Pencak Silat - Indonesian Martial Arts

One evening while making my usual rounds through the neighborhood to study Indonesian, I came across a group of young men looking to be practicing karate or at least some kind of self-defense.  I took a nearby seat to watch and take in whatever was happening and asked a few of the teenagers I knew in attendance what was going on.  They proceeded to explain Pencak Silat...

 Pencak Silat (pronounced like pun-chalk see-lot) runs deep in the numerous cultures and tribes of Indonesia.  Many forms of this indigenous martial arts exist throughout the country and vary in forms depending on the region.  I've enjoyed my own experience in learning about the Sundanese version of Pencak Silat by joining some local lessons in my community.

 When I first joined, we met in the small streets running through the neighborhood after the evening prayer on Friday.  Since we have moved to a nearby house and enjoy the indoors with the cooler evenings during the rainy season.  We usually start with some simple stretches, review the previous lessons/movements (jurus), and then practice one-on-one with the instructor, who is also from the community.  At one time I heard there was a class for the young women of the neighborhood who wanted to join.

 Here's a look at the logo/banner of our group.  Many have already purchased the traditional clothes worn for Pencak Silat (see below).

 While I was working in East Java, the group took a trip to the nearby mountains for some camping and training.  Unfortunately I missed out, but they sure enjoyed telling me about it when I returned.  Here's some pics I got off facebook from the event.  (Maybe some pictures of me later from training).