Kali? What is the origin of the word?

[Carol]

Going about online, I've seen a few different proposed sources for the orgin of the word Kali.

One is that it was derived from the Hindu deity named Kali. Another suggests it was derived from the sword called the kalis, another suggests it was taken from tjakalele - the Indonesian word for fencing.

Is there a believed source for the word or is it largely speculation?

 

[kroh]

Most of the different people I talk to about that word have told me that the etymology is all screwed up and sideways. Pretty much, everything that I have seen on the sbject is that the word is of foreign origin and was not really used until recently to describe the Filipino Martial Arts. In fact...All of the words used to describe many of the disciplines that we see (Arnis, Escrima) are of Spanish origin.

Here is a neat take on things...

http://martialtalk.com/forum/showpost.php?p=615149&postcount=1

Keep us posted on what you find out.
Salamat,
Walt

 

[Brian R. VanCise]

It all points to Dan Inosanto as popularizing the word kali. Maybe some of his teachers used it before he started using it but this is the common belief that I have come across. Now a few more Filipinos are using it but it is probably not nearly used as much as escrima and arnis. Recently a friend of mine who was in the Phillipines said that if you say arnis or escrima then people will have an idea of what you are talking about but if you say kali then they will have no idea what you are saying. (that was his experience and severly others have related this to me as well)

I