, distance, timing, rhythm, and is as flawless as a three-piece jigsaw puzzle. You may fight empty handed against a dagger, against a rattan stick, with any pair of each, mixed weaponry or none. If you lose or drop your weapons, your hands, feet, elbows, knees, and forearms will automatically take their place. This flow will allow you to attack your opponent’s limbs if necessary. It is also very common to fight empty handed against a dagger or sword to lock, eject or if necessary return the harmful edge towards your attacker, also known by the slang term "return to sender".

                                                                    Kali 
                    A Cornerstone in Filipino History

In 1521, the first Spanish conquistadors led by Captain Ferdinand Magellan landed in the Philippines only to realize the deadly efficiency of the art of Kali. Captain Magellan quickly lost his life at the hands of Filipino Chieftain Lapu Lapu on Mactan Island, what is now known as the province of Cebu.

During the American invasion several U.S. Marines would also lose their lives in battle in the Philippines, very often by decapitation. Thus the term "leatherneck" was born from a need to wear a large heavy leather neck brace to protect their own necks from the powerful slashes from heavy bolo swords and kris daggers. There was also an upgrade of pistol caliber from .38cal to .45acp to provide the needed power to knock down a charging Filipino Moro Moro warrior. The .38cal pistol just wasn't killing them. Even so, the casualty of life suffered by the Americans was so great that the Marines would need to pull out.

Later in World War II the Japanese would also attempt to overthrow the islands, and gave a very hard fight. So difficult was this battle that U.S. troops now with a common interest in the Philippines, gave aid to Philippines in the fight against the Japanese. And again, the Filipino warrior was on the front line. One of the strategies used by the Filipino soldiers in battle was to form a triangle pointed in the direction of attack. The point man would critically injure a Japanese soldiers on the front line, and the flanks of U.S. Marines and Filipino soldiers would finish the job. That battle was won as well. Even to this day, no armed military from any nation in battle on Philippine soil has ever defeated the fierce Moro Moro warriors or the martial art of Kali on southern Mindanao Island. 


                            ABMAG  Kali  at a Glance

Additional things must be known about Kali, Escrima, and Arnis in that there are literally hundreds of  Filipino stick and knife fighting systems. Each system having similarities, but differ from province to province and family to family. In other words you could study the Filipino Martial Arts forever and never really master every system.

What is taught at Authentic Bela Diri is mixed use of single stick, dagger, and empty hand techniques that flow in and out of sequence. The use of various pieces from different stickfighting systems with no regulation to fixed patterns, boxes, triangles, or circles is what is taught.

Kunci means lock in tagalog and is the grappling part of the system. Optic footwork is used to develope cadence, cause distraction, and add weight and impact to blows. Sipa is a game in the Philipines where you practice kicking a stick into the air with skill, but is also a part of the application of the foot or  paa techniques (pronounced "pah ah" ).

These are just some of the empty hand facts, but what you can do with a stick can also be performed with a dagger, a sword, a newspaper, and so on. This theory can be easily tested in Hubad Lubad drills, the weaving and unweaving of weapons.

The elbows (siko), daga, and sunto (punches), the baston, and tuhud all flow in and out at various times making the flow comprise of an unlimited amount of sequences with or without weaponry.

On the main page of this website there is a short video that shows  Guru Neal in "the flow".

                                      Kali - Dumog Flow

Palasut (angle insertion),  enter on rhythm triangle, deliver songab (eye poke), daga disarm (knife eject), and apply first kunsi lock. Siko (elbow) to extended arm (limb destruction), engage dumog grappling, and deliver tuhud (knee) strike to the lead shoulder. Finish with kunsi submission lock).

The key attack points compromise what is known as the rythym triangle: The head, the hand, and the foot.

Break the rythym triangle...

This is just one way to fight in the Filipino Martial art systems.

On the rght: Guru Neal's first student Ruel Abadam.