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
Pencak Silat a number of ethnic groups originally from the mountains of North Sumatra. The term typically refers to the Toba Batak while others may explicitly reject that label, preferring to identify themselves by their specific group. Batak silat is known by different names in each community, namely "mossak" (Toba), "moncak" (Mandailing), "ndikar" (Simalungun) and "dihar" (Karo). Mossak is the most commonly-used due to the Toba being the most numerous. While each style is distinct, all share similar characteristics and weaponry. The Batak were historically in a near-perpetual state of warfare with their neighbours, so warriors trained daily for combat. Training was