Pencak Silat Research Paper

Introduction

Since the very beggining of mankind man have experienced,learned and evolved. He learned to

chase, earned plan, learned to survive and to accomplish all these milestones he learned to fight. In

early times when people had no long range weapons except for arrows and spears, warriors were

totally dependent upon the skill of their body to defend themselves. Body is said to be the ultimate

weapon. It can be trained to overcome the toughness of a rock and the mind remains as peaceful as

a brook or a silent stream which flows around the rock and cuts it through not with the help of the

strength but using the power of patience.

As human clans started to increase in number there was an increase in demand of warriors as well,
Each region in the archipelago has its own version of its origin which is largely based on oral tradition. Malay myths concur that pencak silat was originally developed by tribal groups in the archipelago through the observation of animal movements and other natural phenomena, in an effort to defend themselves from wild creatures and other environmental dangers. In the course of time, pencak silat eventually become instrumental in attaining social status when fighting among tribal groups, clans, communities and later kingdoms.
Because of his/her skills a person could be feared and respected by the surrounding society, and secure prestige and political power.
Pencak silat as self-defense has always existed since human beings had to fight with each other and with wild animals in order to survive. At that time, people who were strong and skilled in fighting could attain a privileged position in society, and could become heads of clans or army commanders.
In the long run, fighting techniques started to be regulated, so that a comprehensive martial art
Iko’s fluid movements—with their odd little balletic flourishes—are largely attributable to his training in pencak silat, the Indonesian martial arts. Evans discovered Iko while researching pencak silat for a documentary, and was drawn to the way Iko worked so much personal expression into his jabs and kicks. The video below shows off the style that served Iko well in tournaments and exhibitions when he was a teenager moving up through the ranks. When Iko really gets going, his head, arms, legs, feet, and fingers all seem to be going in different directions at once, yet all with a sense of control. A lot of martial artists are compared to dancers, but Iko is also like a virtuoso musician, using his remarkable dexterity to produce astounding harmony.
Indonesian Silat is notmartial art. It is a fighting art that focuses on physically destroying an attacker. There is no bread crumb trail to follow an opponents attack, no connecting the dots. The primary idea is that a silat player is adding "tools" to their "toolbox", such as strikes, throws, joint locks, ground work, etc. These are put together with an alphabet if you will, called djurus so that a silat player can practice