The martial art of Pencak Silat has its roots in the Malay world and is most commonly found in the southeast Asian countries of Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei.

History and Philosophy

Pencak Silat is a martial art specific to the Malay World, especially Indonesia and Malaysia. Pencak Silat means “to fight”, or “to fight in self-defence”. Throughout their history, there were many wars between various indigenous tribes and kingdoms of the Malay islands, and expert Silat fighters were well respected and often reached high social and political positions.

Pencak Silat is supposed to have developed from observing and imitating the moves of various animals such as the monkey, the white eagle or the tiger, but its origins are difficult to trace due to a lack of written records. It is widely believed to come from religious hermits from India who travelled to and lived in this region in ancient times. Hence, Pencak Silat adopted a philosophical and near-mystical reputation due to its influence from religious teachers.

Pencak Silat developed rapidly during the 20th century and has become a competition sport in some countries round the world. It is highly prized by the Malay community as a cultural bastion – a martial art that is also a way of life, a sport, a tradition and a means of moral and spiritual education.

Pencak Silat Training

Pencak Silat is a complex system and has a wide range of offensive and defensive moves which are based on a variety of arm strikes, kicks, grapples, throws, footwork and weapon techniques. Silat techniques focus on fluidity and precision of movement, with surprise being a key element to ensure fighting effectiveness. Weapons such as the knife, long and short staff, and the sword are employed in Silat training.

Practitioners in Pencak Silat work on four main aspects of the art – mental and spiritual, self-defence, cultural and artistic and finally the sporting aspect.