Frequently asked questions:
 
Q: How is Kalis Ilustrisimo different from other FMA's?
A: Kalis Ilustrisimo is blade-based, very technical, employing principles of physics and kinesthetics along with an excellent insight into human psychology in conflict situations. Other FMA's are stick-based and, in fact, call themselves "stick-fighting" systems. They are typically less technical and rely on furious flurries designed to fend off attacks. Some FMA's have taken a ride on the "Kali" bandwagon, now taken to mean "blade-based" and translate stick into blade.
Q: How is Kalis Ilustrisimo similar to other FMA's?
A: The older FMA's are very similar to Kalis Ilustrisimo differing only slightly in some applications. Master Leo Giron's system is an example. These older FMA's were blade-based and used sticks to reduce injury in practice. The newer FMA's adopted the stick as the main weaponand evolved a different approach to fencing usage.

The older, blade-based FMA's combined the original Malay sword-work, characterized by flexibility, subterfuge and close-in work with Spanish Martial Fencing. This type of fighting refined sword-work to mathematically precise movements formalized for organized warfare. The resultant mix, as in Kalis Ilustrisimo, combines the best of the two systems, East and West.

There are many other FMA's similar to kalis Ilustrisimo but they have remained family heirlooms. Tatang's family's fighting fame put Kalis Ilustrisimo unto center-stage along with some mentioned above.
Q: How did Tatang develop his art?
A: Tatang's art was his family system. While far away from his family, he learned more of the same system from a Pedro Cortez. Even the Tausog sword-work he learned as an adopted Muslim was part of the same system. There are many techniques employed in Kalis Ilustrisimo which can be recognized in other old FMA's. This would this would mean that at a certain point in the past, Kalis Ilustrisimo or something very similar to it was generic FMA. Evolution into the common FMA forms seen today was driven by cultural and commercial forces.

Tatang did not therefore develop his art out of thin air. He simply preserved an old martial fencing system. Of course he would have a bearded sword master who would teach him in dreams.
Q: Where did the word "Kali" come from?
A: Leo Gaje seems to have corroborated with Dan Inosanto in spreading the use of the word. The word "kali" was introduced to Tatang by Mike Belzer. Tatang originally described his system as "escrima". In fact, the first formally registered name of the system was Olisistrimo (from "olisi" meaning "stick" and "Ilustrismo"). After Belzer's suggestion, it became and remained Kali Ilustrisimo until its change to Kalis Ilustrisimo. "Kalis" means means "sword".

"Kali" to mean "sword" or "swordwork" is not found in any of the 87 or so Philippine dialects. "Kali" in the Ilocos region, for example, can mean "eagle" or a "hole in the ground". The commonly accepted idea that "Kaliradman" and "Kalirongan" are word cognates of "Kali" ignore the fact that "Ka" as found in the above words are prefixes used to denote "a state of being". The root words of the above conjugations are "Liradman" and "Lirongan" respectively and certainly not "Kali" by any extension. The closest word; "Pagkali-kali" is descriptive of the locked talon-jousts of eagles in mid-air, similar to swordsmen locked in combat. "Pagkali-kali", however, is so obscure and localized that it cannot be used as the basis of a description for a fighting system used almost throughout the Philippine islands.

While Hindu influences lie just beneath the veneer of the Christianity Filipinos are so proud of, the Hindu pantheon is not within the remains of Hindu / Sanskrit root words in the Philippine languages and dialects. "Kali" to mean "sword-work" simply did not exist until it was coined by modern FMA exponents.

"Kalis", on the other hand, means "sword" and specific movements of the blade. Its etymology can be traced from the Indo-European Turkish "Kilij" (a saber) to the Indo-Malay "Keris" or "Kris". Its usage is extant in at least half of the Philippines.
Q: What is Arnis, Eskrima and Kali?
A: " Arnis" comes the Spanish "Arnes" which means "Harness" in English. It denoted the various means by which armor was strapped on. In the plays presented by the Spaniards to show the conflict with the Moors (Moros), actors donned "Arnes" and acted-out the sword fights. In the corruption of meaning and words so common in Filipino, "Arnes" or "Arnis" cam e to mean "swordplay".

When the Spaniards prohibited Filipinos from wearing swords, the Filipino gentry took to the cane. Thus sword-work evolved into stick-fighting which became known as "Arnis". The French stick-fighting art called "La Canne" evolved similarly, when, in 1890 duelling with swords was prohibited and formal martial fencing instruction declared illegal.

"Escrima" or "Eskrima", from the Spanish word "Esgrima" meaning "Fencing", was the word used for "swordplay". The older, blade-based FMA's used this term. In time "Arnis" and "Eskrima" became interchangeable terms used to describe stick-fighting. It is ironic that now "Kali" is taken to mean "sword-work" while "Eskrima" or "Escrima" which used to mean "sword-work" is now taken to mean "stick-fighting".