Escrima Sticks

Escrima sticks are made in many different styles. They can be tradtional skinned or skinless rattan sticks. This is the original fashion. There are also varieties made of very dense and heavy cocobolo wood. Derivitive materials can also be used to make escrima sticks. The very heavy escrima sticks are good for training and real combat. The skinless rattan sticks are good for training combat. The skinned rattan sticks are ideal for stick on stick practice. Filipino Kali is the art of stick fighting.  They use hard, bamboo sticks to strike and defend.    Filipino Kali teaches weapons fighting before bare hand to hand combat as they do in other martial art styles.  For example, a student in any Chinese martial arts is expected to master hand to hand combat before moving on to any form of weapons. Definition: martial art specializing in fighting with two baton-length sticks, with techniques adaptable to empty-hand or edged weapons. The terms "escrima" is thought to originate from the Spanish word "escrime", meaning to fence with a swoard--and is thought to have originated during the Spanish occupation of the Phillipine Islands. Often used synonomously for arnis and kali.