tend to use the art as a self-defense form. Even so, training regimes all include instruction in empty-hand techniques followed by weapons training.
Weapons include some common Indonesian fighting tools, such as sticks, staves, and rods made of bamboo, steel, or wood. The “cabang” is an unusual, three-pronged knife thought to derive from the trident. The “kerambit” is a small, curved blade that women often conceal in their hair. The “sabit” is a sickle used as a blocking, striking, and slashing weapon. The “keris” is a curving blade that is washed in acid. The “tedang” is a common sword with either a single-or double-sided blade.
Master and student
The large number of distinct pencak silat schools in Indonesia are the result of extremely localized styles that have arisen when a master in a village teaches his own method. This teaching may include aspects of shamanism, animism, healing, and other spiritual practices. Most silat players train in spiritual awareness methods, learning to harness what they believe are supernatural powers.
In general, would-be students offer gifts in order to be accepted by a traditional master. These may include a knife, which symbolizes sharpness of attitude and spirit, and a roll of white cloth, which the master keeps in a sacred place and uses to wrap the corpse of the student should he be killed.
The blood of a ritually slaughtered chicken may be spread on the ground where the student expects to train-this signifies the blood the student would shed in fighting had he decided not to study the art. So, the relationship of master and student becomes akin to a blood relationship, such as that between father and son.
Diverse