About Silat
About Silat
From the chronicles…
Pencak Silat or Silat is a form of martial arts. It originated from the Malay Archipelago that consists of Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei.
Due to its diverse origin and also evolution through the years, there are many Silat styles practiced today. However, Pencak Silat has four main aspects in general:
- Artistic
- Self-Defence
- Full Contact Sparring
- Mental-Spiritual
The Artistic aspect of Pencak Silat comprises of choreographed silat movements which cover a combination of skill, agression and aesthetic value. In any Pencak Silat competitions, there will be an artistic category consisting of Tunggal (Individual), Ganda (Doubles) and Regu (Group of 3).
The Self-Defence element in Pencak Silat is a valuable skill taught to fend off attackers during an assault. It is not only capable of inflicting pain as deterrence, but is also able to cause serious injuries such as broken bones or even death; depending on the level of expertise of a silat exponent.
On the other hand, Full Contact Sparring is the sporting aspect of Silat. This is where exponents get to apply the Silat skills they have picked up and also monitor their performance and development in Silat by competing with one another. Full Contact Sparring is always the highlight in any Pencak Silat tournaments. In the current international competition rules, every match will consists of three rounds of two minutes each.
Last but not least, Mental-Spiritual aspect of Pencak Silat is another important feature which focuses on one’s internal strength. Besides physical and mental fitness, discipline is the key to build up internal strength. Patience is also essential at this stage as there are many challenges to be faced and sacrifices to be made. One has to be spiritually calm as well, as a chaotic and messed up mind will not be able to grab hold of what is learnt.
~ True strength is the flower of wisdom, but its seed is action. ~
