(Short Article) How Famous Is Pencak Silat In The World?

I'm sure many of us --Indonesian people-- know this kind of martial art. In fact, some of us might be able to do it. Pencak silat is a full-body fighting form incorporating strikes, grappling, and throwing, in addition to weaponry. Every part of the body is used and subject to attack. Pencak silat was practised not only for physical defense, but also for psychological ends. There are hundreds of different pencak silat styles and schools which tend to focus either on strikes, joint manipulation, weaponry, or some combination thereof. 

There's no specific evidence telling us information about where and when pencak silat was firstly introduced in Indonesia. However, there some resources believe that pencak silat was already known since Majapahit Kingdom. In 1357 AD on King Hayam Wuruk's marriage ceremony, pencak silat was performed as a part of wedding ritual. 

While in West Java, pencak silat started to develop in 1780 AD. Sakir was a name of a famous spiritual leader in Mande (a region in West Java) who introduced pencak silat style which then known as Cimande style. As of 1930, there was another pencak silat style known in West Java society which is called Cikalong style. 

In 1948, Ikatan Pencak Silat Indonesia (IPSI) or Indonesian Pencak Silat Federation was established. While in the international scale, the International Pencak Silat Federation (IPSF) was established on March 11th 1980 in Jakarta (Indonesia). It consisted of national pencak silat organizations from some of Southeast Asian countries: Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore. As a sport competition, pencak silat made its debut in the 1987 Southeast Asian Games (in Jakarta) and 2018 Asian Games (also in Jakarta). Cool, huh? Not only that... furthermore, pencak silat was then also recognized as a Masterpiece of The Oral and Intangible Heritage from Indonesia by UNESCO on December 12th 2019. Wow...

Pencak silat is not only about punches and kicks, but also using some weapons, such as: toya (stick 5-6 feet long made of rattan, wood, or metal), tombak (spear made of bamboo, wood, or steel and sometimes has horsehair attached near the blade), parang (machete-like chopper ranging from 10-35 inches long), golok (heavy cleaver measuring 10-20 inches long), pisau (short-bladed knife), kris (a kind of traditional dagger made of metal and washed in acid), celurit (a sickle, commonly used in farming), pedang (sword), klewang (single-edged longsword), chabang (short-handled trident), selendang (a silk used for strangling, grappling, and whipping), and kerambit (a small curved knife resembling a claw). 

OK, back to the question on the title: how famous is pencak silat in the world? Well, it's famous enough. There're many international competitions held in many countries: Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Austria, and Netherlands. Countries outside Southeast Asia ever joined the competitions are: Uzbekistan, Belgium, United States, Azerbaijan, India, Algeria, Great Britain, Iran, Russia, Suriname, Egypt, Kyrgyzstan, South Korea, Netherlands, and Austria. 

Not bad, right? Anyway, the category in pencak silat competition are: tanding (match) category, tunggal (single) category, ganda (double) category, and regu (team) category. The first World Pencak Silat Championship was held in Jakarta (Indonesia) in 1982. The latest one: the 19th World Pencak Silat Championship was held in Malacca (Malaysia) in 2022. So far (in total accumulation), Indonesia still ranks number 1 with 71 gold medals, 30 silver medals, and 32 bronze medal. 

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