After over thirty years of involvement in the martial arts in general and silat and arnis in particular, I have seen the various fighting arts emerge from behind the scene of anonymity to take their place in the main stream of the world's activities. We now see karate, kung fu, judo and arnis used in the movies to give the scenes more sensationalism. Religious orders see the value in martial arts as an effective tool for developing the spirit. Social scientist have acknowledged the martail arts is an effective instrument for the development of self-discipline in rebellious youth. As the martial arts becomes more open, the intermingling of techniques and philosophies becomes more prevalent. This inter-change of ideas has been responsible for the refinement of various arts.
   It is my philosophy and personal conviction the each art has something to contribute to the total. It is with this in mind that I present this first volume on Arnis. This volume is not intended to be an elaborate or detailed text. It is merely an introduction to thirty six years of practice in the fighting arts. To share thirty six years, I have discovered that the key to effective application of ones knowledge in this art lies in SIMPLICITY.

A. Jalmaani