Learnt with a coach

Pencak silat at home

A coach, a uniform and a mat at a club; at home, stances, balance and moves in the air.

2 cards at home 4 for the club

What should we practise today?

Tell us where you are and who is playing. You get one card and the reason.

Where are you?

Who is playing?

Start a session

New to pencak silat? The game in a minute

Read this once before the first card.

The art in short: Pencak silat is a martial art from Indonesia, Malaysia and the countries around them. It joins stances, stepping patterns, punches, kicks, blocks, dodges, sweeps and takedowns into flowing movements, and it is also performed as an art, solo or in groups.
How competitions work: There are four categories. In Tanding (sparring), two players in body protectors score points for clean punches and kicks to the body and for sweeps and takedowns. In Tunggal one player performs a set solo form; in Ganda a pair performs attacks and defences; in Regu a team of three performs a form together. Judges score the forms.
Rules children break first: Salute the coach and partner before and after practice.
Every strike toward a partner stops short of the target.
Weapons only with an adult coach.
Stop at once when the coach says so.
At home you build the base: Stances held in balance, step patterns along a line, and punches, blocks, kicks and dodges done in the air. Partner work, falls and sweeps are at a club.

Words you will hear (14, in plain language)

Pesilat: A person who practises pencak silat.
Salute: The respectful greeting before and after practice.
Stance: A fixed position of the feet and legs, such as the wide, low stance or the front, back and side stances.
Pasang: The ready or guard stance that a form begins from.
Step patterns: Set ways of stepping: in a line, to the side, at an angle.
Punch: A strike with the hand: straight, a two-handed push, upward, or a swinging pendulum punch.
Block: Stopping an attack with the forearm: outer, inner, upper and lower blocks.
Kick: A strike with the foot, such as the front kick or the crescent kick, which swings in a curve.
Evasion: Dodging an attack by moving down, up or to the side.
Sweep: Knocking a partner's leg away to bring them down.
Takedown: Bringing a partner to the ground, and falling safely; club only.
Jurus: A set sequence of moves, like a short form.
Tanding: The four competition categories: sparring, solo form, pair form and team form.
Guard: The hands held up to protect the body.

Try it, nothing to buy

Mark the space once. Every card starts from it.

The cards, level by level

Nobody is late. A beginner of any age starts at Basic.

Basic 3 cards · show· hide Bowing, stances and step patterns, blocking, basic kicks and punches, and at a club the first falls, sweeps and catches, then the first standard solo moves.

Move on when the coach confirms the child is ready for the next stage.

Intermediate 2 cards · show· hide Sweeps and takedowns with controlled contact, attack and reception patterns, forms for solo, pair and team, and performance nerves in forms.

Move on when the coach grades the next level.

Advanced 1 cards · show· hide Advanced sweeps, throws and combinations, polished forms, weapon skills and match tactics, all set by the club coach.

a1 Competition and weapons At a club what the coach teaches, what to ask

Teaching this at home

Contact, falls, weapons or heights. At home only games and knowledge; the skill is taught at a club.

You do not need to know the sport. Each card tells you where to stand, what to say and what to look at. Pick one thing to say in a session and say only that. The first week looks messy; that is normal. End every session on one that works.

Cards marked At a club are taught by a coach. They tell you what the coach teaches, what is safe at home, and what to ask the club before your child joins.

How to warm up before playing is at workonfitness.com. The rules of the game are at sportsmaze.com.