Pencak Silat to Minangkabau word "silek". Due to Sumatran origin of the language, the Sumatran origin of the term is likely. Although the word "silat" is widely known throughout much of Southeast Asia, the term "pencak silat" is used mainly in Indonesia. Pencak silat was chosen in 1948 as a unifying term for the Indonesian fighting styles. It was a compound of the two most commonly used words for martial arts in Indonesia. "Pencak" was the term used in central and east Java, while "silat" was used in Sumatra, Malay Peninsula and Borneo. In Minang usage, pencak and silat are seen as
Pencak Silat In cases where the opponent is of greater strength, evasion ("elakan") or deflections ("pesongan") would be used, and are actually preferred in certain styles. The major international competition is Pencak Silat World Championship, organised by PERSILAT. This competition takes place every 2 or 3 years period. More than 30 national teams competed in recent tournaments in Jakarta (2010), Chiang Rai (2012) and Phuket (2015). The championships have been referred to under different names:World Pencak Silat Championships or World Silat Championships or Pencak Silat World Championships. <div align="left"> <div align="left"> The seven-day event attracted 450 fighters from 40 nations and territories,