Pencak Silat Traditional Minang society was based around matrilineal custom, so pencak silat was commonly practiced by women. As pencak silat became widespread in Srivijaya, the empire was defeated by the Tamil Cholas of south India in the 13th century. The Tamil stick fighting art of silambam is still the most common Indian fighting system in Southeast Asia today. During the 13th century, Ken Arok, a thug turned into a self made hero and ruler, took over the power from Kediri Kingdom and established the Rajasa Dynasty. This is pretty much reflected the "jago" (people's champion) culture of ancient Java, where a
Silat Melayu Silat Melayu Silat Melayu (Jawi: ), literally meaning "Malay silat", is a blanket term for silat styles of the Malay people. The term was originally used in reference to the native silat of Riau in Indonesia, but today it is more commonly used for the systems created in the Indochinese peninsula, particularly Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Brunei and Vietnam. In modern usage, the term is most often used to differentiate the Malaysian styles from Indonesian pencak silat. English-language writings sometimes mistakenly refer to silat Melayu as "bersilat" but this is actually a verb form of the noun silat, literally meaning "to