Pencak Silat, Indonesia

Pencak silat (penchak silat and pentjak silat) is literally "to fight artfully" based on two different meanings are, "Pencak" is training method for self defense: it consist of wide range controlled body movement directed to that purpose; the latter one "Silat" is the application of the training method - the actual fight. There can be no silat without pencak, on the other hand pencak without silat skills is purposeless.

The leading organization of pencak silat in Indonesia is IPSI (Organization for Indonesian Pencak Silat). The liaison body for international pencak silat is the International Pencak Silat Association.

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. In modern usage, pencak and silat are seen as being two aspects of the same practice. Pencak is the performance aspects of the martial art, while silat is the essence of the fighting and self-defense.

 

After Indonesia's independence, pencak silat was brought to Europe by Indo people of Eurasian (mixed Indonesian and European) ancestry, such as the well known Paatje Phefferkorn. The art is now popular in the Netherlands, Spain and France. Schools can also be found in the USA.

Bunaken, Sulawesi, Indonesia

Bunaken is an island of 8 km², part of the Bunaken National Marine Park. Bunaken is located at the northern tip of the island of Sulawesi, Indonesia. It belongs administratively to the municipality of Manado. Scuba diving attracts many visitors to the island.

The waters of Bunaken National Marine Park are up to 1,566 m deep in Manado Bay, with temperatures ranging between 27 to 29 °C. It has a high diversity of - corals, fish, echinoderms or sponges. Notably, 7 of the 8 species of giant clams that occur in the world, occur in Bunaken. It also claims to have seven times more genera of coral than Hawaii, and has more than 70% of all the known fish species of the Indo-Western Pacific.

Oceanic currents may explain, in part, why Bunaken National Marine Park has such a high level of biodiversity. Northeasternly currents generally sweep through the park but abundant counter currents and gyros related to lunar cycles are believed to be a trap for free swimming larvae. This is particularly true on the south side of the crescent-shaped Bunaken Island, lying in the heart of the park. A snorkeler or diver in the vicinity of Lekuan or Fukui may spot over 33 species of butterfly fish and numerous types of groupers, damsels, wrasses and gobies. The gobies, smallish fish with bulging eyes and modified fins that allow them to attach to hard surfaces, are the most diverse but least known group of fish in the park.