Silat · Atlas

1. Introduction

Version followed: silat as described in the two 2019 UNESCO inscriptions, "Traditions of Pencak Silat" (Indonesia, element 01391, decision 14.COM 10.B.15) and "Silat" (Malaysia, element 01504, decision 14.COM 10.b.22). It also draws on how the Indonesian federation IPSI (Ikatan Pencak Silat Indonesia) and the international federation PERSILAT frame the art, as these are reported in published sources. School-specific curricula are not followed, because each perguruan (school) sets its own.

Silat is not a psychotherapy. It is a family of Malay-world martial arts taught by a guru (master) within a school, in many regional styles. UNESCO describes the Indonesian traditions as having "sporting, mental-spiritual, self-defence, and artistic aspects", with movements coordinated with accompanying music. These are the same four aspects that IPSI's leadership is reported to develop: mental spiritual, beladiri (self-defence), seni (art) and olahraga (sport) [source: UNESCO 14.COM 10.B.15; UNESCO element page 01391; Siswantoyo 2005]. IPSI's own published wording of the four aspects is not cited here [uncertain].

The Malaysian inscription calls silat "a combative art of self-defence and survival". It says silat developed into physical and spiritual training that includes traditional Malay attire, silat music and customs [source: UNESCO 14.COM 10.b.22]. Practitioners and federations understand change as character formation. In Indonesia this is expressed as budi pekerti luhur (noble character). Dr Ruslan Abdulgani defined it as a philosophy that sets the measure of truth, duty and goodness for the practitioner (translated from Indonesian) [source: Siswantoyo 2005; EPSF page]. UNESCO adds that practitioners are taught to maintain their relationship "with God, other people, and nature". It also says training aims to protect oneself and others while avoiding harm to the attacker [source: UNESCO 14.COM 10.B.15].

Spiritual, religious and magical elements belong to the tradition and to particular schools. They are reported here, not stated as fact. Examples are the Sufi framing of some Malay schools, the "magic", "enchantment" and "divination" studied by the anthropologist D. S. Farrer, the Malaysian heritage dossier's description of silat as a path to closeness with God and to good character, and inner-power teachings in some schools [source: Farrer 2009 table of contents; Malaysia ICH inventory dossier; inner-power teachings: uncertain].

For the psychotherapist: silat is delivered by gurus and coaches in schools and clubs, not by therapists. Holding therapy qualifications does not give a psychotherapist standing to teach it. This guide is therefore written for a psychotherapist working alongside a silat teacher: suggesting a class, screening, preparing the client, integrating the experience, and recognising harms [synthesis]. One published clinical adaptation exists, a "Modified Pencak Silat exercise program" for older adults delivered within physical therapy. It is described under 4.10 [source: Roning et al. 2025].

2. Framework

How the tradition organises learning (as published).

Setting and authority. Knowledge is passed on in non-formal schools "through greetings, philosophical phrases, rhymed poems, advice, songs, and instrument techniques" [source: UNESCO 14.COM 10.B.15]. In Malaysia, training usually takes place in the evening or at night in an open space such as a courtyard. It is led by the Master and a "Jurukaka", an assistant or senior student. The practice is kept alive by "masters, gurus, teachers and students" [source: UNESCO 14.COM 10.b.22].
Styles. Each Indonesian region has its own moves, styles, music, costumes, instruments and weapons [source: UNESCO 14.COM 10.B.15]. Malaysia has more than 150 known styles, many named after plants and animals; Silat Harimau, for example, imitates the tiger [source: UNESCO 14.COM 10.b.22].
Organisations. IPSI was founded in Surakarta on 18 May 1948. PERSILAT (Persekutuan Pencak Silat Antarabangsa) was founded in Jakarta on 11 March 1980 [source: EPSF page]. Large mass-membership schools also exist. Pagar Nusa, for example, is the pencak silat organisation of Nahdlatul Ulama and has a council of senior masters, the Majelis Pendekar [source: NU Online 2023]. The Malaysian nomination involved Persatuan Dunia Seni Silat Melayu Malaysia and Persekutuan Silat Kebangsaan Malaysia [source: UNESCO 14.COM 10.b.22].
Teacher credentials. Teaching authority lies with the guru and the school's lineage. IPSI provincial boards run penataran (upgrading courses) for coaches and judges, covering scoring rules and traditional coaching: choreography, movement aesthetics and musicalisation [source: Suara Surabaya 2026, translated from Indonesian]. In 2023 Pagar Nusa announced it was preparing professional coach certification with Indonesia's national certification agency BNSP. It had not yet launched at that time [source: NU Online 2023]. No government licensing of individual silat teachers is known [uncertain]; the Malaysian heritage dossier states that martial arts organisations there are registered under national legislation and that the government supports them with facilities, equipment and coach allowances [source: Malaysia ICH inventory dossier]. Grading systems (belts, sashes, levels) differ by school [uncertain]. The Malaysian dossier describes four broad levels: beginner (balance, kicks, punches and basic moves); intermediate (applying the basics, with a choice between sport and art); a third level of pelatih or jurukaka (senior students who learn combat techniques, given only to trusted students under the teacher's supervision, and help train others); and pendekar (warrior), the highest level, associated with advanced teaching and with leading and serving the community. Masters are described as responsible for educating every student, and techniques are grouped into buah ("fruit", applied techniques) and bunga ("flower", floral or artistic movement) [source: Malaysia ICH inventory dossier].
State recognition. Indonesia recorded the element in 2014 and recognised it as national intangible heritage in 2018, under the Ministry of Education and Culture. Malaysia added silat to its national inventory in 2008 and declared it national heritage in 2009, under the Department of National Heritage [source: both UNESCO decisions]. Malaysia has announced plans to make silat a co-curricular subject [source: UNESCO Malaysia page].
Ceremony. Silat is performed at traditional Malay weddings, official openings and royal functions [source: UNESCO 14.COM 10.b.22]. It also entertains at ritual ceremonies [source: UNESCO 14.COM 10.B.15]. Many schools hold their own entry, graduation or initiation rites. This guide names them only and does not describe how they are performed. One rite often named in Malay schools is a ritual lime bath (mandi limau) [uncertain].

The psychotherapist's frame: phases alongside the class [synthesis; no published therapy protocol exists].

Exploration (1–2 therapy sessions). Goal: understand why the client wants silat now, and what it means to them culturally, religiously and as family heritage. Move on when the motive is clear and fits the therapy goals.
Screening and clearance (1 session plus GP or physician input). Goal: physical and psychological readiness (section 4.2). Move on when medical clearance is in hand where indicated, and the psychological risks have a plan.
Choosing a school and preparing (1–2 sessions). Goal: a suitable school, plus a plan for touch and consent, triggers, and spiritual content. Move on when the client has attended or watched a trial class.
Early weeks of practice (brief check-ins at each therapy session). Goal: catch overwhelm, injury or harmful dynamics early. Move on when attendance is stable and no red flags appear.
Integration (ongoing). Goal: link what happens in training to the therapy goals.
Review. Every few months, or at any red flag, decide together whether to continue, adjust or stop.

3. Guiding principles

Silat is the tradition's own, not a technique. In practice: speak of it as the client's community and heritage; do not borrow forms for use in your own sessions [synthesis].
Attribute spiritual and religious concepts. In practice: say "in your school, they teach that…", not "your energy is…". Relationship to God, Sufi teachings and inner power belong to the tradition and to the client's faith [source: UNESCO 14.COM 10.B.15; Farrer 2009].
Teaching authority lies with the guru. In practice: do not instruct technique or contradict the teacher on silat content. Raise safety concerns with the client, and with the teacher only with the client's consent [synthesis].
Protection without harm is the art's stated ethic. In practice: use the published aim of protecting oneself and others while avoiding harm to the attacker as a shared language for aggression work [source: UNESCO 14.COM 10.B.15].
Character is the stated outcome. In practice: explore budi pekerti luhur, and humility ("ilmu padi", the rice stalk that bows lower as it fills), as the client understands them [source: Siswantoyo 2005].
Consent to touch is continuous. In practice: the client may decline or stop any partner exercise at any moment. Sexual touch is never acceptable [source: USABP Code VIII; synthesis].
Physical safety first. In practice: medical clearance where indicated. Sparring is optional and never pushed on clients at risk [source: Bahari & Rahayuni 2025; synthesis].
No prescriptions from the therapist. In practice: do not set training frequency, intensity or duration. That is for the teacher and the client's physician [synthesis].
Cultural humility. In practice: ask the client to teach you the meanings; do not assume [synthesis].
Stay within your competence and keep roles separate. In practice: do not combine psychotherapy with hands-on martial instruction [source: APA Ethics Code 2.01; UKCP item 23].
Watch for harm in the group. In practice: abusive guru-student dynamics are possible in any closed hierarchy. Ask about them routinely [synthesis; no silat-specific report cited].

4. Intervention inventory

The published tradition defines its own activities: forms and moves, self-defence, artistic performance with music, sport sparring, and the teaching of philosophy through phrases, rhymed verse, advice and song [source: UNESCO 14.COM 10.B.15; IPSI East Java penataran content, Suara Surabaya 2026]. The guru teaches these. They are listed in 4.1 so the therapist knows what the client will meet; they are not something the therapist delivers. Sections 4.2 to 4.11 are the psychotherapist's own interventions alongside the class. They are [synthesis] unless a source is cited.

4.1 Knowing what the class contains (orientation for the therapist)

Purpose: to prepare the client realistically and to spot mismatches with their needs.
Steps: (1) Ask the client which school and style they are considering, and whether it is a club affiliated to IPSI or to Persekutuan Silat Kebangsaan Malaysia, a traditional perguruan or a faith-based organisation such as Pagar Nusa. (2) Go through the published components with the client:
- Self-defence (beladiri): includes protecting others and "avoiding harm to the attacker" [source: UNESCO 14.COM 10.B.15].
- Art (seni): choreographed forms with traditional music, costume and in some styles weapons [source: UNESCO 14.COM 10.B.15; Suara Surabaya 2026].
- Sport (olahraga): competitive sparring, which the most recent injury survey studies [source: Bahari & Rahayuni 2025].
- Mental-spiritual: values, prayer, and school ethics and pledges; Siswantoyo mentions a "janji pesilat" (practitioner's promise) and school "panca prasetya" (five pledges) [source: Siswantoyo 2005].
- Customs: greetings, attire and ceremonies [source: UNESCO 14.COM 10.b.22]. (3) Ask whether the school includes partner work, takedowns, weapons, or rites the client would be expected to join.
Example language (illustrative): "Silat schools differ a lot. Some are mostly sport and competition, some mostly art and music, some have a strong religious side. What do you know about this one?"
Watch for: a client who expects therapy from the class; a school that cannot say what it teaches; pressure to join rites before trust is built. It is working when the client can describe the school's mix of the four aspects and what they want from each.

4.2 Physical and psychological screening; medical clearance

Purpose: to reduce the risk of injury and of psychological destabilisation.
Steps:
1. Physical. Ask about cardiovascular disease, uncontrolled blood pressure, recent concussion or head injury, epilepsy, pregnancy, osteoporosis, joint instability (especially ankle and knee), recent surgery and anticoagulant use. Where any is present, ask the client to obtain medical clearance and to tell the teacher [synthesis: no official silat contraindication list is published; uncertain].
2. Injury pattern. Explain the published injury pattern so the client can choose their level of contact. In a 2025 East Java survey of competitive sparring athletes:
  - Training injuries were mainly finger blisters, arm bruises and lower-leg and ankle sprains.
  - Match injuries were mainly lower-limb bruises, ankle sprains and head or face abrasions.
  - Dislocations and fractures were uncommon.
  - The study blamed technical errors, lack of warm-up, inadequate facilities, punching power and takedowns. [source: Bahari & Rahayuni 2025]
3. Psychological. Screen for:
  - trauma, especially assault;
  - dissociation;
  - active psychosis, or beliefs about magic or inner power that are building into delusion [synthesis];
  - aggression and anger-control problems;
  - eating-disorder or compulsive-exercise patterns;
  - current self-harm.
4. Plan. Agree what level of contact suits the client (for example, art and forms only at first) [synthesis].
Example language (illustrative): "Before you start, let's check what your body and mind need. Studies of silat athletes mostly found bruises and ankle sprains, often from takedowns and missed warm-ups. Is there anything your doctor should look at first?"
Watch for: minimising of symptoms; wanting to jump straight into sparring; head-injury history. It is working when the client has clearance where needed and has told the teacher about their limits.

4.3 Choosing a school and a guru

Purpose: to match the client with a safe, accountable teacher.
Steps: Ask the client to look for the following:
- Affiliation: whether the club belongs to a national federation (IPSI in Indonesia; Persekutuan Silat Kebangsaan Malaysia in Malaysia) or to an established school with a known lineage [source: EPSF page; UNESCO 14.COM 10.b.22].
- Coaching training: whether coaches have attended federation upgrading courses [source: Suara Surabaya 2026].
- A trial class: watch one first.
- Warm-up: whether it is routine. The 2025 survey linked a lack of warm-up to injury [source: Bahari & Rahayuni 2025].
- Safety and first aid: what protective gear is used and how first aid is handled.
- How refusal is treated: how the teacher responds when a student declines an exercise or a rite.
- Abuse policy: whether the school has a safeguarding or abuse-reporting route. This applies above all for children [synthesis].
Example language (illustrative): "When you watch the trial class, notice how the guru reacts if someone says 'not today'. That tells you a lot."
Watch for: secrecy, demands for large payments, isolation from family, claims that the guru's power can cure illness, or intimidation. It is working when the client feels respected and can ask questions freely.

4.4 Preparing for touch and partner work

Purpose: to make partner drills, locks, takedowns and hands-on correction tolerable and consensual.
Steps:
1. Map which kinds of contact the client expects: grips, strikes on pads, sweeps and takedowns, hands-on correction.
2. Help the client plan how to tell the teacher their limits before class, and how to stop mid-drill. Agree a word or gesture.
3. Rehearse saying no.
4. Agree that sexual touch is never part of training. Any touch the client experiences as sexual is a reason to stop, leave and report. The body-psychotherapy codes set out the principles to borrow: informed consent before any touch, consent that is monitored over time, and the right to refuse or end touch at any time [source: USABP Code of Ethics VIII.2, VIII.4, VIII.5]. Mainstream therapy codes ban sexual contact with clients [source: APA Ethics Code 10.05; UKCP item 4]. The therapist does not touch the client to demonstrate techniques [synthesis].
Example language (illustrative): "You're allowed to say 'not that one' or tap out at any point, even in the middle of a drill. Let's practise how you'd say that to your teacher."
Watch for: freezing during contact, compliance to please the guru, and later shame or flashbacks. It is working when the client reports at least once having stated a limit and having it respected.

4.5 Preparing clients with trauma histories

Purpose: to reduce re-traumatisation, especially for survivors of assault, who may be drawn to self-defence.
Steps:
1. Identify likely triggers: being grabbed from behind, being pinned or taken down, shouting, darkness during night training [source for the night setting: UNESCO 14.COM 10.b.22].
2. Build grounding skills in therapy before the client starts.
3. Agree a graded entry: watch first, then forms and art, and partner work only later.
4. Plan what to do in class if triggered: step out, orient, use a grounding skill.
5. Debrief in the next session.
Example language (illustrative): "If a grab from behind brings the old memory back, you can step to the side of the mat, feel your feet, name five things you see, and rejoin only if you choose."
Watch for: dissociation such as numbness, time loss or a 'not there' feeling; using training to re-enact danger; trauma symptoms getting worse. It is working when training raises the client's sense of agency without raising symptoms.

4.6 Working with aggression and anger

Purpose: to decide whether a combative art helps or harms a client with aggression problems, and to use the art's ethic in therapy.
Steps:
1. Assess recent violence, legal issues and weapon access.
2. Explore the published ethic: self-protection and protection of others while avoiding harm to the attacker [source: UNESCO 14.COM 10.B.15]; striking techniques only for self-defence [source: EPSF page].
3. Agree that the client will not start sparring or weapons training while violence is recent [synthesis].
4. Link training discipline to the anger plan: noticing arousal, pausing, choosing.
Example language (illustrative): "Your school teaches protecting yourself without harming the attacker. What would that look like at home when you feel the heat rising?"
Watch for: fantasies of revenge, carrying weapons outside class, and boasting about hurting people. It is working when the client uses training language for restraint rather than for domination.

4.7 Exploring religious, spiritual and magical teachings

Purpose: to respect the client's faith and the school's teachings, and to notice distress or conflict.
Steps:
1. Ask what the school teaches about God, prayer, Sufi practice, inner power, protective knowledge or the guru's spiritual authority. Report these back as the school's teachings. The published tradition includes relationship with God, other people and nature [source: UNESCO 14.COM 10.B.15]; "physical and spiritual training" and knowledge of nature and the universe [source: UNESCO 14.COM 10.b.22]; Sufi framings, magic, enchantment and divination in some Malay schools [source: Farrer 2009 table of contents]; and religious and moral values as the foundation [source: EPSF page].
2. Check that these teachings fit the client's own faith. Some Muslim clients may worry whether a school's practices fit their aqidah (creed). Suggest they consult their own religious adviser; do not rule on it yourself [synthesis].
3. Do not take part in or direct rites. Name them only (initiation, graduation, oaths and pledges).
Example language (illustrative): "Your guru teaches that the training builds inner strength through prayer. How does that sit with your own faith? Is there someone in your community you'd want to ask?"
Watch for: fear of curses or supernatural punishment for leaving; beliefs about invulnerability; spiritual explanations that replace needed medical care. In clients with psychosis, watch for magical content becoming fixed or distressing. It is working when the client holds the teachings in a way that is meaningful but not frightening.

4.8 Integrating training experiences into therapy

Purpose: to turn what happens in class into therapy material.
Steps:
1. Open each session with a short check-in on training: body, feelings, relationships in the group.
2. Link it to the client's goals, for example confidence, discipline, belonging or cultural identity. The Malaysian inscription lists attitudes the art is said to foster: "thoughtful, strategic, bold, confident, diligent, creative and courteous" [source: UNESCO 14.COM 10.b.22]. Use these as the tradition's stated aims, not as guaranteed results.
3. Explore values that school symbols carry, such as "ilmu padi" humility [source: Siswantoyo 2005].
4. Notice transference to the guru.
Example language (illustrative): "You said you held your ground in the drill but your chest was tight. Where else does that combination show up?"
Watch for: idealising the guru, guilt over missed classes, and training crowding out other parts of life. It is working when insights from class turn up in the client's daily life.

4.9 Cultural identity and heritage work

Purpose: for Malay, Indonesian or diaspora clients, to use silat as a link to heritage and community.
Steps:
1. Explore the family history of silat.
2. Explore its meaning as "an important symbol of Indonesian identity and unity" or as an expression of Malay identity [source: both UNESCO decisions].
3. Explore festival and wedding performance as community belonging [source: UNESCO 14.COM 10.b.22].
4. Respect regional differences in name and style: "pencak" is more common in Java, "silat" in West Sumatra [source: UNESCO 14.COM 10.B.15].
Example language (illustrative): "Your grandfather taught silat in the kampung. What does it mean to you to pick it up again here?"
Watch for: feeling obliged to live up to the family, or conflict between communities or schools. It is working when the client describes belonging rather than pressure.

4.10 Referral to published clinical adaptations

Purpose: to point clients to adapted programmes delivered by health professionals, where such programmes exist.
Steps:
- Modified Pencak Silat programme for older adults. A randomised controlled trial in community-dwelling older Malay Thai Muslims in Thailand's southern border provinces compared a 12-week modified Pencak Silat exercise programme (n=35) with general exercise (n=35). It reported greater gains in strength, flexibility, endurance and balance, and reduced fall risk. Physical therapists at Raman Hospital ran the study [source: Roning, Daoh & Eungpinichpong 2025]. The published abstract gives no session content, and adverse events were not reported. Evidence status: a single trial; no independent review is known [uncertain]. Refer older clients to a physiotherapist or falls service, not to an ordinary sport club.
- Autism. A 2019 conference paper by M. B. T. Sampurno, "Models' Therapy Activation and Relaxation Based Culture of Pencak Silat for Autism" (Atlantis Press proceedings), reports a single case: a child with autism in Yogyakarta, studied through practice-led research and ethnography, whose therapy was framed as a performance. It reports better communication and memory and more confidence in the child and family, and proposes an integrated therapy model; the abstract does not describe the activities used [source: Sampurno 2019, abstract]. Treat it as an early-stage idea from one case, not an established therapy.
- Silat is not a treatment for any physical disease [synthesis].
Example language (illustrative): "There's a silat-based exercise programme for balance that physiotherapists have tested with older adults. It's early research, but if it interests you, your physiotherapist could look into it."
Watch for: overclaiming health benefits, and clients dropping medical care. It is working when referral goes through a qualified health professional.

4.11 Recognising and passing on harm

Purpose: to act on injury, abuse or exploitation.
Steps:
1. Ask routinely about injuries, especially head injuries and recurrent ankle sprains [source: Bahari & Rahayuni 2025], and send the client for medical care.
2. Ask about humiliation, physical punishment, sexual contact, financial demands and threats tied to leaving.
3. For minors, follow local safeguarding procedures.
4. Support the client in reporting to the school's leadership, the provincial or national federation, or the police, as appropriate.
5. Record the concerns and consult your supervisor [synthesis; no reliable silat-specific abuse reports were found].
Example language (illustrative): "Nothing in martial training makes it acceptable to be touched sexually or hit as punishment. If that's happened, we can work out together who to tell."
Watch for: reluctance to talk because of loyalty to the guru, fear of spiritual sanctions, or the community closing ranks. It is working when the client is safe and feels supported in whatever choice they make.

5. Handling problems

The published sources do not address how to handle problems when silat sits alongside psychotherapy. All the guidance below is [synthesis] unless a source is cited.

Overwhelm or flashbacks in class. Use the plan from 4.5: step out, ground, rejoin only by choice. In therapy, slow down. Drop partner work for a while and keep forms and art if the client wants to. If symptoms keep rising, pause training. Illustrative: "Let's take partner work off the table for now. Your place in the school isn't going anywhere."
Dissociation during contact. Treat it as a signal to stop that kind of contact rather than to push through. Coach the client to tell the teacher they need a solo variant.
Injury. Send the client for medical assessment. Any suspected concussion means no return to contact until a doctor clears it. Explore any pressure to train or compete while hurt. The published injury profile is mostly lower-limb bruises and ankle sprains, with head and face abrasions in matches [source: Bahari & Rahayuni 2025].
Non-adherence or dropping out. Explore without judging: cost, schedule (many Malaysian classes run in the evening or at night [source: UNESCO 14.COM 10.b.22]), group fit, fear. Never make continuing in silat a condition of therapy.
Over-engagement. Training may crowd out work, family or rest, or the client may idealise the guru. Reflect the pattern back and review the client's goals with them.
Resistance or mistrust of the therapist ("you don't understand our tradition"). Agree. Ask the client to teach you. Stay curious and keep separate what the school teaches from what you are evaluating clinically.
Rupture over the guru. If you raise concerns about the teacher and the client feels their loyalty is attacked, repair: name your concern as being about the client's safety, not about the tradition.
Conflict between faith and school. Refer the client to a religious adviser of their choosing. Do not rule on what is permitted or not [synthesis].
Spiritual distress or magical beliefs becoming fixed. Assess for psychosis and liaise with psychiatry. Speak respectfully of the tradition while treating the symptoms.
Aggression escalating. Recommend pausing sparring and weapons training. Raise risk assessment and safety planning, and follow your duty-to-protect obligations.
Suspected abuse or exploitation in the school. Follow 4.11. For minors, follow your safeguarding procedure.
The therapist is asked to join, teach or demonstrate. Decline to combine roles. Keep therapy and martial instruction separate, and practise within your competence [source: APA Ethics Code 2.01, 3.05; UKCP items 23–24]. If the client is also seeing a body-oriented practitioner, discuss how the parallel services fit together [source: EABP Ethics Guidelines 6.b].

Sources

Web sources

Not covered here [uncertain]

IPSI's own statement of the four aspects; JAKIM or other religious-authority guidance on silat practices; named initiation rites.

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