In escrima, arnis and kali weapons fighting, every limb is used in addition to the stick or knife that the fighter is wielding. A description of juego todo (full contact stickfighting match without armor using live sticks) practiced in the Philippines as well as in Filipino farming communities in Hawaii and California during the first half of the last century is The Filipino Martial Arts, and it reads, “Escrima stick fighting matches were full-contact bouts without the aid of armor, which resulted in death or permanent injury to the participants. They usually use the stick in the right hand and punched with the left hand. The use of the elbow, knee and head were common at close range combat. Combat grappling-like techniques [standing or on the ground] were applied. These included throws, trips, sweeps, take downs, chokes, strangulation, dislocations and locks on the fingers, wrists, elbows, shoulders, ankles and knees. The feet were used for kicking at the low level.”

Because of their locations, it is but logical that hands are used for hitting the high line area while the feet are utilized for striking the low line area. This article will just focus on the use of kicks in Filipino martial arts weapons fighting. Sipa, sikad and tadyak are Filipino words for kick.

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