Silat

From MartialTalk Online Martial Arts Encyclopedia Project

Pencak Silat, Bersilat or Silat ("fighting by using techniques of self-defence") is an Asian martial art encompassing quite literally hundreds of alirans (styles) from the Malay World particularly Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, and Singapore. Other forms are found in Thailand and the Philippines. It is estimated that there are hundreds of alirans (styles) and thousands of schools. Silat is syncretic, developed from local traditions and the foreign cultures which have influenced the Archipelago including Europe, the Middle East, China and India. Some systems are named after founders or mythical events and beings. Others such as "Harimau" (tiger) and "Elang" (Eagle) are derived from animal traits or affects in much the same way as Chinese animal forms.

A note on terminology: The official language of the area, known as Bahasa Indonesia or Bahasa Malaysia is a trade language which was formalized into a tool for nation-building in much the same way that Kiswahili is no African person's tribal language but serves as a trans-tribal common tongue. Dialects abound, and local languages are still widely spoken as one would expect in a huge archipelago. Pronunciation and words may not be consistent from one side of a large island to another let alone across the breadth of the region. The precise terminology you the reader have learned may not be precisely the same as someone else's. One may take some comfort in the fact that there is more variety and nearly as much confusion among native speakers in different areas.

There are four main aspects to Pencak Silat:

Mental and Spiritual:
Silat has traditionally considered moral character and the inner life to be important and is often used as a vehicle for personal growth. Some styles are strongly aligned with particular religious traditions. Others are more ecumenical.
Self Defense or Bela Diri:
Many practitioners take up the Art because of its reputation as a practical means of personal protection
Cultural and Artistic or Seni Budaya:
In many parts of the world various movement traditions such as exercise, dance, and martial arts are connected. The Malay World is no exception. The same set of Silat movements done with a different emphasis and styling can be a dance or a fighting method. Rhythm is important to both phases of the Art which are often practiced to percussion or other musical accompaniment.
Sport or Olaragha:
In recent decades a competitive aspect has been added to Silat. It includes forms for one, two or teams (Tunggal, Ganda, and Regu). There is also sparring known as Pertandingan literally Competition.
The development of Silat as a sport has not been without controversy. Many practitioners (pesilat) believe that it has diluted the famous efficacy of the Art and prefer a more traditional combat- or spiritually-oriented model. Others note that it has increased Silat's stature worldwide and hope that it will lead to the adoption of Silat as an Olympic sport.

Silat training varies widely from region to region and style to style. Striking including all of the body's natural weapons is universal. Some systems like the popular Cimande make a specialty of intense conditioning of the forearms and shins until they are capable of breaking an opponent's bones. Other techniques include throws, wrestling-style takedowns, sweeps, choking and joint destruction or rikisan. Ground fighting is a specialty in many alirans, most famously the Sumatran Harimau styles. Harimau stylists develop exceptional leg strength and flexibility which allows them to fight effectively from the ground against standing or prone opponents and to transition quickly between levels.

Silat also makes extensive use of weapons, particularly blades. These range from the short knife or pisau to the characteristic wavy bladed dagger known as the keris, various machete-like blades - golok, parang, kelewang, pedang and so on - to staves, clubs, spears, whips, shields, projectiles and the cabang, a weapon similar to the Indian trisula or Okinawan sai. Local specialties and a bewildering variety of variations abound. The use of weapons is integral to the Art. Some pesilat (Silat players) have a saying "There is no Silat without the knife." Defense against weapons is a fundamental part of a student's training, and there is an implicit assumption that any opponent is potentially armed. This has strongly influenced the Art. Ground fighting, for instance, tends to stress mobility and immediate damage rather than the tight grappling of Ju Jutsu or submission wrestling.

Structured, patterned movement is characteristic of Pencak Silat. A common method of training, particularly in ground fighting is to move fluidly from one position (sikap) to another until one can move between them fluidly, at random and with authority. The motions and root movements are known variously as gerak-gerak and dasar. The goal is never to be caught in a static posture or be tied to a particular sequence but to move constantly and be able to attack spontaneously whenever an opportunity presents itself.

Another portion of the program is the juru pl. juru-juru. In some traditions they are kata-like forms. In others they are series of techniques done with a partner. Commonly they are collections of dasar-dasar which encapsulate the curriculum (particularly the upper body curriculum), its principles and qualities of movement. Langka-langka are the lower body equivalents. Again, terminology varies by style and geography. They are combined to create whole body flow, dasar pasan.

In post-Independence Indonesia an official quasi-governmental body called IPSI - Ikatan Pencak Silat Indonesia. Its international affiliate PERSILAT - Persekutuan Pencak Silat Antarabangsa - is responsible for the relations with non-Indonesian schools and practitioners. IPSI has been responsible for the growth of competition and standardization of forms into a loose national style. Still, many or most schools of Silek and Silat remain fiercely independent and do not participate in IPSI/PERSILAT events.

The most recent World Championship took place in Penang, Malaysia in 2002, the same year that it was first chosen as an exhibition sport for the Asian games in Busan, Korea.

The first non-Asian World Championship was in Vienna in 1986.

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List of Silat styles

This list is not comprehensive. We look forward to the contributions of pesilat in bringing their alirans to light.

Silat USA- aims to educate, promote and share the 'Ways of the Spiritual Warrior' through the training in, and experience of, 'Seni Silat Haqq: Spiritual Martial Arts' & 'Silat Tuo: Martial Arts of Sumatra, Indonesia'
International Silat Federation - "The Silat Martial Arts of Sumatra, Indonesia" Some ISF Silat systems taught include: Silat Tuo (Silek Tuo)-Seni Silat Haqq-Silat Satria Muda-Silat Minang-Harimau Silat-Minangkabau Silat-Kumango Silat
Tapak Suci - Putera Muhammadiyah is a well-known silat aliran. It's spreading over the world especially through Indonesian immigrants in Netherland or through Muhammadiyah branches all over the world. The typical style of Tapak Suci are red uniforms and Islamic way of philosophy. Nowadays, The Perguruan Tapak Suci is one of the biggest perguruan in Indonesia.
Persatuan pencak silat inti ombak//Inner wave Pencak Silat - Indonesian Pencak Silat base on mataram and madura style teach internal and external aspect of human body by Guru Daniel Prasetya
Persatuan Gerak Badan (also knows short as PGB or Bangau Putih) was founded in 1952 in Bogor and has branches in Europe, North America and the Middle East
Silek Tuo and Silek Harimau - traditional old styles from the Minangkabau tribe in Western Sumatra meaning "Old Silek" and "Tiger Silek"
Pencak Silat Pertempuran - A silat style developed by the American pesilat Sean Stark. It is composed of Pencak Silat Pamur and Sterlak Silat primarily. Other Indo-Malay silat influences include: Seni Bela Diri Silat Jati Wisesa, and Raja Monyet Silat. It translates to Combat Silat.
Perguruan Pencak Silat Padjadjaran Nasional - Traditional west-javanese styles are combined in this aliran, the European branche is represented by Eric Bovelander.
Pencak Silat Gerakan Suci - An evolution of Pencak Silat Mande Muda
Silat Mubai or Silat Sharaf - Muslim Silat created by Hussein Odum, a resident of Taiwan. Note: Silat Mubai is somewhat controversial because of its founders support for "martyrdom operations" in Afghanistan, Iraq and Israel.
Silat Zul Fikari - Martial practice of the Qadiri-Rifai Tariqa created primarily by Mushtaq Ali Al-Ansari under the direction of Shaykh Taner Ansari. It draws from several styles of Silat as well as some Eskrima, Kalaripayittu, traditional Apache combatives and Persian martial arts.
Pukulan Bongkot - a Silat style
Maphilindo Silat - a Silat style founded by Dan Inosanto to honour his Silat teachers. It is composed of styles from Malaysia (Ma), the Philippines (Phil) and Indonesia (Indo).
Pukulan Pentjak Silat Serak (or Sera), a system of West Javanese Silat. Some accounts say that it was founded by Pak Sera of the Badui tribe. Others say that it is a Javanese style heavily influenced by Chinese martial arts. Several regional variations exist.A Site by one of Guru Stevan Plinck's students about Sera
Soempat Silat- Pak Tisari Majoeki, founder, developer of the curved rattan stick, Lineage holder Maha Guru "Pak Vic" de Thouars. Note: There are some doubts as to the existence of Pak Majoeki, and the curved stick is a traditional weapon in Indian martial arts.
Bukti Negara, a modern, modified style of Sera designed by the Dutch-Indonesian Pendekar Paul de Thouars. The name Bukti Negara means "witness to a nation," reflecting Pendekar de Thouars' gratitude to his adopted home of America, and to show that Bukti Negara is the art that is the witness to Serak.
Kuntao Silat combines several styles of Kuntao and Silat, as taught by Willem de Thouars.
Perisai Diri - An ideal martial art for those who want to learn both a unique and effective system of self-defense. Established since 1955 in Indonesia by Pak Dirdjo.
Cimande- One of the most wide-spread and influential styles of Silat. It comes from Western Java. Cimande as we now know it is said to have been founded by Embah Kahir in the late 18th century. It is named after the Cimande river and is still practiced as a local specialty in the area including the village of Tarik Kolot.
Pukulan Cimande Pusaka- A style of Cimande descended from Mas Jut through the Dutch Indonesian Willie Wetzel, taught by Pendekar William Sanders. This style includes the original Embah Kahir arts from Tarik Kolot village.
Seni Gayung Fatani - a Malaysian style originating from the Fatani Province in Southern Thailand. One of the four reputedly largest silat school of Malaysia.
Gayung Malaysia - One of the four reputedly largest silat school of Malaysia.
Silat Cekak - A different kind of silat. It is more to defensive-type of silat because it applies 99% defending technique and only 1% attacking technique. This silat do not have any Bunga, Langkah Gerak or Kuda-kuda. The movements or counter-attacks of this silat is quite unpredictable because it doesn't apply Kuda-kuda in its movements. One of the four reputedly largest silat school of Malaysia.
Silat Lincah - One of the four reputedly largest silat school of Malaysia.
Silat Teralak Asli - One of the lagest silat in Kelantan.A different kind of silat because its more specific in 'tapak' to defend the skill and very fast movement to step forward when attacking and defending.Its more to 'terlatah' in counter-attack.
Pencak Silat Mande Muda - Created by Uyuh Suwanda in 1951 and continued by his son Herman, Mande Muda is a composite system from West Java. Composed primarily of Cimande, it contains elements of over 20 systems, principally Cikalong, Syahbandar, Harimau, Pamonyet, Kari, Madi, and Serak.