The Malays from Yunnan, China, first appeared in Borneo circa 3000 B.C. and had established dynasties in Indonesia and Malaysia by A.D. 100 to 200. Persia opened trade routes with the Malays in A.D. 226. Soon, visiting Indian religious priests arrived from Kerala, India. China’s Sui and Tang dynasties (A.D. 581-907) traded with Sumatra. Silat is a collective term to describe martial arts evolved in the Malay Archipelago, the word perhaps originating from Indian settlers from Kerala who practiced the stick-fighting art called silimbam. Thus, the silats of Malaysia and Indonesia are influenced by Indian and Chinese martial arts with religious influences from Hindu, Islam and Buddhism.
At the core, bersilat is a Malaysian form of Indonesia’s pentjak silat. There are several major Malaysian silats: lintan, unarmed combat; medan, weapons used in combat; and terelak, special breathing skills (perhaps a form of Chinese chi kung).
Bersilat schools are split into two branches: silat pulat (a dancelike art that is performed at weddings and festivals) and silat buah,which is a combative form that focuses on either armed or unarmed combat. Bersilat students are prohibited from disclosing the art’s secrets. Training is passed on from family to family.
– March 21, 2011
In Malaysia, they say a man is not really capable of defending himself against an attacker unless he knows something about bersilat. Its self-defense techniques date back to the early 15th century and today is still popular. The art enjoys such popularity that it can be practiced by anyone whether
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– March 21, 2011
You are minding your own business, buying a newspaper at your local convenience store, when a belligerent drunk decides to take a punch at you simply because you met his stare for a second too long. What the drunk doesn’t know is that you are trained in the Indonesian martial
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