Pencak Silat word "pancha" meaning five, or from the Chinese term "pencha" or "pungcha" which implies parrying or deflecting, and striking or pressing. Other terms may be used in particular dialects such as "silek", "penca", "mancak", "maen po" or "main-po". Dutch East Indian newspapers of the colonial era recorded the terms for martial arts under Dutch spellings. These include "silat", "pencak" (spelled in Dutch as "pentjak"), "penca" ("pentjah"), "mancak" ("mentjak"), "manca" ("mentjah"), and "pukulan" ("poekoelan"). In 1881 a magazine calls mancak a Batak fencing game "with long swords, daggers or wood ("mentjah")" These papers described mancak as Malayan ("Maleidsche") suggesting that the
Pencak Silat focus is on powerful punches with the fist tightly-closed at the moment of impact, mainly targeting the centreline. Force is concentrated into the knuckles of the little and ring finger. Attacks are made with a curved arm; the elbow is never fully extended so as to prevent being caught in a joint lock. Beksi, meaning "defense of four directions", is credited to a man named Lie Cheng Hok. It is distinguishable from other Betawi systems by its close-distance combat style and lack of offensive leg action. Silat Betawi includes all the classical pencak silat weapons, but places particular emphasis on