History

Fighting arts in the Malay Peninsula and Malay Archipelago arose out of hunting methods and military training by the region's native inhabitants. The descendents of former headhunters still perform ancient wardances which are considered the precursor of the freestyle form in silat. While these aborigines retained their tribal way of life, the Indon-Malay diaspora instead based their culture on China and India. By adopting the Indian faiths of Hinduism and Buddhism, their social structure became more organised.[3] Evidence shows that silat was influenced by both Chinese and Indian martial arts.[4] Many of the region's medicinal practices and weapons originated in either India or China, and silat's thigh-slapping actions are reminiscent of Hindu wrestling.[5] The Chinese community also practiced their own localised martial arts known as kuntao, which both influenced and borrowed from silat.

inciting another vroom vroom thread ?