TURA: Pencak Silat Martial Arts, the national martial arts of Indonesia was for the first time introduced in Meghalaya in a two-day seminar held in Tura on July 19 and 20.
The seminar was organised by the Meghalaya Pencak Silat Association in which many youths from different parts of Garo Hills enrolled. The Meghalaya Pencak Silat Association is affiliated to Indian Pencak Silat Federation and Asian Pancak Silat Federation. The central idea of organising such discipline is to bring back misguided youths to the mainstream and to persuade the youth to grow with such regulation and to utilise the strength and virtue of youth.
During the programme, Chief Adviser of Meghalaya Pencak Silat Associaiton (MPSA) Rakkan M Sangma, President of MPSA Elbiston Marak, Vice President Rudolp Sangma and General Secretary Eddy Marak and youths of different parts of the State participated.
Last month, four youths from the state managed to win Silver Medals at the National Pencak Silat Championship held at Tezpur.
Another fighter, Elbiston Marak who won Gold at the National level held earlier has been selected to participate in the International Championship to be held at Thailand and Malaysia in September.
Pencak silat is an umbrella term for a class of related Indonesian martial arts.
It is a full-body fighting form incorporating strikes, grappling and throwing in addition to weaponry. Every part of the body is used and subject to attack. Pencak silat was practiced not only for physical defense but also for psychological ends.
The leading organization of pencak silat in Indonesia is Ikatan Pencak Silat Indonesia (Pencak Silat Association of Indonesia). The liaison body for international pencak silat is the International Pencak Silat Association. 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 to Minangkabau word silek. Due to Sumatran origin of the language, the Sumatran origin of the term is likely.
Although the word silat is widely known throughout much of Southeast Asia, the term pencak silat is used mainly in Indonesia. Pencak silat was chosen in 1948 as a unifying term for the Indonesian fighting styles. It was a compound of the two most commonly used words for martial arts in Indonesia. Pencak was the term used in central and east Java, while silat was used in Sumatra, Malay Peninsula and Borneo.
