Learn Pencak Silat

About Learn Pencak Silat Android App

Indonesia, with its myriad of ethnicities and languages, has developed indigenous martial arts, with different variants in different regions. Pencak silat is one such artform: ‘pencak’ referring to the performance aspect, while ‘silat’ to the essence of fighting and self-defence – and for the practitioner, one cannot exist without the other.

Pencak silat spread around the islands, as traders and seafarers moved from Sumatra to Java to Sulawesi and back again, and as time went on the sport took root in different soils. Locals added elements of their own cultures to give the different regional variations we see today.

Alternatively, the South East Asian Games takes place in Singapore at the end of this month with Indonesia taking on its rivals in ASEAN for bragging rights. In the 2013 SEA Games in Myanmar, Indonesia topped the pencak silat medal table, lifting 11 in total, including four golds. For the really keen it may offer an opportunity to meet and greet people actively involved in the sport.

Different styles of Pencak Silat

There is no overall standard for Pencak Silat. Each style has its own particular movement patterns, specially designed techniques and tactical rationale. The richness of terms reflects a wide diversity in styles and techniques across the regions due to the fact that pencak silat has been developed by different masters who have created their own style according to their preferences and to the physical environment and social-cultural context in which they live. For example, West Java, Central Java and West Sumatra.

West Java is inhabited by a specific ethnic group with specific cultural and social norms. For them, pencak silat is part of their way of life or as they say, "the blood in their body". In their language they say "penca" or "menpo" (from "maen poho', which literally means play with trickery) to indicate their main four styles Cimande, Cikalong, Timbangan, and Cikaret and all the schools and techniques which have derived from them. The Sundanese people have always utilized penca/menpo for self-defense and recreation, and only recently have started to use it as a sport in national and regional competitions.