Attributes of a pendekar
A pendekar must master every aspect of silat. These include the forms and techniques, their combat application, internal methods and traditional medicine. A pendekar must be more than an instructor or expert, they must be a fighter, a traditional doctor, and a participant in the culture and wisdom of silat. The emphasis given to each of these varies from one style to another. Some systems are more sport-oriented while others focus on spiritual development. Traditional masters only consider a style to be "true silat" if it can be used in battle.
Meditation and internal training serves as a counterbalance for a warrior's martial skills. In northern Malaysia and southern Thailand, this balance is symbolised by the concept of jantan betina (male-female), equivalent to the Chinese yin and yang. [3] In Indo-Malay folklore, esoteric knowledge is only gained by fasting and then meditating under a tree. Silat practitioners of the past would meditate and fast at length, often in caves, jungles and even graveyards so they would not fear death. With this mentality, a pendekar is always prepared for combat, whether they are unarmed or outnumbered. This is encapsulated in the Malay saying "From the tips of the hair to the tips of the toes" (Dari hujung rambut ke hujung kaki) meaning that all are potential weapons to be used at the right moment.
Purportedly, a pendekar of the highest skill needs no weapon aside from their mind to subdue the opponent. By focusing their energy, masters were said to be able to attack an opponent without physically touching them, strike a vital point from afar, or stop someone's heart without them noticing they've been hurt. Silat folklore is replete with tales of fighters possessing such skills as the ability to run very rapidly, vanish in a puff of smoke and reappear, change form, dash across the surface of water, turn invisible, or leap to the roof of a house.
Finally, a pendekar must be familiar with traditional healing methods. Massage is commonly taught alongside silat because of its relation to sentuhan or the art of striking pressure points. Sentuhan could also be applied to other aspects of healing such as stopping a wound from bleeding or stimulating energy flow. Some masters may have knowledge of herbalism or bone-setting. It was once considered necessary for anyone teaching silat to be able to nurse injured students back to health.
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Seni Gayong is a style of silat from Malaysia. It was the first martial arts association to be registered in the country, and is now the biggest and most internationally known Malaysian silat discipline. Gayong is overseen by the Pertubuhan Silat Seni Gayong Malaysia (PSSGM) or the Malaysian Silat Seni Gayong Organisation. This organisation is currently led by Dato' Ismail Jantan. While it is most popular in Malaysia and Singapore, there are also branches in Vietnam, Australia, France, Kuwait, Tunisia, Britain, and the United States.
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Bakti Negara is a style of pencak silat from Bali. It is firmly rooted in old Balinese Hinduism and philosophies of Indonesia. The name means "national devotion", from the Sanskrit words bhakti (devotion) and nagara (country). It is the most widely practiced martial art in Bali and the most well-known style of Balinese silat, to the point that the system is commonly referred to simply as pencak Bali or kuntao Bali.
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Listed here are the weapons of pencak silat. The most common are the machete, staff, kris, sickle, spear, and kerambit. Because Southeast Asian society was traditionally based around agriculture, many of these weapons were originally farming tools.
Lian Padukan is an offensive martial art that specialises in close-range striking. It is one of Malaysia's biggest silat schools and also the most well-known variant of lian or buah pukul. Because of their shared Yunnan origin, lian padukan is very similar to Chinese Wing Chun.
Angampora is a Sinhalese martial art that combines combat techniques, self-defense, sport, exercise, and meditation. A key component of angampora is the namesake angam, which incorporates hand-to-hand fighting, and illangam, involving the use of indigenous weapons such as the ethunu kaduwa, staves, knives and swords. Another component known as maya angam, which uses spells and incantations for combat, is also said to have existed. Angampora's distinct feature lies in the use of pressure point attacks to inflict pain or permanently paralyze the opponent. Fighters usually make use of both striking and grappling techniques, and fight until the opponent is caught in a submission lock that they cannot escape. Usage of weapons is discretionary. Perimeters of fighting are defined in advance, and in some of the cases is a pit.
Indonesian martial arts includes a variety of fighting systems native to or developed in the archipelago of Indonesia, both the age-old traditional arts, and the more recently developed hybrid combatives. In the Indonesian language the term bela-diri is used to mean martial art, and in essence the Indonesian fighting arts are meant as one's defence against perceived threat and assault. Other than physical training, they often include spiritual aspects to cultivate inner strength, inner peace and higher psychological ends.
Pencak Silat Harimau also known as Silat Harimau is a Minangkabau style of pencak silat originating from West Sumatra, Indonesia. Silat Harimau has movements that are used to resemble the technique and philosophy of a tiger. Silat harimau has agile techniques and beautiful movements. However, behind these techniques and movements, there are various deadly attacks that are applied to immobilize the enemy very quickly.
