When I started my Filipino martial arts journey more than a decade ago, one of the techniques I learned in the first few weeks were various four count sinawali drills.  Here’s a video of a 4 count sinawali – Open 4 Count Sinawali Drills | Filipino Martial Arts Arnis Kali Eskrima, Full Circle Fighting System, YouTube, Dec 14, 2022.  I thought it was fairly easy to hold a stick in each hand and follow the pattern.  Right hand swing first, then left hand swing, right hand and left. I was able to mimic the movements with my training partner and we didn’t accidentally hit each other.  After a few minutes of swinging the sticks, my arms were feeling tired but I felt accomplished. 

Then I learned that I needed to refine what had learned.

Refinement included:

• Targeting.  The tip of my stick should aim for specific targets on my training partner. 
• Blocking.  In blocking my training partner’s stick, the middle of my stick should make contact with the middle of their stick to stop them.
• Striking.  To strike through and not stop at the block.  (Note: There are many sinawali drill variations including not striking through. For new FMA practitioners, it is more likely that the drills they are learning are with a focus to strike through.)
• Chambering.  Chambering is the preparation phase before striking.  For this 4 count drill, my shoulders and hips were the home bases.  After striking, my stick ends its movement by reaching one of the bases.  Now the stick is chambered and ready to strike again. Chambering is also important to prevent my sticks and my training partner’s sticks from getting tangled. 
• Hand/Wrist alignment.  Just like punching, it is important to note the direction of my knuckles when striking and keeping my wrist straight.
• Full body movement. My whole body – not just my arms – should be active. My joints – shoulders, hips, knees and ankles – should be supporting the strike. This movement supports generating striking power.
• Footwork. There are basically three types of footwork.  1.  Standing in place which emphasizes the full body movement.  2. Either the male or female triangle to practice evasion and generating striking power. 3. Constant movement – either forward/backward; laterally; and some combination of the two movements.
• Range.  Range is the practice of striking and blocking based on the FMA practitioners distance from each other.  As practitioners become familiar with the sinawali drill, they start incorporating their footwork.  

“Broadly speaking, double-stick training can be categorized into three areas: coordination drills, flow drills and combat techniques.  Each area develops different skills and attributes.”¹  My initial sinawali training would be categorized as coordination drills.   “Coordination drills are practiced to improve your non-dominant side: for 87 per cent of the population that is the left.”²

From Basic to Complex Patterns

Many FMA systems have their own sinawali drills.  Some are similar across many FMA systems and some are unique.   I believe that regardless of the sinawali drills taught at a FMA school, most sinawali drills will teach FMA practitioners: targeting, blocking, striking, chambering, body alignment, footwork and range.

After coordination drills, “…the next stage is to practise flow drills.  These differ from the coordination drills in that they are counter for counter, whilst in the coordination drills you mirror whilst in the coordination drills you mirror your partner’s strikes.  These flow drills start to develop your reactions, because after striking you have to quickly recover with a defense.  Also, they require higher levels of coordination and consequently are taught to the student once the basic Sinawali drills are performed fluently.”³

The advanced practitioner learns combat techniques that could be used in free flow drills and sparring practices. Practitioners can use one stick for blocking and the other for attacking simultaneously. Some of the combat techniques are:

• Sombrada: Meaning “to shadow,” this is a descriptive term for a counter-for-counter drill where a practitioner “shadows” their partner’s movements in a rhythmic fashion.
• Ginunting: Meaning “scissor,” this counter-attacking method mimics the opening and closing motion of scissors. 
• Sonkite: Meaning “thrust,” this technique is used to close the distance on an opponent, allowing the practitioner to create and exploit openings specifically for thrusting maneuvers.
• Wing and Umbrella: These are defensive maneuvers where the “wing” serves as a shielding movement and the “umbrella” acts as a block. When the umbrella block is circled around the head, it provides the practitioner with full protection.

Training Progression

FMA Practitioners normally start with two equal sized long sticks of 28 – 32 inches. Practitioners do not stop sinawali training at learning various patterns with only two equal length sticks. Sinawali training continues with wielding many different weapons. Here’s a partial list of weapons practitioners can train with:

• Short serrada length sticks ~ 21 inches
• Knives – standard grip
• Knives – dagger grip
• Empty hand
• Swords

What if we were to raise the complexity?  Practitioners can train with two different weapons.  A partial list could include:

• One long stick and one short stick
• One long stick and one knife (also known as Espada y Daga)
• One sword and one knife (another example of Espada y Daga)
• One sword and one stick (any length)

Don’t forget to switch hands.  If you were holding the stick in your right hand and the knife in your left hand, switch the weapons so your right hand is holding the knife and your left is holding the stick.

Also, there are many other weapons Practitioners can train with including an axe, dikin, karambit, balisong, tabak-toyok, and etc.

Another way Practitioners can challenge themselves is to change the attack motion.  For example, instead of striking motions use stabbing, thrusting motions.   Or change the angle of attack.  Instead of an angle 1 strike to the head, use a high hook motion.  

Forever a Student

In martial arts, the journey of a practitioner is never finished – there is another deeper layer to uncover.   This is evident in studying sinawali – which is not a series of various drills to memorize but a progressive curriculum designed to refine a FMA practitioner’s skills.

As the practitioner advances from coordination drills to flow drills to combat techniques⁴,  the focus shifts from mere memorization of patterns to the cultivation of second nature responses. A true student of the art understands that in the heat of exchange, there is no time for conscious thought; thinking leads to casualties. To reach this level of reflexive mastery, one must constantly hone:

• Agility, Timing, and Balance: Maintaining a stable yet mobile base through varied footwork.
• Keen Concentration: Staying present in the moment to respond accurately.
• Energy Management: Learning the precise control of speed and power, and discerning the exact amount of force required for a defensive block versus a counter-offensive strike.^5 6

Then Comes Blades. “It should only be after the hands and stick sinawali arts have been fully learned that the more deadly blade sinawalis be attempted.  Blade sinawali movements are much closer, more precise, and much, much quicker, but use the same principles as the hand and stick sets.”⁷

Some critics of sinawali training have described it as being useless or it was “playing patty cake with sticks” or some other non-complimentary description.  If that is all a critic sees, they have missed a lot of the benefits of sinawali training. 

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1. Eskrima Filipino Martial Art, Godhania, Krishna, The Crowood Press Ltd, 2010, p. 91. ↩︎
2. Eskrima Filipino Martial Art, Godhania, Krishna, The Crowood Press Ltd, 2010, p. 91. ↩︎
3. Eskrima Filipino Martial Art, Godhania, Krishna, The Crowood Press Ltd, 2010, p. 105. ↩︎
4. Eskrima Filipino Martial Art, Godhania, Krishna, The Crowood Press Ltd, 2010, p. 105, 108, 110-111. ↩︎
5. Balisong: The Lethal Art of Filipino Knife Fighting, by Sid Campbell, Gary Cagaanan, Sonny Umpad, Paladin Press, 1986, p. 140. ↩︎
6. The Philippines Eskrima Kali Arnis, Canete, Dionisio A., Doce Pares Publishing House Inc., 1993, p. 52. ↩︎
7. Balisong: The Lethal Art of Filipino Knife Fighting, by Sid Campbell, Gary Cagaanan, Sonny Umpad, Paladin Press, 1986, p. 141. ↩︎