Silat the country's best costume dramas before the genre began to decline in Malaysia after the early 2000s. Aside from period dramas, authentic silat is often featured in other genres, such as the Indonesian series "Mawar Merah" and the made-for-TV children's movie "Borobudur". In Malaysia, various styles of silat are regularly showcased in martial arts-themed documentary serials like "Mahaguru", "Gelanggang" and "Gerak Tangkas". Other instances of silat on television include the following. Silat in the literary tradition can be traced back to the old hikayat or epics which became popular as literacy spread among Southeast Asian commoners, specifically commoners from the
Pencak Silat being two aspects of the same practice. Pencak is the essence of training, the outward aspect of the art which a casual observer is permitted to witness as performance. Silat is the essence of combat and self-defense, the true fighting application of the techniques which are kept secret from outsiders and not divulged to students until the guru deems them ready. While other definitions exist, all agree that silat cannot exist without pencak, and pencak without silat skills is purposeless. The origin of the words "pencak" and "silat" have not been proven. Some believe that pencak comes from the Sanskrit