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 schools often exchange students so cross-training between the styles is common. All Balinese pencak schools traditionally keep sportive contests and performance to a minimum in order to emphasise combat effectiveness. The Bugis ("Ugi") and Makassar people ("Mangkasara") are two related maritime groups from Sulawesi. The Bugis in particular were renowned navigators and shipbuilders, but also feared as corsairs and slave-traders. Both the Bugis and Makassarese were famous for piracy, though this was more common among the former than the latter. As sailors for whom the knife is a vital tool, Bugis and Makassar combatives (known locally as silat) favour blades.