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.
