Useful Notes / Silat

Following

Silat is a an umbrella term for the indigenous martial arts of Southeast Asia, roughly like kung fu is for their Chinese equivalents. There are hundreds of silat styles across countries like Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei and many others, each with its own characteristics, although most of them have in common an emphasis in varied strikes, complex forms and stances, standing joint locks used in conjunction, and usage of weapons. The main two variations of the art are those practiced in Indonesia and Malaysia, called respectively pencak silat and silat melayu, the former of which is the most usual and is included in the Asian Games.

The term silat is of unknown origin, with theories ranging from the Malay word sekilat ("lightning-quick"), the Sanskrit sila ("principle"), the Chinese sila ("hand push", like the "pushing hands" concept of kung fu) or the Arabian silah ("weapon" or "connection"). As a fighting style, it is likely related to the krabi krabong practiced in Thailand and the Eskrima practiced in the Philippines, which also employ weapons and complicated hits. In fact, certain southern regions of both countries have their own silat styles as well.

The art employs a variety of weapons, like the kris (wavy-bladed dagger), parang or golok (machetes), celurit (sickle), karambit (a small curved blade), tongkat (staff), and many others. It doesn't have a proper uniform, although many modern schools have adopted trousers and traditional Malayan tunics complete with sashes, headscarves or colored belts like the ranks innovated in Judo. Practitioners of the art are called pesilat.

Nowadays, the Indonesian name pencak silat is commonly used for sport silat competitions, regardless of their origin, with the biggest governing body being the International Pencak Silat Federation (IPSF, Indonesian: Persekutuan Pencak Silat Antarabangsa or PERSILAT for short). Its competition sparring (Tanding) usually requires fighters just to have a chest protector over their uniforms and go bare knuckle and bare footed, with its rules not allowing any strikes to the face, but almost anywhere else excluding the groin and also allowed for sweeps and scissors takedowns, however rules changes in 2021 have now allowed for grabbing the uniform, takedowns using the arms (both single and double leg), Flying elbows (to the body only), downward elbow strikes to the back, throws of all kinds, calf stomps, standing joint locks (both arms and legs) and even a single punch or soccer kick to the body on a fallen opponent.

Pencak silat was introduced in martial arts films in the 2000s by director Gareth Evans, who showcased artists like Iko Uwais and Yayan Ruhian to international stardom.

In media

Films — Live-Action

• The Accountant saw star Ben Affleck train in pencak silat for the film's fight choreography.
• Headshot, as another Iko Uwais film, of course features plenty of bone-crushing silat fights.
• John Wick: Chapter 3 sees silat masters Yayan Ruhian and Cecep Arif Rahman face off against Keanu Reeves.
• Man of Tai Chi features a silat fighter (Uwais) among the many contestants in an underground fighting tournament.
• Merantau, starring Uwais, was the first martial arts film to showcase silat in plenty.
• The Raid: Redemption and its sequel, also starring Uwais, features silat in plenty both by friends and foes.
• Raya and the Last Dragon features some pencak silat influence in its fight scenes.
• Triple Threat sees Uwais' silat alongside Tony Jaa's Muay Thai and Scott Adkins' Taekwondo, among others.

---