Silat Silat Silat is a collective word for a class of indigenous martial arts from the geo-cultural area of Southeast Asia, more precisely in the Indonesian Archipelago, a region known locally as "Nusantara". It is traditionally practised in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, portions of the Philippines, southern part of Thailand and central part of Vietnam. There are hundreds of different styles ("aliran") and schools ("perguruan") but they tend to focus either on strikes, joint manipulation, weaponry, or some combination thereof. Silat is one of the sports included in the Southeast Asian Games and other region-wide competitions. Silat first made its debut
Pencak Silat prefers the latter. Prominent Sunda weapons include the "toya" (staff), "cabang" (forked truncheon), long-bladed "parang" (machete) and heavy "golok" (cleaver). The advanced weapon is the "piau" or throwing knife. Among the Betawi people of Greater Jakarta, the pencak silat tradition is rooted in the culture of the "jagoan" or "jawara", local champions seen as heroes of the common people. They went against colonial authority and were despised by the Dutch as thugs and bandits. Silat Betawi is referred to in the local dialect as "maen pukulan" or "main pukulan", literally meaning "strike-play". The most well-known schools are Cingkrik, Kwitang, and