Silat is the generic term used to describe the martial arts of Malaysia, South Thailand, Indonesia, Brunei, Singapore, and the Southern Philippines. In Indonesia it is referred to as Pencak Silat, and in the other countries as Seni Silat. The American martial arts fraternity, have in their wisdom, renamed the Malaysian Silat as Bersilat. This is a misnomer. Bersilat means simply “to do silat” and is not the name of the style. It is called penchak or pencak or pentjak silat; in some places silek, in some gayong. They are all terms for the same thing. Some claim the spelling denotes ancient skills or wisdom. It is spelling from different regions.

In recent years, Silat has become better known as mostly the Indonesian Silat practitioners have spread it throughout Europe. As a result of this there are very few Malaysian Silat practitioners to be found. Silat is divided up into 4 categories-

1. Self defence, Bela diri. This is where silat excels. The self-defence arena is so important in society now, and silat skills allow a small person to overcome a larger one using positioning timing and footwork and a great understanding of the body.
2. Sport or Ohlaraga. There have been silat competitions around for many years now. I have represented Britain at these for several years, but do not wish to be involved with it any more. The competition side has removed many of the facets that make silat attractive to me so that you can maintain safety in the arena of gelanggang. While I applaud this, I would rather train for combat than sport so all our training is directed to the bela diri.
3. Art- seni. This includes the bunga or flower. Some people call this the flower dance. It is not a dance with flowers but a soft expression of the hard fighting techniques designed to show grace and beauty and soft style hiding the power and strength within.
4. Spiritual. Many people are drawn to silat because of this esoteric side to the art. There are people looking for some hidden meaning in the art and some magic in the techniques and so forth. Unfortunately in the main this is the realm of Hollywood not Hades. There are many beliefs associated with silat and practices that we have for our own performances. I am able to teach many of these but only to suitable students and after many years of rigorous training and studentship. It is not to be performed lightly.

Silat is a comprehensive combat art covering all ranges from weapons to ground fighting. Because the art is all encompassing, it has been described as a "Jack of all Trades". It has the power of Karate and Thai boxing with the sensitivity of kung fu; the locks and throws of ju jitsu with the weapons arsenal of Escrima, plus specialist areas not found in many other martial arts. Coupled with the fact that life or death challenges are not unheard of in South East Asia, the survival and success of Silat in the face of open challenges makes the system frighteningly effective.