Explained: What is Pencak Silat?

India is gearing up to host the 3rd Asian Junior Pencak Silat Championship in Srinagar from September 25-30.

A total of 300 athletes from 12 nations are expected to compete when the tournament gets underway.

Hosts India will feature two teams — Team A and Team B — each comprising approximately 42 athletes, including 15 male and 13 female athletes for Tanding events (28 in all), along with 7 athletes for artistic events.

Pencak Silat in India

The sport is run by the Indian Pencak Silat Federation (IPSF) and is recognised by the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports.

Known for its blend of tradition and combat techniques, the sport is steadily gaining popularity in India, with growing participation and recognition at national and international levels.

Over the years, Indian athletes have won over 150 international medals in different forms of Pencak Silat.

Pencak Silat recently featured in the Beach Games, All India Inter-University and even the Police Games.

It is also part of initiatives like Asmita Women’s League. Jammu and Kashmir and Maharashtra produce some of the country’s top talents.

An overview

Pencak Silat, pronounced as Penchak Silaat, is an Indonesian martial art which is also popular in Malaysia and Singapore.

It includes punching, kicking, throwing, grappling, and choking. Almost all of these techniques are allowed and fighters wear only a chest guard and gear.

It has four main categories including tanding, tunggal, ganda and regu.

Tanding is the fighting category, similar to kickboxing, with full-contact matches. Under this, points are awarded for punch (1 point), kick (2 points) and throw (3 points).

Tunggal is a solo artistic performance where one athlete performs 100 predefined movements and is judged on accuracy, balance, and stability.

Ganda requires two athletes perform a choreographed fight and are judged on creativity and synchronization.

Regu is a team performance where three athletes perform a set routine together, focusing on timing, synchronization, and overall quality, and it must be completed within 3 minutes.

For each event, three juries score the performance, one center referee (jury) manages the bout and one counselor oversees everything and handles disputes.