top of page

Survival of the Fittest: Silat, MMA, and the Search for Functionality


A person in a dojo poses with martial arts gear. A Japanese flag and text: "Does your dojo have these? Toss these 'traditional' items."
Two "Black Belt Magazine" covers featured; one with a woman in a hat, the other with a man in a red gi. Spring '25 issue promotion.

Early Days in Silat

Fighters in Southeast Asia have practiced pencak silat for thousands of years, but it didn’t capture the attention of Western martial artists until the late 1980s. Suddenly, the Indonesian system was everywhere, with its vicious counterattacks and precision takedowns attracting self-defense practitioners who wanted the best in street-fighting functionality. As a bonus, it offered a fascinating dose of Asian culture.


I had the good fortune of starting my silat training under Dan Inosanto in the early 1980s before it became popular. Several years later, Herman Suwanda, master of the mande muda style, started a class at the Inosanto Academy, which I naturally attended. Inosanto later got me into the backyard bukti negara group operated by Paul deThouars. With those wonderful teachers guiding me along the path, I was in silat heaven.

Want to read more?

Subscribe to blackbeltmag.com to keep reading this exclusive post.

bottom of page