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 Pattani Silat Pattani Silat Patani (, ) is a style of silat originating in the Pattani kingdom, now a state of Thailand. It is primarily practiced in northern Malaysia and southern Thailand. The art is also known as silat tua (old silat) because tradition credits it as the oldest form of silat Melayu. It is sometimes called silat tua Yawi, being the Thai-Malay pronunciation of "Jawi" in this case referring to the Thai Malay community. These two latter names are increasingly popular among Malaysian practitioners, so as not to acknowledge the Pattani origin of the art. The founder of Silat Pattani