Kali, also known as Escrima or Arnis, is a Philippine martial art, which was shaped by the turbulent history of the Philippine islands. Early Philippine martial arts were strongly influenced by Indonesian, Chinese and Muslim cultures.

Native Philippine warriors known as the Moros or Igorots developed an effective and lethal fighting system using bladed weapons such as the bolo or barong. In the late fifteen hundreds the Spaniards invaded and eventually conquered the Philippines. The Spaniards suffered such heavy casualties from bolo wielding Philippine warriors, that bladed weapons and martial arts practice was outlawed. In order to preserve their fighting skills, the Filipinos created folk dances by using wooden sticks to mimic the motions of the bladed weapons in combination with intricate footwork. These dances were often performed in front of the Spaniards, who did not realize that the Filipinos were actually training for combat. These folk dances were the ancestors of modern day Kali fighting systems.

The Kali system (Marcial Tirada) taught at the Philippine Martial Arts Institute, is a composite of different Kali styles taught primarily in the Pangasinan region of the Philippines. The primary weapons taught in the Marcial Tirada Kali system are single and double stick, knife, and stick and dagger. In the art of Kali, the practitioner learns weaponry first. This type of training develops awareness, sensitivity, coordination and quick reflex action. The Kali practitioner learns the empty hand after he or she has developed an understanding of the concepts of weapon fighting.

A practitioner of Kali will be taught all ranges of empty hand fighting: boxing; low line kicks, locks, traps, take downs, usage of knees and elbows for close quarter fighting, ground fighting and loose grappling. Kali teaches one to flow and act against single or multiple opponents.