Kali Majapahit

In 1998, Guro Fred Evrard founded his first Kali school in Moorea (French Polynesia) and another one soon followed in Tahiti, teaching Filipino Martial Arts and natural health concepts.

In 2006, a third school was open in Singapore, and one in 2008 in the Philippines, the birth land of Kali.

Guro Fred calls the Kali system taught in his schools: Kali Majapahit. It is a synthesis of several Filipino Martial Arts, and some other fighting arts from the ancient Majapahit area in Southeast Asia.

The Martial Arts styles that have influenced the Kali Majapahit curriculum and spirit are:

- Kali Sikaran (Punong Guro Jeff Espinous)

- Inayan Eskrima (Suro Mike Inay)

- Panantukan (Lucaylucay style)

- Kali / JKD (Inosanto Kali) - Muay Thai

- Jeet Kune Do (Bruce Lee)

- Pencak Silat

- Silat Kuntao

- Hakka styles of Kung Fu (especialy Wing Chun and Phoenix Eye FIst)

- Tabimina Balintawak

Guro Fred doesn’t look at his Kali Majapahit as another “style” of Kali, but rather as a “system”; a way of organizing and teaching the Filipino Martial Arts, with a goal of Health and Personal Development.

The Kali Majapahit system has been worldly accepted by the highest Martial Arts institutions and Masters. Our schools are recognized by the IKAEF (International Kali Arnis Eskrima Federation); the National Council of Kali Eskrima Arnis Masters in Manila and the Fullcon Council of Masters in Baguio (Philippines); by several Silat Masters and groups in Singapore and Malaysia; etc.

In March 2009, Guro Fred Evrard received a Certificate of Recognition by the Philippines National Police Special Forces, as a Tactical weapons and close-quarter combat Instructor.

In January 2010, Guro Fred taught Kali Majapahit to the Philippines Police “Special Reaction Unit” in Manila and to the Philippines Police SWAT team in Baguio

- The word Kali is an old expression of the Visayas and Mindanao for blade-oriented Martial Arts, which is almost not in use any more in the Philippines.

In Mindanao they say the name Kali comes from the Malay sword Keris, which became Kalis, then Kali in the Philippines. Some linguists agree with Dan Inosanto that Kali may be a mix of the words Kamut (hand) and Lihok (movement), which was contracted into to KALI: movements of the hands. On the islands of Pany, Negros and Samar they also call the art: Kaliradman, Kalirongan or Pankalikali. Some claim that Kali is not a real word and that the term is a modern creation (of Floro Villabrille). It's actually the opposite; an ancient term that was forgotten. It's not because we don't speak Latin in France anymore that it has never existed!

Whatever the linguistic origin, this Filipino fighting art is a marriage between local warfare experiences and the arriving of the Malays and their Pencak Silat, but Kali has also been influenced by Chinese (Hakka) Kuntao, Muay Boran (ancestor of Thai boxing), and later, European fencing and Western boxing.

- Majapahit was the name of a great Javanese Empire between the 13th and the 16th century (1293 - 1527). The Majapahit Empire eclipsed the Srividjayan Empire, and spread throughout Southeast Asia and into the Philippines. Those were the golden days of the Malay culture. At its height, the Majapahit Empire included areas that are today Indonesia, Malaysia, Southern Thailand, Cambodia, Brunei and the Philippines. Deeply influenced by a Hindu-Buddhist culture, the Majapahits brought their styles of Pencak Silat to the Philippines where they settled most heavily in the South (Mindanao and Sulu). This is when the Bugis warriors of Sulawesi have introduced the Keris sword (Kris) to the Philippines. It is believed that the islands of Mindanao and Sulu were the birthplaces of Kali during the Majapahit Empire. Ubud, in Bali (indonesia), is probably today's best example of what a Majapahit city looked like.

As for most Filipino Martial Arts, the training concepts of Kali Majapahit are multiple but simple. They are based on several sub-systems:

- Sinawali (Double sticks)
- Solo baston (Single stick)
- Daga (Knife defense)
- Kadena de Mano (closed range empty hand)
- Panuntukan (Filipino boxing)
- Sikaran (Filipino kickboxing)
- Dumog (Filipino wrestling)
- Largo Mano (long range or long sword)
- Espada y Daga (sword and knife)
- Sibat / Bangkow (spear or long staff)
- Trangkada (joint locks and pressure points)
- Silat Kuntao (influenced by the Indonesian Pencak Silat and Hakk styles of Kuntao)

In Kali Majapahit, these concepts are woven together into a complete and very effective system. Any improvement in one aspect of the Art will accelerate progression in the others.

The Kali Majapahit Schools are associated with the IKAEF (International Kali Arnis Eskrima Federation): www.ikaef.com