What makes silat, silat?
- Guru Chaz
- May 26
- 7 min read
What is Pencak Silat? This is a difficult question to answer as there are hundreds of different styles that claim the name throughout Nusantara ; the region of southeast Asia that runs from Thailand out almost to Papua New Guinea that was once dominated by the Majapahit empire during the 13th-15th centuries. The name Pencak Silat is new, coined in the late 1940’s using the two most common names Pencak and Silat. The arts that comprise the Pencak Silat family go by many other names such as Silek, Maenpo, Pencak, and Kali. The modern nation-states that comprise South-East Asia are themselves a composite of many different cultures, each with different languages, tribal groups, beliefs, and fighting arts. They arts look different, but have common roots. If you spend some time on the internet looking at the martial arts of the Sunda people of west Java, you can see Maenpo’s rapid punches, the locks and throws of Cikalong, or the hard body conditioning and striking in Cimande. Compare and contrast this with the elaborate footwork of Pencak from Central Java, or the direct combat approach of Madurese martial arts. The Persatuan, or union of pencak silat teachings that I belong to is called Inti Ombak Pencak Silat (www.intiombak.com) is a fusion of styles from Central and East Java as well as Madura. What has lead to all of these different styles of movement arising in one country? Traditional cultural practices, such as dance and music (as mentioned in the beginning of this article), are intimately entwined with silat motion. In fact it is difficult to tell which came first or if they arose together. During the occupation of Indonesia by foreign powers, fighting with pencak silat was forbidden so it was practiced in the open as a dance. Deadly silat and mystical practices were hidden in such performances, the culture passed on while camouflaged.
What makes a style's movements different or unique? Is it the profession of the founder(s)? Martial arts for the battlefield have a different approach than civilian dueling arts or styles used by criminals or those on the fringes of society. The professions and culture of the people who start a martial art frame the aspects of combat that are emphasized in that art. Fishermen will fight differently than aristocrats; the weapons, nutrition, cultures, and everyday activities of each profession will lead to different philosophies about combat because the objectives are different. Someone fighting to feed their family might move differently than someone fighting over a matter of honor, or another fighting to conquer.
There are many theoretical influences on a style’s movement and emphasis. Here we propose a working definition, that each art’s movement flows from its philosophy. Here are a few examples:
“I come to you with only karate, my empty hands. I have no weapons, but should I be forced to defend myself, my principles, or my honor, should it be a matter of life or death, of right or wrong, then these are my weapons, karate, my empty hands.”
“Using no way as way. Having no limitation as limitation.”
“Malandragem and Mandinga” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capoeira#Malandragem_and_Mandinga
"In the front as a leader, in the middle as a balancer, in the back as an advocate"
Each of those outlines a martial art. Experienced martial artists will recognize some of the tenets outlined above as belonging to American Kenpo, Jeet Kune Do, Capoeira, and Filipino Martial Arts. The last one may be unfamiliar to the reader, it is the defining philosophy for a style of Pencak Silat, a martial art that is part of Indonesian culture. Many people define styles by regions and superficial movements that make them forget the core of defining a style lies within the defining philosophy (referred to in this article as Kaedah). It is Kaedah that forms the core of a fighting style and governs its motions. Philosophy is the foundation of pencak silat styles, and is a closely guarded secret for each style.
The development of a style is influenced by the environment, occupation, disabilities, postures, rules of engagement, and preferences of its creator. A common error occurs when players take this to be their Kaedah and blindly follow their training and muscle memory, making decisions from habit. Many styles of Pencak Silat operate under a certain degree of secrecy, keeping their Kaedah secret from others when they demonstrate in public. Knowing the Kaedah of a style allows you to read and predict the movements of that style, because it forms the root and foundation of a martial art. No Kaedah is perfect, and understanding an opponent’s Kaedah will allow you to take decisions from them. Because of this, silat players will use Kembangan, or free-flow movement to camouflage their original Kaedah. This secrecy allows the silat player to preserve his or her most effective movements, making them more difficult to defeat in a real fight.
A common error with beginners is that they will learn multiple styles, mixing the motions together according to personal preference. Without a deep understanding of the Kaedah of each style being practiced, they will hurt their training. This can be likened to mixing wine with beer or vodka. For example, both Wing Chun and Boxing use punches. Wing Chun emphasizes using body structure for power in striking. Boxing emphasizes punching using hip and waist rotation. Kaedah or defining philosophy runs much deeper than this. Using different underlying philosophies without understanding could be disastrous.
Perhaps the secrecy of Pencak Silat lends a magical air to its practice. Many traditions are only passed down from family member to family member. My teacher, Guru Daniel Prasetya, learned from his great-grandfather and great-uncle. Schools may require ritual adoption to become family, to learn the secrets. When learning a jurus from a silat teacher, you are most likely learning a modification from a sacred family jurus that contains the kaedah of that practitioner’s silat. Too much secrecy can harm the transmission of a martial art, as tremendously talented Gurus cannot find new students to pass on their art. Indonesia is becoming a modern country in many respects, and this process is threatening to make a casualty of many cultural treasures. One of these casualties could be Pencak Silat. When Indonesians ask me why I love silat, they are surprised that I do not practice a more fashionable art like Tae Kwon Do or Capoeira. Pencak Silat is becoming viewed by many young Indonesians as an antique, obsolete and part of a cultural heritage that is something to be ashamed of by an increasingly modernizing population. This may not be true of all Indonesians, it is merely my impression from my participation in events in Jogjakarta and conversations I have had with my friends. The analogy I like to use goes back to my elementary school physical education classes, where we learned square dancing. Square dancing is a North American folk dance that many people would be shocked to learn is a highly deadly fighting art…. It isn’t, but you can imagine your surprise if that were true. An organization started by one of our senior instructors, the United Teachers Association for Martial Arts (UTAMA; www.utamainternational.com) is working with teachers to help increase awareness of Pencak Silat by the new generation and has helped organized tremendous parades of silat players in Jogjakarta. These events are called Pencak Malioboro Festival and have been going on for three years now. I have been honored to walk with my silat brothers in the last two. You can find more information here https://tangtungan.com/tag/pencak-malioboro-festival/.
In the hope of helping other martial artists to better understand their art, and its Kaedah, we are publishing the Kaedah of Persatuan Pencak Silat Inti Ombak (IOPS), a silat organization with deep roots in the cultures of Central Java and Madura. Recently we have revealed our techniques using motion capture technology with Martial Codex (www.martialcodex.com).
This wonderful new technology allows teachers to teach and preserve their family arts. A more detailed description of Inti Ombak fighting philosophy is explained in these videos, transmitting a complete view of our art which would have once been reserved for family. IOPS teaches flow in its participants through emphasizing principles and movements in-line with a set of rules for dealing with a knife safely. Martial Codex has just released a packet of 3D animations detailing our Kaedah as they relate to blade awareness and self defense and will continue to release packets on our principles and motions inspired by animal movement.
Kaedah is an Indonesian term, which roughly translates as “method” or “way.” It refers to the rules or philosophy that governs a martial arts system’s motion. For some silat styles this may be expressed tersely in a single phrase such as: “fight without getting hurt” or “circle defeats line”. The Kaedah of IOPS can be distilled down into wave behavior. In our movement, our philosophy, our daily life we strive exhibit the three fundamental properties of a wave:
In the front as a leader
In the middle as a balancer
In the back as an advocate
When translated to our movement and method of self defense. Inti Ombak’s kaedah consists of five central tenets:
If possible, escape or avoid confrontation. The knife is an extremely deadly tool. Dealing with an armed opponent should not be taken lightly, as any momentary mistake can result in injury or death. The best defense is the event never occurring in the first place, either through situational awareness or escape. If one cannot escape, use footwork to move to an advantageous position.
Avoid altering motion to accommodate a knife. Always assume an attacker is armed with a knife, react the same way whether they are armed or unarmed.
Protect your vital areas; such as the head and neck, groin, as well as major veins and arteries. Taking this to heart also gives you the mentality to attack an opponent’s vital areas, because you are always taking them into account while they may not be.
Immobilize or kill the opponent as quickly as possible, avoid entangling yourself with an attacker. Finishing a fight quickly reduces the danger to yourself or others, and makes it easier to deal with multiple opponents. Immobilization is preferable but not always possible, respond according to the situation.
In every situation, there is a way to return to the first tenet: escaping to an advantageous position or avoiding further conflict.
As you watch our techniques and motion; in one of our classes spread throughout the United States and Indonesia, our demonstrations on social media sites, or while going through our techniques in depth by learning online (unfortunately the site for Martial Codex has been taken down from www.martialcodex.com), keep these rules in mind. For your own training, contemplate your style’s philosophy and let it guide your movement. Transmit understanding of your Kaedah to your students. Analyze the motion of others in reference to their philosophy and use it to improve yourself.
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