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BeyondDojo

Discipline hub

Silat

Strikes, sweeps, locks and blades in one flowing system – with hundreds of regional styles.

Origin
Malay Archipelago (Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore, southern Thailand, the Philippines)
Region
Southeast Asia
Founded
centuries-old; international federation 1980
Category
Hybrid
Photograph from around 1915 of two Minangkabau men in traditional dress practising silat in a low stance, watched by villagers on Sumatra's west coast.
Minangkabau men practising silat on the west coast of Sumatra, c. 1915. Photograph by Jean Demmeni, KITLV collection, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

Silat is the collective name for the martial arts of the Malay world. Hundreds of styles exist, from village systems passed down in families to the sport format pencak silat, organised internationally since the founding of PERSILAT in 1980. UNESCO listed Indonesian pencak silat and Malaysian silat as intangible cultural heritage in 2019. Most styles mix strikes, low sweeps and takedowns, joint locks and weapons, often with a strong cultural and artistic dimension.

Character

  • Low stances and sweeps: Taking the opponent's base is a core strategy.
  • Strikes: Open hand, elbows, knees and kicks, frequently from unexpected angles.
  • Locks and takedowns: Flowing out of a caught limb.
  • Weapons: Kris, machete (parang/golok), stick and sarong in many systems.

Who is it for?

Anyone who wants an art that is at once practical, athletic and cultural. Sport pencak silat offers competition in fighting and artistic categories; traditional schools focus on self-defence and form. Check which side a school leans towards before joining.

Further reading: Silat on Wikipedia

Silat

History