Arnis vs Fencing
Arnis and Fencing side by side, from the facts recorded for each art.
| Arnis | Fencing | |
|---|---|---|
| Country of origin | Philippines | — |
| Type | Filipino martial arts and combat sport | combat sport and Olympic sport |
| Competition at the Olympics | — | Yes – 108 Olympic events recorded |
| Notable practitioners here | 1 | 3202 |
| Top countries of practitioners | United States | France, Italy and United States |
| Equipment and weapons | — | foil, épée and saber |
| Energy use (MET) | — | 6.0 MET (Fencing, general) |
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).
Fencing
Fencing is a combat sport that features sword fighting. It consists of three primary disciplines: foil, épée, and sabre (also spelled saber), each with its own blade and set of rules. Most competitive fencers specialise in one of these disciplines. The modern sport gained prominence near the end of the 19th century, evolving from historical European swordsmanship. The Italian school altered the historical European martial art of classical fencing, and the French school later refined that system. Scoring points in a fencing competition is done by making contact with the opponent with one's sword.
From the Wikipedia article Fencing (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Facts from Wikidata (CC0): Q752190, Q12100. 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.