Asian Geographic - 08.2018

Originating from the Malay Archipelago,

pencak silat, or silat Melayu, has developed

over 100 styles and techniques across

Southeast Asia. One of the theories of

the origin of pencak silat by Mariun

Sudirohadiprodo, a renowned Indonesian

pencak silat master, is that the martial art

originated from humans’ observation of the

movement of animals.

The legend goes that in olden times,

ferocious animals roamed Java, and a woman,

Rama Sukana, was washing beside the river

when she spotted a pair of monkeys on the

opposite bank in battle. One attacked with a

tree branch, while the other dodged expertly,

and the fascinated Sukana copied their

techniques through careful observation. After

arriving home late, she used her newfound

fighting skills to dodge a beating from her

husband, and eventually he begged her to

teach him the moves.

Today, pencak silat practitioners still

copy the movements of snakes, crocodiles,

monkeys and scorpions, with certain styles of

fighting – like the harimau (tiger) and garuda

putih (white eagle) – named after the animals

themselves. In competitions, fights involve a

series of three matches, called tanding, lasting

two minutes each. Opponents use a series of

attack and defence moves – which each have

scores attached to them – to overcome their

opponent. Each of these must adhere strictly

to a fixed routine: first a fighting stance, then a

step pattern, then back to a fighting stance.

PENCAK SILAT

DATA SOURCES: SOUTHERN CROSS BUJUTSU,

SILAT IN INDONESIA,TRIBUN NEWS

“Pencak silat was born

in our country and this is

going to be the first time

athletes compete in the

martial art at the Asiad”

Imam Nahrawi, Indonesian sports minister

gaMePlay

Attacks must be

delivered in a row,

with fewer than six

techniques per attack

6

Embracing an

opponent is a banned

defence tactic

left Pro kabaddi

matches in India

above Fighters brawl

in pencak dor, a silat

spinoff popular in Java

PHOTOS © ULET IFANSASTI/GETTY IMAGES