Pencak Silat body for international pencak silat is the International Pencak Silat Association or PERSILAT ("Persekutuan Pencak Silat Antara Bangsa"). Pencak silat is one of the sports included in the Southeast Asian Games and other region-wide competitions. Pencak silat first made its debut in 1987 Southeast Asian Games and 2018 Asian Games, both were held in Indonesia. "Silat" is a collective word for a class of indigenous martial arts from the geo-cultural area of Southeast Asia, more precisely in the Malay Archipelago, a region known locally as "Nusantara". The origin of the word "silat" is uncertain. The Malay term "silat" is linked
Pencak Silat being used against the Dutch, particularly knives and edged weapons such as the golok, parang, kris and klewang. During the 17th century, the Bugis people of Sulawesi allied with the Dutch colonists to destroy Mangkasara rule over the surrounding area. While this increased Bugis power in the southwest, Dutch rule deprived seafaring merchants like the Bugis of their traditional employment. As a result, these communities increasingly turned to piracy during the 17th-18th centuries. Not only was pencak silat practiced by the pirates, but new styles were created to combat them. During the Dutch colonial era of the 18th and 19th