Krav Maga vs. Eskrima
Quick answer
Krav Maga and Eskrima arose independently, but since the beginning of the twenty-first century some Krav Maga schools have been adding arnis and kali. Krav Maga starts from bare hands and trains defense against a weapon as one of the topics, while Eskrima starts from the stick and knife and derives bare hands from them. Eskrima has competitions in stick fighting and in forms, whereas Krav Maga has no sport competition.
At a glance
| Krav Maga | Eskrima | |
|---|---|---|
| Country of origin | Israel | Philippines |
| Origin | 20th century (present form) | 20th century (present form) |
| Founder | Imi Lichtenfeld | – |
| Contact | Light contact · Full contact (depending on style) | Light contact · Full contact (depending on style) |
| Sparring | Light contact · Full contact (depending on style) | Light contact · Full contact (depending on style) |
| Competition format | No competitions | Mixed |
| Olympic status | Not Olympic | Not Olympic |
| Ranks | Yes (belts) | – |
| Rank recognition | fragmented | fragmented |
| Attire | No specific attire | No specific attire |
| Weapons | Weapons optional | Weapons at the core |
| Forms | No forms | Forms optional |
| Relative cost | medium | medium |
| Techniques in the encyclopedia | – | 2 |
Scales 1–5
Rated for the typical training of an adult beginner in an ordinary club, calibrated across all arts.
What each art is built from
Editorial rating 0–3: how much room each area gets in ordinary training.
History and relationship
Krav Maga and Eskrima arose independently. Krav Maga took shape around Imi Lichtenfeld, while Eskrima is a family of Filipino systems with their own founders. We have not found a direct historical comparison of the two.
- 1932: the Doce Pares club is founded in Cebu.
- 1944: Lichtenfeld teaches knife fighting and defense against it in the Hagana, from 1948 he leads training in the IDF.
- The fifties: Venancio Bacon founds Balintawak in Cebu.
- 1966: Remy Presas begins creating Modern Arnis, Angel Cabales introduces Serrada in Stockton.
- 2009: Republic Act 9850 declares arnis the national martial art and sport of the Philippines.
Eskrima comes from the Spanish esgrima (fencing), the origin of the word arnis is uncertain, and kali is documented only from 1948.
Technique
- The basis is bare hands: fists, hammer strike, elbows, knees, kicks.
- Defense against a knife, stick and firearm as one part of training.
- Targets such as the eyes, throat, groin and knee.
- The basis is the weapon: stick 61–71 cm, dagger 12–14 inches.
- One stick, two sticks, espada y daga, knife against knife.
- Bare hands derived from the dagger and the stick.
- Distances corto, medio and largo.
The number of attack angles differs by school: Balintawak has twelve basic strikes, Pekiti-Tirsia a system of 64 attacks. Sinawali (weaving of two sticks) is documented in Modern Arnis. Krav Maga has no competition rules, and i-ARNIS in full contact penalizes, for example, a thrust to the head or holding the opponent’s stick.
Training
| Krav Maga | Eskrima | |
|---|---|---|
| Training forms | stress drills, scenario training, sparring, assault training in a protective suit | paired drills (hubud-lubud in Doce Pares), stick against stick, anyo in Modern Arnis |
| Sparring | in some organizations up to G2 slow and light | traditionally without contact of the weapon with the body, today protectors or padded sticks |
| Weapon in the lesson | one of the topics | the starting point |
We have not found the ratio of work with and without a weapon or the share of sparring in a lesson for Eskrima, and for Krav Maga the ratio of technique, sparring and conditioning either.
Progression and ranks
| Krav Maga | Eskrima | |
|---|---|---|
| Grades | IKMF patches P, G, E and Master, elsewhere belts based on judo | Modern Arnis 10 or 11 degrees of black belt (Lakan, Dayang), Pekiti-Tirsia specializations A to E |
| Minimum times | IKMF Netherlands: at least 45 lessons to P1 | we have not found them for Doce Pares, Balintawak or Serrada |
| First competition | does not exist | anyo from age 7, full contact from age 13 (i-ARNIS) |
Grades in both arts are divided by organization: in Krav Maga after disputes over succession, in Eskrima because each system arose on its own.
Physical load and risks
- Farkash et al. (Military Medicine 2017): 946 injuries of IDF soldiers, mostly mild, fingers, hands and wrists 31%, shoulder 16%.
- Yaacobi et al. (Cureus 2024, 109 questionnaires): sprains and ligament tears 32.1%, fractures 22%, the data are in places contradictory.
- We have not found an injury study of Eskrima with numbers.
- The i-ARNIS rules for full contact prescribe a helmet with a mask, protectors for the body, forearms and shins, and a padded stick.
Who it suits
| Krav Maga | Eskrima | |
|---|---|---|
| Competition age | competition does not exist | adults from 18 in eight weight classes (i-ARNIS) |
| Women | IKMF Netherlands: Stay Away course | the Dayang title in Modern Arnis, high school girls in Palarong Pambansa since 2009 |
| Higher age | we have not found a program | study protocol for older adults, without results |
Children
| Krav Maga | Eskrima | |
|---|---|---|
| Age of programs | IKMF Netherlands: Kiddies 5–7, Kids 8–11, juniors 12–15 years | we have not found the minimum starting age |
| Children’s training | the youngest play games without exams, Kids partial exams after 2 months | school program of the Department of Education DepEd since 2006 |
| Children’s competition | does not exist | i-ARNIS: anyo 7–12 years, full contact 13–17 years in seven weight classes, Palarong Pambansa with primary school pupils since 2011 |
| Protection | we have not found it | for 13–17 years a shorter padded stick of 27 inches instead of 30 |
| Studies and medical opinions | we have not found them | we have not found them |
Self-defence
- Training builds on strikes and kicks, defense against weapons is one part.
- Verbal de-escalation, 360-degree defense, multiple attackers.
- Partner resistance limited in some organizations up to G2.
- Weapons take precedence, bare hands are derived from the dagger and the stick.
- Modern Arnis arose as a self-defense system, Serrada is practiced mainly at close range.
- Pekiti-Tirsia focuses on bladed, impact and improvised weapons.
We have not found a source on the limits of knife training in Eskrima or a study of effectiveness against a real attack for either art.
Practical use
| Krav Maga | Eskrima | |
|---|---|---|
| Study | 16 female university students (Di Bacco et al., PeerJ 2020): 15 minutes of instruction improved the direct punch and the defensive kick | Lipardo et al. (2022): protocol of a balance study in older adults, without results |
| Fitness | a DVD lesson in 16 people (ACE): 78% of maximum heart rate, 8.8 MET | we have not found a study |
| Professional use | Israeli army and police | the MCMAP of the US Marine Corps draws inspiration, among others, from Eskrima |
Other claims about the military use of Eskrima are not documented. The studies are small or without results, and no general conclusion about suitability can be drawn from them.
Competition
| Krav Maga | Eskrima | |
|---|---|---|
| Sport competition | does not exist, the IDF has held an annual competition since 2013 | fighting (labanan) and forms (anyo) |
| Bout format | not applicable | i-ARNIS: two winning rounds out of three of at most 2 minutes |
| Organizations | not applicable | WEKAF (sources state 1989 or 1987), ARPI 1986 |
| Multi-sport events | no | SEA Games officially 2005, again 2019, not Olympic |
The sets of rules of Eskrima organizations differ, and the format above applies to i-ARNIS.
Gear and costs
| Krav Maga | Eskrima | |
|---|---|---|
| Clothing | IKMF: gray T-shirt and black trousers with a grade patch | we have not found a prescribed outfit |
| Training weapons | the source does not describe training weapons | sticks of rattan or kamagong, in some schools of aluminum or durable plastic, a wooden dagger |
| Protection | mouthguard, groin guard, shin guards, boxing or MMA gloves, protective suit for assault training | head and hand protectors, for full contact a helmet with a mask, protectors for the body, forearms and shins, a padded stick |
| Relative costs | medium | medium |
Availability and organisations
| Krav Maga | Eskrima | |
|---|---|---|
| Organizations | IKMF, KMG, Krav Maga Worldwide, IKMA and others | WEKAF, ARPI, i-ARNIS, Doce Pares, PEKAF, for Modern Arnis IMAFP, DAV, IMAF, WMAA |
| Origin of the split | disputes over succession after 1998 | independent systems, Modern Arnis split after 2001 |
| Recognition of grades | we have not found it between organizations | we have not found it between systems |
In the USA, Eskrima spread from the sixties and seventies (Cabales 1966, Gaje 1972, Presas 1974) and through the Inosanto Academy and Lameco International, which continues the Eskrima of Edgar Sulite.
Switching and combining
- Defense against a knife and stick gets a counterpart in work with a weapon in hand.
- Stick, two sticks and espada y daga as a starting point, not as a threat.
- Footwork and three distances, hubud-lubud and sinawali drills.
- Strikes, elbows and knees carry over from the movements of the stick and dagger to bare hands.
- Add defense against a firearm and improvised objects.
- Stress drills and 360-degree defense.
On the left the transition from Krav Maga to Eskrima, on the right the opposite one. Since the beginning of the twenty-first century some Krav Maga schools have been adding arnis, kali and escrima, and we have not found a specific curriculum or an instructor of both arts.
Philosophy
- Motto according to the IKMF: So that one may walk in peace.
- Avoid violence, attack only as a last resort.
- Modern Arnis: the art within your art, that is, building on the art the student already practices.
- With Balintawak, Bacon wanted to preserve the combat character of arnis.
The sources do not state a common philosophy of Eskrima as a whole, each system has its own aims.
Forms and terminology
Krav Maga has no stylized forms, techniques and scenarios are examined according to grade. In Eskrima, anyo forms are documented in Modern Arnis as solo sets similar to kata, and for Balintawak and Pekiti-Tirsia the sources do not mention them. In i-ARNIS competitions anyo is judged in the categories one weapon, two weapons and sword and dagger, lasts 1 to 2 minutes, and coordination, difficulty, execution and creativity are assessed.
Training culture
- With the IKMF a grade patch on the trousers, elsewhere belts based on judo.
- A military and police branch alongside the civilian one.
- We have not found a bow or a form of addressing the instructor.
- Doce Pares bears its name after the twelve paladins of Charlemagne, the club was founded by twelve eskrimadors.
- Balintawak is named after a small street in Cebu where the club arose.
- In the fifties and sixties challenge matches took place between Doce Pares and Balintawak.
- The Dog Brothers (1986) arose in the Inosanto Academy as the After Midnight Group.
Common misconceptions
- Lapulapu’s men killed Magellan in a fencing duel: some arnisadors claim this, historical evidence contradicts it.
- Arnis was introduced by Bodhidharma: this is a legend.
Which to choose
Frequently asked questions
Is Eskrima taught in Krav Maga?
Not in the original concept. Since the beginning of the twenty-first century some Krav Maga schools have been adding it as arnis, kali or escrima.
Are Eskrima, arnis and kali the same thing?
Republic Act 9850 treats them as names of one art. In reality it is a family of systems (Doce Pares, Balintawak, Modern Arnis, Pekiti-Tirsia) that differ in technique and in grades.
Is either of them competed in?
In Eskrima yes, in fighting with a padded stick and in anyo forms. Krav Maga has no sport competition, and neither is Olympic.