The culture of Malay ethnic people:

The culture of the Malay ethnic people is a "paguyuban" culture (German: Gemeinschaft, English: community), that is, a culture of social solidarity and social togetherness.

The culture of Malay ethnic people which is characterized by paguyuban (kinship/Gemeinschaft) system in its social relationship esteems the religious and moral rules, values and ideals of the society very highly. It is related with the ideal of the society which is to be achieved, that is a masyarakat tata-tentrem karta raharja (a peaceful, secure, orderly a prosperous society).  In such a society, every citizen or member is required to put the accomplishment of his obligations in the forefront rather than ask for his rights.

The applications of the "paguyuban" culture are seen in one's attitude and behavior such as: respecting other fellows, being considerate, peace loving, being cooperative, giving priority to collective interest instead of the interest of oneself, willingness to use consultative approach in making decision for collective interest, being just, being helpful, and keeping the balance of one's rights and one's obligations.  The spiritual base of the applications of the "paguyuban" culture is the noble mind and character.

Pencak Silat is a transformation from the fighting tricks existed previously, that is, the techniques and methods of defeating or solving any physical threat of another man, which is at the owner's disposal (can be used as the owner's wish).

Based on the values of the "paguyuban" culture, Pencak Silat can only be used to defend oneself.  Besides, in conformity with the social ideals of the "paguyuban" culture, that is tata-tentrem karta-raharja or mental and physical security and prosperity, Pencak Silat has been developed from a merely technical quality in the beginning into ethical, technical, aesthetic and athletics[ (sports) qualities.  The ethical and technical qualities refer to mental and physical security, whereas the aesthetic and athletical (sports) qualities refer to mental and physical prosperity.  The ethical, technical, aesthetic and athietical qualities as a unity is the specific values of Pencak Silat.

The philosophy of noble mind and character:

The Philosophy of Pencak Silat is called the falsafah budi pekerti luhur or the philosophy of noble mind and character, because it focuses its interest on the keluhuran budi pekerti (the nobleness of mind and character) or the sublime ethic.  According to this philosophy, a masyarakat tata-tentrem karta-raharja or peaceful, secure, orderly and prosperous society can be created maximally if all of its members keep the code of sublime ethic.  Therefore, the way of life which should be made their principle is the one that forms noble mind and character in themselves.

The falsafah budi pekerti luhur is a part of and inspired by the culture of Malay ethnic people.  This philosophy believes that the ideal of a peaceful, secure, orderly and prosperous society can be achieved if all the members of the society practice the sublime ethic philosophy individually and socially.  Therefore, the philosophy teaches the building of noble mind and character or sublime ethic as the individual and social way and wisdom of life.

Budi (mind) is a soul aspect of human being which has 3 elements as a unity, that is, cipta (reasoning/thinking), rasa (feeling/sensing) and karsa (willing), and the three of them can be interpreted as the activity or dynamic of akal (intellectual/reason), rasa (sensibility) and kehendak (volition).

Pekerti (character, manner or moral) is the visual realization of budi. Luhur (noble) means ideal, sublime, glorious or praiseworthy.  The falsafah budi pekerti luhur teaches human being to activate his reason/intellect, sensibility and volition and perform his character nobly (praiseworthily).  This means that self-control is the core of the falsafah budi pekerti luhur.  Connected with that, the falsafah budi pekerti luhur can be also said as the falsafah pengendalian diri (the self-controlled philosophy).

Mind is the base of character and character resembles mind.  Both of them are in a unity.  The applications of mind and character are in the forms of attitude, deed and behavior.

Budi can be seen in the form of pekerti (character).  All of them must be luhur (exalted/sublime), namely ideal and worthy.  What should be achieved in shaping this sublime ethic is the ability of self-control, especially in using the jurus (the technique of effective physical movement for self defending or attacking).  Jurus should be used only for keeping up the truth, honesty and justice in relation with the exaltation of the religious principles and people's morality as well as for creating a peaceful, secure, orderly and prosperous society.  In other words, the exalted ethical philosophy can also be said as the philosophy of self-control.

With his noble moral (ethic) and highly self-controlled ability, human being will be able to fulfil his kewajiban moral luhur or exalted moral obligation as God's creature, individual creature, social creature and universal creature, that is to devote himself to God, to raise his personal quality, to put the people's interest above self-interest and to love his living environment.  A man who is able to fulfil his noble moral obligations is a man of high dignity.

Noble mind and character as the spiritual base of the application of the "paguyuban" culture is the substance of the philosophy of the Malay ethnic people.  Basicly, philosophy is the way and wisdom of life.

According to the way of life of the Malay ethnic people, a humanbeing in his life has four positions as an unity, that is, the positions as God's being, individual being, social being and universal being.

The wisdom of life of a humanbeing is to uphold the values related to his four positions, each of which is the religious, personal, social and universal values.  All of them are related to the dedication to and belief in God as well as the realization of mental and physical security and prosperity of the people.

The summary of the doctrines of the philosophy of noble mind and character for Pencak Silat man in his position as God's being, individual being, social being and universal being, in general is as follows:

1.As a God's being he is obliged to obey and practice his divine and religious values consistently and consequently, both vertically and horizontally.  Vertically, he is obliged to worship his God to show his gratitude for his own existence and life and for any other God's favors.  This should be practiced continually in the ways of his religious doctrines.  Horizontally he is obliged to apply his God's doctrines and religious teachings in his personal life, social life and universal life.  A human being must perform and apply his religious attitude, not only in his religious life but also in his private life, in his social life as well as in his universal life.  He should accomplish his God's teachings and keep away from God's prohibitions.  His behavior and habits must always be controlled and determined in order to be in harmony with his God's way.  This means that his behavior and habits must be good in conformity with his God's doctrines in order to achieve his personal goals.  This also means that goal does not legalize any ways to achieve it.  All of this description can be resumed as the attitude of devotion to and belief in God.

2.As an individual he is obliged to heighten and to develop his personal quality to achieve a noble personality, which is of high value and quality according to be people's point of view and religious doctrines.  The attitude of devotion to and belief in God is the basic asset in the forming of noble personality.  The application of the noble personality are among others: always to bail, to enlarge, and to deepen his knowledge and science, to build himself, to pursue advancement, to be able to stand alone but not exclusively, to be critical, to be corrective, to be creative, to be moderate, to be economical, to be intelligent, to be educated, to be smart (capable), to be pure, to be shrewd, to be consistent, to be consequent, to be effective, to be productive, to be industrious (diligent), to be honest, to be brave (audacious) but careful, to be stern (strict) but wise (prudent or tactful), to keep the time firmly, to be serious about important and principle things, not to be hypocritical, to be prospective thinking, to keep the principles firmly, always to be ahead to the challenges and to be able to solve the existing challenges, to be generous, to be humble, to have strong self-esteem, to be able to accept reality but optimistic, to be hardworking, to be discreet in thinking and doing anything, to wish to learn from experiences, to have good virtue, to be tough and able to develop his ability, not to be grumble (complaining), not easy to be frustrated, to be pure in heart, to be sincere, to be disciplined, to be low profile, to be cautious and conscientious, to uphold the truth, honesty and justice, to be test-proving against temptation and ordeal.

3.As a social being he is obliged to have noble thought, orientation, insight, view, motivation, attitude, behavior and social acts, which is of high value and quality according to the people's point of view and religious doctrine.  All can be resumed as the attitude of social dedication.  The attitude of devotion to and belief in God and noble personality are the basic assets of the development of this social dedication attitude.  The applications of this attitude of social dedication are among others : to be tolerant (be able to understand other's opinion and interest), to appreciate and respect for others, to perpetuate and implement good traditions and customs, to show empathy, to appreciate any masterpiece, to be open-minded, to be dislike to seek praise, to promote friendship and brotherhood, to be moderate, to be protective, to be educative, to be persuasive, to be communicative, to be charitable, to exert the best effort, to fight for virtue, to be generous, to be ready to apologize when guilty, to be ready to forgive if requested, to be willing to admonished, to avoid disturbing others, to perform tridarrna/bi-duties (to be an example in front, to be a motivator in the middle, to develop ability from behind), to have good ethics and etiquette, to be mature intellectually, emotionally, and socially, to be willing to consulate to solve problem to achieve mutual agreement, to be helpful to those in need, not to be prejudiced or suspicious, not to be narrow minded (egoistic, primordial, sectarian), to keep promise, to be patient, not to do any taboos or anything people dislike, to be credible, not to be jealous and maliciously envious.

4.As a universal being he is obliged to perpetuate the condition and the balance of the universe which produce development, prosperity and happiness of human mankind as God's blessing.  This can be said as the attitude of loving living environment.  The basic assets to form this attitude are the attitude of devotion to and belief in God, noble personality and the attitude of social dedication.  The applications of this attitude are among others : to love the whole universe, to keep cleanness, health, peaceful order, orderliness and environmental comfort, to prevent and overcome any kinds of environmental pollution, to have environmental ethics and discipline.

Supported by the underlying philosophical teachings, Pencak Silat has essentially become the means and substance of mental and physical education in order to shape up humans towards perfection, namely towards being taqwa, tanggap, tangguh, tanggon, trengginas.

Taqwa means firmly believing in God Almighty by obeying all that He commands, avoiding all that He forbids, always seeking to upgrade his own qualities, to place himself in the role of a good member of the society based upon a sense of belonging, solidarity and social responsibility.

Tanggap means sensitiveness for and preparedness to face any changes and developments occurring in any tendencies, demands and challenges, by virtue of courageousness to correct oneself and continuous endeavors to improve one's qualities.

Tangguh means being tough and able to deploy one's capability to answer any challenges and overcome any problems, obstacles, disturbances and menaces in attempting to reach a positive objective, by virtue of a genuine unyielding fighting spirit.

Tanggon means ready and willing to enforce justice, honesty and truth, holding on firmly to principles, having a sense of self-respect and a strong personality, being disciplined, correct in taking acts, alert and resistant agains allurements, by virtue of genuine chivalry (heroic courage) and self-confidence.

Trengginas means healthy, energetic, active, creative, thinking ahead, always to be ahead to the challenges and willing to work hard in the pursuit of progress for oneself as well as for the community, by virtue of willingness to self-upbuilding and to share the responsibility for the social upbuilding.

The foremost phenomenon of the philosophy of noble mind and character teaching is discipline.  According to that teaching, Pencak Silat discipline has 3 conceptions forming a unity, namely:

1.The attitude of always upholding the religious norms, values and aspirations and the social morals.

2.Honest, sincere, autonomous, consequent and responsible obedience and submission to arrangements, regulations, etiquette, procedures and legal agreements in force.

3.Willingness to control himself.

Based on said conception, Pencak Silat discipline has the following values :

1.The value as something of high standing or ideal so that the enforcement of Pencak Silat discipline constitutes honorable and praiseworthy acts.

2.The value as a noble obligation so that its performance constitutes a honorable obligation (nobles oblige).

3.The value of personal and social responsibility so that its performance constitutes a social servitude.

4.The value of social attention and placing social interests before personal interests.

5.The value of mental-spiritual and social adulthood.

6.The value of respect for others' opinions and tolerance (acknowledging others' interests).

7.The value of rejecting any transgressions.

8.The value of prohibiting reaching the end by justifying the means, including the negative means.

The teaching of the philosophy of noble mind and character is the spirit and the source of usage motivation of Pencak Silat.

The substance of Pencak Silat:

The substance of Pencak Silat is the totality of the integrated content of Pencak Silat which has four aspects as a unity.  The aspect of Pencak Silat itself is the outside appearance of Pencak Silat.  In harmony with its values, which are ethical, technical, aesthetic and athletic, substantially Pencak Silat has four aspects or four appearances integrated in a unity (four in one), that is, mental-spiritual, self-defense, art and sports aspects.  The aspects of Pencak Silat can be distinguished based on their purpose but they cannot be separated each other.

The substance of Pencak Silat is the visual and physical existence or shape.  The visual and physical form of the mental-spiritual aspect is self-controlled movement, of the self-defensive aspect is technical movement, of the artistic aspect is esthetic movement, and of the sports aspect is sports valued or physical fitness purposed movement.

The appearance of each aspect of Pencak Silat describes the purpose of its existence which is integrated each other in a unity.  Related to that, it can be said categorically that:

1.The mental-spiritual aspect describes the purpose of mental provision attitude of the genuine Pencak Silat man.

2.The self-defense aspect describes the purpose of self defense by using the unique technique and jurus of Pencak Silat Jurus means a series of techniques for specific purpose in the framework of self-defense performance).

3.The art aspect describes the purpose of beauty performance of Pencak Silat.

4.The sports aspect describes the sports purpose of Pencak Silat, that is, fitness, adroitness and sports achievement.

In conformity with the social ideals of mental and physical security and prosperity, the purposes of mental-spiritual aspect and self-defense aspect are related to the security factor, while the purpose of art aspect and sports aspect are connected with the prosperity factor.

Based on the analysis of the jatidiri of Pencak Silat above mentioned, Pencak Silat can be defined holistically as a system of patterned/ fashioned movement which has the values of self-control, self-defensive, beauty and harmony movement and the building of physical skill, fitness and endurance in concord with the sublimity values of Pencak Silat which has the falsafah budi pekerti luhur and with the culture of Malay ethnic people which esteem the religious and social morality.

The term "system" here means a totality consisting of subsystems, which are interdependent and inter-related each other functionally according to particular pattern and has a particular goal.

Based on the definition above, Pencak Silat is essentially a means and substance of spiritual and physical education in building an intact and qualified human being either spiritually or physically.