Arnis vs Bōjutsu
Arnis and Bōjutsu side by side, from the facts recorded for each art.
| Arnis | Bōjutsu | |
|---|---|---|
| Country of origin | Philippines | Ryukyu Kingdom |
| Type | Filipino martial arts and combat sport | budō and jutsu |
| Notable practitioners here | 1 | 1 |
| Top countries of practitioners | United States | Japan |
Arnis
Arnis, also known as eskrima/escrima or kali, is the national martial art of the Philippines. These three terms are, sometimes, interchangeable in referring to traditional martial arts of the Philippines ("Filipino Martial Arts", or FMA), which emphasize weapon-based fighting with sticks, knives, bladed weapons, and various improvised weapons, as well as "open hand" techniques without weapons.
From the Wikipedia article Arnis (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Bōjutsu
Bōjutsu (Japanese: 棒術, lit. 'staff technique') is the martial art of stick fighting using a bō, which is the Japanese word for staff. Staffs have been in use for thousands of years in Asian martial arts like Silambam. Some techniques involve slashing, swinging, and stabbing with the staff. Others involve using the staff as a vaulting pole or as a prop for hand-to-hand strikes.
From the Wikipedia article Bōjutsu (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Facts from Wikidata (CC0): Q752190, Q961126. Practitioner counts are the people with a profile on this site. Data retrieved 2026-10-22.
Data: Wikidata (CC0 1.0); Wikipedia (English) (CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.