20 Facts About Pencak silat

Pencak silat is an umbrella term for a class of related Indonesian martial arts.

Pencak silat was practiced not only for physical defense but for psychological ends.

Pencak silat is included in the Southeast Asian Games and other region-wide competitions.

Pencak silat made its debut in the 1987 Southeast Asian Games and 2018 Asian Games, both held in Indonesia.

The term the word Pencak silat comes from the Sundanese Penca, in the western part of Java is the origin of this martial art and has been played by the Sundanese for centuries, until it exists in Central and East Java to be studied.

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In Minang usage, pencak and silat are seen as being two aspects of the same practice.

Pencak silat is the essence of training, the outward aspect of the art which a casual observer is permitted to witness as performance.

In Majapahit, pencak silat became the specialised property of the nobility and its advanced secrets were hidden from commoners.

Not only was pencak silat practiced by the pirates, but new styles were created to combat them.

Today pencak silat is one of the extra-curricular activities taught in Indonesian schools.

Over 150 styles of pencak silat are recognised in Indonesia, although the actual number of existing systems is well beyond that.

All the classical pencak silat weapons are used in silek but the most prominent Minang weapons are the pedang, tumbak, karih, klewang, sabik, payung, kurambik, and various types of knives.

From Srivijaya, pencak silat quickly spread eastward into the Javanese Sailendra and Medang Kingdoms where the fighting arts developed in three geographical regions: West Java, Central Java, and East Java.

Weapons used for all Bugis-Makassar pencak silat include all standard types normally associated with the combative form, but the Cabang, Pisau, and Parang, are used with extraordinary dexterity and skill.

Bugis and Makassarese pencak silat forms take into consideration and give heavy emphasis to the use of their special weapon, The Badik.

Bugis pencak silat patterns contains less than 15 percent leg action, and those which are used are more linearly oriented than circular in nature; simple forward stepping movement is, of course, exempt, as it is definitely circular.

Acehnese pencak silat borrows its foundation from silat Melayu and silek Minangkabau, particularly the arm-seizing techniques of the former and the ground-sitting postures of the latter.

Batak Pencak silat is primarily armed, employing such weapons as the spear, single-edge blade, and a short-bladed knife known as the raut.

Generalizations in pencak silat technique are very difficult; styles and movements are as diverse as the Indonesian archipelago itself.

Pencak silat has several basic steps, known as langkah 8 penjuru or "eight directions of steps".