Silat – Martial Arts

Silat is a term that generalizes the forms of martial arts from the Malay Archipelago and the Malay Peninsula in Southeast Asia.

Originally developed in what is now Indonesia, Peninsular Malaysia, southern Thailand and Singapore, it was also practiced in Brunei, the Philippines, Cambodia, Myanmar and Vietnam. It is also related to other Southeast Asian martial arts, such as krabi krabong and eskrima. Practitioners are called pesilat.

It is a martial art of combat and survival that for centuries has evolved within the social culture and tradition of the civilizations of Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei.

Kuntao is the fusion of silat and Chinese styles.

There are hundreds of styles, but the main characteristics of this type of martial art are striking, joint manipulation, bladed weapons, throwing, animal-based techniques, or a combination of these.

It is one of the sports included in the Southeast Asian Games and other competitions across the region. There are training halls, supervised by different national organizations. These are Indonesia's Ikatan Pesilat Indonesia (IPSI), Malaysia's Persekutuan Silat Kebangsaan Malaysia (PESAKA), Brunei's Persekutuan Silat Brunei Darussalam (PERSIB) and Singapore's Persekutuan Silat Singapore (PERSISI).

In Malaysia and Singapore (former British colonies), as well as in Indonesia (former Dutch colony), during the colonization period, practitioners used the martial art as a form of liberation from foreign authorities, as well as in the Philippines (former Spanish colony). , where revolutionary fighters also used martial art in clashes with the Spanish army.

Silat has variations depending on the region where it is practiced, and is thus divided into four groups:

1. Malay silat (silat melayu): created in peninsular Southeast Asia, mainly in Malaysia, Thailand, Brunei and Singapore. It has undergone great diversification and has now formed what is recognized as the source of Indonesian pencak silat.

2. Indonesian silat (pencak silat): originating in Indonesia, better known internationally as pencak silat (pronounced pen-chuck see-lut), pen cack silat, pen chack silat or pentjak silat (Dutch spelling).

Indonesian silat had variations in each region where it was practiced. These variations turned into the different schools and styles of Indonesian silat.

Due to the different ethnic groups and their own languages or dialects, each Indonesian community used a term to refer to this martial art commonly called silat:

1. In Batavia (now Jakarta), the Betawi people referred to the martial art silat as maen pukulan;

2. In West Java the Sundanese people referred to her as maempo or maenpo (short for “maen poho”);

3. Throughout the island of Java, the Javanese people called her pencak;

4. In West Sumatra, the Minangkabau people knew it as silat or silek.

5. There are also on a smaller scale in Indonesia to refer to Indonesian silat, such as parmoca, silat sile, penak, mamenca, among others.

The word pencak silat, in 1946, was chosen as a unifying term for all terms used to refer to Indonesian silat. It was established together with the creation of the “Indonesian Pencak Silat Association”, IPSSI – Ikatan Pencak Silat Seluruh Indonesia.

In 1948, in the city of Surakarta (Solo), on the island of Java, it was determined that the association would be renamed IPSI – Ikatan Pencak Silat (Indonesian Pencak Silat Association), so as not to offend neighboring countries and practitioners of Indonesian silat.

In 1950, the Republic of Indonesia recognized pencak silat as a national sport. However, it only came into force in 1973, when representatives of schools and styles formally agreed to the use of “pencak silat” in official speech.

Pencak is the performance aspect of the martial art, while silat is the essence of fighting and self-defense.

On March 11, 1980, the “International Pencak Silat Federation” was founded in Jakarta, also called Persilat, an acronym for “Persekutuan Pencak Silat Antarabangsa.

3. Philippine silat (eskrima or kali): originating in the Philippines, also known as eskrima or kali.

4. Silat pattani: a style of silat that originates in the Pattani kingdom, located between northern Malaysia and southern Thailand. It is also known as silat tua (lit. “old silat”), because it is believed to be the oldest form of Malay silat.