Pencak Silat and Silat

Since the mid-1970s, attempts have been made to organise the various Pencak Silat and Silat groups into a National Federation. Eventually, in 2015, the Nederlandse Pencak Silat Federatie, (Dutch Pencak Silat Federation) NPSF was established with some fifty organisations currently affiliated. The NPSF was acknowledged in 2016 by the world association PERSILAT and the European association, the EPSF. In 2019, the NPSF was acknowledged as a member of the Federation of Oriental Combat Sports (FOG) and thereby acknowledged by NOC/NSF.

The mission of the NPSF is to give Pencak Silat a prominent place within martial arts in the Netherlands as a sport, a cultural and martial art form.

The practitioners of Pencak Silat are youth, juniors, adolescents, adults, elderly, men, and women. In addition, there is not only interest from the Dutch-Indonesian and Moluccan communities but also from other communities. There has never been a thorough inventory of the number of practitioners in the Netherlands. But with an estimate of 100 clubs, schools etc. with an average of twenty members the total number of practitioners in the Netherlands is 2000.

The Pencak Silat and Silat came to the Netherlands mainly after the Second World War and after the independence of Indonesia, with the repatriation of large groups of (Indonesian) Dutchmen. The Pencak Silat and Silat practiced in the old East Indies was almost inaccessible to those who had Dutch blood (mixed or not). Only a small group with family ties or special friendships was accepted.

The Pencak Silat and Silat that came to the Netherlands included, in addition to original styles, the mixed styles developed within the Dutch-Indonesian community (the so-called Pukulan = striking).

In the early years the art was only passed on in living rooms, barns, and attics in small (family) groups. From the end of the sixties, small and large schools in association or club form arose that were open to all interested parties. In the beginning there was often a kind of ballotage but later this was not done anymore.

In the 1980s, the PERSILAT developed a form of sport that was bound by strict rules to ensure the safety of the participants. This form of sport developed rapidly because it appeals to the competitive instinct of man.

In the Netherlands, this sport form in particular is growing but in addition, as in the motherlands, new (sub-) styles are also emerging.

In December 2019, Pencak Silat was declared Intangible Cultural Heritage by UNESCO for Indonesia and Silat for Malaysia. However, within the large Dutch-Indonesian and Moluccan community, Pencak Silat and Silat are not only seen as intangible cultural heritage of Indonesia and Malaysia but also of their own community and therefore of the Netherlands.

2021-2024

• - One provides education to members on transportation of weapons.
• - Police and sports instructors are invited to explain the use of weapons and self-defence as taught by the affiliated members.
• - The possibilities for making a documentary on the history of the Pencak Silat and Silat in the Netherlands are investigated.
• - Kendang and first aid courses will be developed and implemented.
• - One is going to organise central contest trainings, with regard to the various different parts, by the national coaches and trainers of the Federation. Here the elements will be taught and trained that are required for the matches.
• - Through the General Assembly of members and by means of personal contacts the affiliated associations will be alerted and stimulated to participate in the sport introductory days of schools and municipalities.