history of Pentjak Silat

Pentjak Silat is an Indonesian set of martial arts all with differing styles and schools which started originally as a weapons style of combat. Pentjak Silat has taken a lot from the different styles and schools and its nearby neighbors of China and India, blending those fighting styles into their own.

 Some of the arts are extremely old (1000 years?), and some were developed less than Fifty years ago. The result is a style containing striking and kicking techniques mixed with a variety of weapons techniques.

Amongst the thousands of Indonesian islands, there are hundreds of schools of Pentjak Silat, each with their own identity. Some of these also teach the arts of magic, healing and mystic powers.

Techniques are varied, although kicks are not emphasized much as in other martial arts. Foot work is intricate and sophisticated. The hand and foot techniques are so subtle and complicated that they are often taught individually, then integrated after the student has mastered them separately. There is a good balance between defensive and offensive techniques.

Unlike more stylized martial arts, the practical history of Silat never lets its followers forget that it is better to have a weapon than be unarmed. Swords, knifes, sticks, Okinawan (karate) weapons and more exotic implements are used, sometimes in combination with Poisons.