No time is wasted learning intricate footwork, or stances. The student is taught to spar at short range, long range, grappling range, and with a variety of weapons. Eskrima is probably one of the only martial arts where sparring against multiple opponents is successfully trained. Eskrima does not over-emphasise one part of the system. Fighting with empty hands is automatically acquired after training with weapons.
Students can also fight with weapons of different size, weight and shapes without any hindrance.
Eskrima is a mixture of hard and soft styles. Styles such as Karate are all hard, while many Chinese styles such as Tai Chi Ch'uan are soft. This mixture of hard and soft styles Eskrima produces a martial art which can be seamlessly integrated into any other martial art without any problems. Many boxers find it hard to use their techniques in Aikido, while someone who practises Karate will find it hard to blend his art with Chi na. Eskrima is often taught outdoors, with shoes, since this is an ideal streetfighting setting.