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Kali

Kali

Weapons🇵🇭 Philippines

AI-generated content — may contain inaccuracies

Why train this

At a Glance

IntensityMedium
ContactMedium
Beginner FriendlyEasy
Belt SystemVaries by lineage (many use instructor titles like Guro, Tuhon)
Origin🇵🇭 Philippines
CompetitionDog Brothers gatherings, Pekiti-Tirsia tournaments

Who It's For

Self-DefenseTraditionalFitness

What You'll Learn

Double-stick — doble baston — and sinawali (weaving) fighting

Knife — daga — combat and edged-weapon — patalim — awareness

Hubud-lubud (tying-untying) sensitivity and trapping — gunting (scissor) — drills

Empty-hand — mano mano — striking derived from blade mechanics

Pekiti-Tirsia (close-quarters) or Inosanto-Lacoste lineage methods

Your First Class

Watch & Learn

Legends of Kali

Dan Inosanto

Dan Inosanto is a martial arts instructor, actor, and the foremost authority on Jeet Kune Do after Bruce Lee. He is one of only three people certified by Bruce Lee to teach JKD and has dedicated his life to preserving and advancing Filipino martial arts, Silat, and Southeast Asian combat systems.

1936

Dan Inosanto

Remy Presas

Remy Presas synthesized traditional Filipino stick and blade arts into Modern Arnis, making the complex system accessible to international practitioners. He brought Filipino martial arts to the global stage and influenced a generation of FMA instructors from the Philippines to the United States.

1936–2001

Remy Presas

Leo Gaje Jr.

Ray Dionaldo

Related Styles

FMA (Filipino Martial Arts)

Filipino Martial Arts (FMA) — Sining ng Pakikipaglaban ng Pilipinas — is an umbrella term for the weapon-based fighting systems of the Philippines, including Arnis, Kali, and Escrima. Training begins with weapons — baston (sticks) and blades — espada (swords) — and translates to empty hands — mano mano (hand-to-hand).

Arnis

Arnis — also called Arnis de Mano ("harness of the hand") or Modern Arnis — is the pambansang laro (national martial art) of the Philippines, designated as such by law. It focuses on baston (stick) and blade fighting with systematic disarming — disarma — techniques and empty-hand — mano mano — applications.

Arnis

Escrima

Escrima (Eskrima, from Spanish esgrima, "fencing") is a Filipino weapon-based martial art closely related to Arnis and Kali. Visayan in origin, it emphasizes practical baston (stick) and blade combat — with a strong emphasis on corto mano (close-range) fighting.

Jeet Kune Do

Jeet Kune Do ("Way of the Intercepting Fist") was developed by Bruce Lee as a personal combat philosophy. It rejects rigid styles in favor of directness, simplicity, and adaptability, drawing from boxing, fencing, and Wing Chun.

Jeet Kune Do

Pencak Silat

Pencak Silat is the umbrella term for Indonesian martial arts encompassing hundreds of styles. Pencak (artistic performance) and silat (combat application) together feature flowing strikes, devastating sapuan (sweeps), and intricate kuncian (joint locks), often incorporating spiritual and cultural elements.

Popular With

Tactician

There is no such thing as a fair fight.

Tactician

Weaponologist

Give me any weapon.

Weaponologist

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Why train this
IntensityMedium
ContactMedium
Beginner FriendlyEasy
Belt SystemVaries by lineage (many use instructor titles like Guro, Tuhon)
Origin🇵🇭 Philippines
CompetitionDog Brothers gatherings, Pekiti-Tirsia tournaments
Training Goals
Self-DefenseTraditionalFitness
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