Pencak silat is a martial art that relies on self-defense skills, such as parrying and striking. This sport should not be done carelessly. To avoid the risks of injury, you must master basic pencak silat techniques.
Some basic techniques include stance, step patterns, punches, parries, and locks.
Let's read the following article to understand more about pencak silat!
Definition of Pencak Silat and Its History
Pencak silat is a martial art that uses hands and feet to parry and attack.
It is originally from Indonesia and has been a cultural heritage since the 7th century.
Pencak silat was developed from indigenous hunting and war skills.
Over time, Indonesia formed a parent organization of pencak silat as the sport reached a new peak of popularity nationwide.
The parent organization of pencak silat in Indonesia is the Ikatan Pencak Silat Indonesia, commonly abbreviated as IPSI.
Pencak silat is one of Indonesia's most popular traditional sports. The sport has been widely recognized and named as one of the international sports.
This rang true as the pencak silat competition was held in the 2018 Asian Games.
Elements of Pencak Silat
Pencak silat contains five elements: sport, art, self-defense, mental and spiritual education, and brotherhood. Here is the explanation:
- Sport: an element that emphasizes physical skills.
- Art: pencak silat emphasizes beautiful movements resembling dance.
- Self-defense: the parrying and attacking movements intended for self-defense.
- Mental and spiritual education: practicing pencak silat allows fighters to mull over the struggle of life, which encourages mental intelligence.
- Brotherhood: togetherness forms brotherhood and instills helping behavior.
What You Can Achieve with Pencak Silat
Pencak silat has various purposes, including:
- An activity to help you channel talents and interests.
- Shape yourself as a healthy, smart-thinking, and triumphing individual.
- Educate yourself to dare to defend truth, justice, high discipline, and physical and mental responsibility.
- To better understand the nature and benefits of pencak silat in life.
- To prevent the younger generation from falling into promiscuity and drugs.
The Function of Pencak Silat
How does pencak silat function affect your life? Check out the explanation below!
- As an art form.
- As a self-defense practice.
- As an education program that provides skills, abilities, and defense against danger.
Basic Pencak Silat Techniques
Every pencak silat movement requires you to pay attention to certain techniques. The basic techniques of pencak silat include:
1. Basic Pencak Silat Techniques
Beginners must master the stance, aka the initial position before proceeding with other movements. To do this, you must position your body as if riding a horse. This technique helps ensure body coordination and balance.
2. Stance and Movement Techniques
Before you get into the gist of pencak silat, practice your stance and movement. This technique allows you to get ready before delivering a movement while paying attention to the opponent's position.
Doing this allows you to find the weaknesses in the opponent's defense and helps you plan or deliver effective attacks.
3. Step Pattern
In pencak silat, you need to change your footing gradually. It needs to resemble a certain pattern. The usual patterns are step three and step four.
4. Punch and Kick Techniques
Punching and kicking in pencak silat are techniques to attack an opponent. Typical blows usually include:
- Front punch: Hitting straight forward using one side of the hand.
- Upright punch: Hitting straight using both sides of the hand alternately.
- Circular punch: Moving the hand in a circle to attack the opponent's waist.
- Pendulum punch: Moving the hand from top to bottom. To do this movement, you need to bend the elbow at a 90-degree angle.
Meanwhile, the types of kicks commonly practiced in pencak silat include:
- Crescent kick: Kicking with the right foot forward using the instep.
- Straight kick: Kicking with one foot forward using the sole.
- T-kick: Kicking with the right foot forward with the body slightly backward.
- Back kick: Kicking with one foot backward until it hits the opponent.
- Jejag kick: Raising the knee as high as possible to kick forward.
5. Parry Technique
Parrying helps defend yourself from an opponent's attack. This technique consists of two types, namely one-arm and two-arm parries.
6. Lock and Scissors Technique
Kuncian is holding the opponent's neck, chin, and wrist while lying. On the other hand, the scissor involves pinning the opponent's body using legs and hands while lying.
Benefits of Pencak Silat
In addition to self-defense, pencak silat is also known to have a variety of health benefits. Some of the benefits are as follows:
1. Increase Self-Confidence
Pencak silat can increase self-confidence. This is because it helps train your body to defend yourself. In doing so, you will indirectly feel more confident, especially when facing critical situations.
2. Maintain Weight
As pencak silat requires moving all your limbs, it can help burn calories. To achieve the maximum result, you can practice pencak silat regularly every week.
3. Maintain Heart Health
Pencak silat involves intense limb movement. This helps improve blood circulation and increase heart rate, which can maintain heart health.
4. Flexibility Training
Pencak silat basic movements involve body stretching. This can help your muscles to stay flexible, which indirectly affects your posture.
In conclusion, pencak silat is a sport that contains elements of traditional art movements in each move.
That's all about pencak silat, a martial art originally from Indonesia. To get the benefits above, you should start practicing pencak silat regularly.
After practicing pencak silat, don't forget to drink to stay hydrated.
Physical activities, such as pencak silat, exert your energy. Hence, you will need more fluid to support your body's performance and metabolic processes.
For that, always bring a bottle of AQUA 600 ml to meet your body's fluid needs during exercise.
AQUA is sourced from 19 selected mountains in Indonesia with a natural protective coating. Therefore, AQUA feels naturally cold without being refrigerated.
In addition, AQUA is also safe to consume because it has SNI, BPOM, and Halal standards. So, there is no need to worry about its quality. Remember, not all water is AQUA. So, don't forget to #AQUADULU!
