FMA Kali in Baybayin

This is a cropped (detail) portion of a piece I'm working on for next month's exhibit in Christian Cabuay's Online Baybayin Art Gallery: [link]

The blade is a "Gunong". The Gunong is a shorter fighting and/or utility bladed weapon of the Maranao tribes, is commonly referred to as the Kris Knife outside of the Philippines. The Gunong is a thrusting blade that is sometimes used in conjunction with the Kris Sword. It is considered an important side arm and is used in close quarter fighting.

Eskrima or Escrima refers to a class of Filipino Martial Arts that emphasize stick and sword fighting. The term and the art most probably originates from the Spanish word esgrima which is the term for fencing. Other related terms which have entered into common usage include "Kali" and "Arnis de Máno" ("harness of the hand"). Occasionally, the abbreviation "FMA" ("Filipino Martial Arts") is used. Eskrima and Arnis are among the many names often used in the Philippines today to refer to these arts.

The bold baybayin characters on the foreground spells "Kali"; the art of Arnis or Eskrima may have had its roots in an Indonesian fencing style called tjakalele, from which the name Kali may also have sprung. This may also have influenced the different names of Eskrima, such as kalirongan, kaliradman, or pagkalikali in different regions of the Philippines. Also, the word Kali may have came from the Baybayin word "Ka-le-po" ("Kali Sports or Panlarong Kali) or Kalibo. This means that Kalibo, Aklan may have a sprung from the word Kali because many schools in Kalibo are teaching eskrima.