The FMA are known as being weapon arts. What about empty hand skills ?
Most people think the FMA are stick fighting arts only. This is a common misconception because the rattan sticks are one of the primary tools used in training. They do use the sticks for combat, but that is not all there is to the arts. The FMA are equally based in weapon skills and empty hand skills (such as kicking, punching, trapping, and grappling). The FMA cover all the fighting ranges, defending against armed and unarmed attacks with whatever is available. What is available maybe the rattan sticks or it could be other types of weapons or just the fighter’s empty hand skills. The FMA teach the interrelationship between empty hand skills and weapons. Therefore the FMA should be considered a complete martial arts system that develops many different types of skills for combat, not just simply a stick fighting art. Keep in mind that there are also other FMA that do not involve the use of stick fighting as a training method. Dumog, Sikaran, and Panantukan are examples of FMA that are b
