Panantukan is the boxing

Boxing

Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...

 component of Filipino martial arts

Filipino martial arts

Filipino Martial Arts refers to ancient and newer fighting methods devised in the Philippines, the most popular of which are known as Arnis/Eskrima/Kali. The intrinsic need for self-preservation was the genesis of these systems. Throughout the ages, invaders and evolving local conflict imposed new...

, and is known in the Visayas

Visayas

The Visayas or Visayan Islands and locally known as Kabisay-an gid, is one of the three principal geographical divisions of the Philippines, along with Mindanao and Luzon. It consists of several islands, primarily surrounding the Visayan Sea, although the Visayas are considered the northeast...

 as pangamot. It consists of upper-body striking

Strike (attack)

A strike is an attack with an inanimate object, such as a weapon, or with a part of the human body intended to cause an effect upon an opponent or to simply cause harm to an opponent. There are many different varieties of strikes...

 techniques such as punches, elbows

Elbow (strike)

An elbow strike is a strike with the point of the elbow, the part of the forearm nearest to the elbow, or the part of the upper arm nearest to the elbow...

, headbutts and shoulder strike

Shoulder strike

A shoulder strike is a strike with the anterior part of the shoulder. The shoulder strike can be used against the head of the opponent in close positions such as in a clinch or ground fighting, but is generally not considered to have knockout power.-External links:* . Section 3.2 discusses how...

s. It also includes low-line kick

Kick

In combat sports and hand-to-hand combat, a kick is a physical strike using the foot, leg, or knee . This type of attack is used frequently, especially in stand-up fighting...

s and knee strikes

Knee (strike)

A knee strike is a strike with the knee, either with the kneecap or the surrounding area. Kneeing is a disallowed practice in many combat sports, especially to the head of a downed opponent...

 to the legs, shins, and groin, but some schools group this kicking aspect into the art of pananjakman, which relies on kicking and only uses the arms defensively. Some Western instructors teach panantukan as a separate martial art, but in the Philippines

Philippines

The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

 it is accepted as a part of eskrima

Eskrima

Eskrima is the umbrella term for the traditional martial arts of the Philippines, which emphasize weapon-based fighting with sticks, knives and other bladed weapons, and various improvised weapons...

.

Panantukan is not a sport, but rather a street-oriented fighting system. The techniques have not been adapted for safety or conformance to a set of rules for competition, thus it has a reputation as "dirty street fighting". Common targets include the biceps

Biceps

Biceps may refer to:*Biceps brachii muscle, a muscle located on the inside of the upper arm*Biceps femoris muscle, one of the hamstring muscles of the back of each thigh*Biceps , a point in a metrical pattern...

, triceps, eyes, nose, jaws, temples, groin, ribs, spine, and the back of the neck.

Some Filipino martial artists contest that the term Panuntukan be used since it came from the root word suntukan.

Gunting

Moves which immobilise the limbs are called gunting

Gunting

Gunting is the component of Filipino martial arts that focuses on destroying the opponent's ability to wield their weapon. This term derives from the word scissors in Filipino, Malaysian and Indonesian...

 (scissors) techniques because of the scissor-like motions used to stop an opponent's limb from one side while attacking from the other side. Panantukan focuses on countering an opponent's strike with a technique that will nullify further attack by hitting certain nerve points, bones, and muscle tissue to cause immediate partial paralysis of the attacking limb. Common limb destructions include guiding incoming straight punches into the defending fighter's elbow to shatter the knuckles (secoh), or striking the incoming limb in the biceps to inhibit the opponent's ability to use that arm for the remainder of the fight.

Dumog

Panantukan borrows moves from dumog

Dumog

Dumog is the Filipino style of wrestling while standing upright and refers to the grappling aspect of Filipino martial arts. The word dumog is most commonly used in Mindanao and the Visayas, while the word buno is used in Luzon, specifically in the Southern Tagalog-speaking provinces as far south...

 (upright wrestling) which twist and turn the opponent's body with the goal of exposing a more vulnerable area, such as the neck, jaw and temples. This is accomplished by the use of arm wrenching, shoving, shoulder ramming, and other off-balancing techniques in conjunction with punches and kicks. For example, the attacker's arm could be grabbed and pulled downward to expose their head to a knee strike.

Angles

The angles outlined in kali

Eskrima

Eskrima is the umbrella term for the traditional martial arts of the Philippines, which emphasize weapon-based fighting with sticks, knives and other bladed weapons, and various improvised weapons...

 are incorporated to evade and parry incoming strikes and to attack the opponent from an outside angle where they are less able to defend themselves. Constantly switching the fighting lead allows for the exploitation of attack while maintaining flow. The fighter will often use a finishing strike or kick in a combination to step into the new lead. Footwork is of utmost importance for these techniques, so much time is invested into practicing stick-fighting drills and combinations.

Speed, flow, and rhythm

Panantukan emphasizes speed in striking, with the intent of overwhelming the adversary with a flurry of attacks. Indefinite combinations of different strikes are strung together continuously to make successful defense a relative impossibility. Many strikes in panantukan are said to be performed on "half-beats", or in between the major strikes of a combination, so as to disorient and overwhelm an opponent, increasing the opportunity for more devastating attacks. An example of this could be performing a swift slap or eye strike after throwing a jab with the same hand in a standard jab-cross-hook combination; the eye strike both disrupts the defense against and masks the incoming cross. Additionally, low-line kicks are often executed between boxing combinations to further injure and disorient the opponent.

Weaponry

While panantukan is designed to allow an unarmed practitioner to engage in both armed and unarmed confrontations, it easily integrates the use of weapons such as daggers, wooden slivers, and palmsticks. These weapons can render panantukan's techniques fatal but do not fundamentally change how the techniques are executed. Weapons in panantukan tend to be small, easily concealed and unobtrusive. Daggers like the claw-shaped karambit are often preferred. Many of panantukan's unarmed techniques and movements were derived from the weapon-based forms of eskrima

Eskrima

Eskrima is the umbrella term for the traditional martial arts of the Philippines, which emphasize weapon-based fighting with sticks, knives and other bladed weapons, and various improvised weapons...

. Panantukan minimises contact with the opponent, as it is not known whether or not they are armed. As such, parries and deflections are preferred over blocks

Further reading

• A Guide to Panantukan, the Filipino Boxing Art, Rick Faye, Cambridge Academy Publishing, 2000