Silat Martial Art

Silat is the combative art of fighting and survival believed to have originated from ancient Malaysian and Indonesian civilizations. Until recently there has been no fixed form of instruction. It has now evolved to become part of social culture and tradition and is a fine physical and spiritual training. There are various styles of silat. Silat burung putih is based on bird-style fighting. Silat tjmande is water buffalo style fighting. Silat tjikalong is crane style fighting. Silat harimau is based on tiger style fighting. Not all silats are fighting arts; some are merely dancing forms such as silat pulut.

The definition of the word silat varies from one guru or teacher to another. The Malay dictionary defines silat as a seni (art) with the intelligence to attack and defend gracefully. Another meaning states that silat originated from the word kilat (lightning). A practitioner tries to acquire the characteristics of lightning: speed, dominance, sharpness, fluidity, and danger. In general, silat techniques use hand and foot maneuverings. The principle of silat is to evade attack. Training in silat includes cultural, spiritual, and mental aspects as well as tumbling, striking, kicking, blocking and agility movements. Many movements are described by names. Some are poetic, some are named after an animals movement, and some are metaphors

The culture and tradition of the Malay ethnic group as its source and model. Mental-spiritual, artistic, graceful, and flowery movements similar to Malay classical dance paired with seemingly incompatible martial aspects. Looking slantingly to the ground and sensing the adversary movements rather than using direct eye contact. In some instances the practitioners seem to be in a trance-like state and possess an eerie ability to anticipate the opponents movements