Indonesian martial arts Indonesian martial arts Indonesian martial arts refers to the variety of fighting systems native to or developed in the archipelago of Indonesia, both the age-old traditional arts, and the more recently developed hybrid combatives. In the Indonesian language the term "bela-diri" (lit. self-defense) is used to mean martial art, and in essence the Indonesian fighting arts are meant as one's defence against perceived threat and assault. Other than physical training, they often include spiritual aspects to cultivate inner strength, inner peace and higher psychological ends. Today, Indonesian fighting styles are synonymous with pencak silat. Indeed, the term was coined as
Silat in 1987 Southeast Asian Games and 2018 Asian Games, both were held in Indonesia as the home and the real land of Silat. Training halls are overseen by separate national organisations in each of the main countries the art is practised. These organisations are "Ikatan Pencak Silat Indonesia" (IPSI) from Indonesia, "Persekutuan Silat Kebangsaan Malaysia" (PESAKA) from Malaysia, "Persekutuan Silat Brunei Darussalam" (PERSIB) from Brunei and "Persekutuan Silat Singapura" (PERSISI) from Singapore. Practitioners are called "pesilat". While the word "silat" is used by Malay-speakers throughout Southeast Asia, the art is officially called pencak silat in Indonesia. The word "silat" has