The spiritual aspect of Silat is not unique. There is a reason why they say Silat was influenced by Indian as well as Chinese martial arts. What differentiates it is flavor when additional mixture of Islamic as well as pre Islamic pagan beliefs were added in the mix. But we see that even in some Chinese muslim arts. Arnis and Escima have Christianized versions. These spiritual elements were loat ir maginalized or watered down when exported to the west. But if you go deep into the traditions of all martial arts, there exists spiritual dimensions. These were emphasized depending on the historical period and socio political context of each art.
Interesting- another is penja punya ( something like that ). Close quarters combat techniques. Done in Malaysia I believe.
The spiritual aspect of Silat is not unique. There is a reason why they say Silat was influenced by Indian as well as Chinese martial arts. What differentiates it is flavor when additional mixture of Islamic as well as pre Islamic pagan beliefs were added in the mix. But we see that even in some Chinese muslim arts. Arnis and Escima have Christianized versions.
These spiritual elements were loat ir maginalized or watered down when exported to the west. But if you go deep into the traditions of all martial arts, there exists spiritual dimensions.
These were emphasized depending on the historical period and socio political context of each art.