It's roots can be traced back to the 9th century Sri Visayan Empire of South East Asia. One of the accepted historical versions has it that 12 Datus of Borneo brought kali to the Maharlikas (Southern Philipines).

According to Guro Dan Inosanto Kali is a contraction of two words Kamut (hand) and Lihut (motion). Tuhon Leo Gaje believes that the word Kali comes from the sword "kalis", and from the Hindu God of destruction, Kali.

Kali is a weapon based training method and uses long and short rattan cane to replace the swords, knives, and spears in basic training. As skill increases so does the use of real weapons. There are 12 categories of weaponry in Kali from single and double sword to projectile weapons, healing arts, as well as empty hand techniques.

The Academy supports two training streams, the Pekiti Tirsia system of Tuhon Leo Gaje Jr. and the Lacoste-Inosanto system of Guro Dan Inosanto.

Philip Gelinas began his training in the Filipino Martial Arts in 1981. He has been elevated to the rank of Mandala-Tuhon by Grand Tuhon Leo Gaje is a Full Instructor under Guro Dan Inosanto and holds the rank of teacher in DBMA. In addition he won the Grand Championship at the International Kali Grand Championships in Nashville, Tn. in 1988 and is an original member of the Dog Brothers (Tier One) stickfighting group appearing in their highly successful video tape series Real Contact Stick Fighting.