I saw Indonesian Pencak Silat for the first time in 2003, at the Bercy martial arts expo in Paris. From that time onwards I was allways surprised by the exceptional level of the masters of South East Asia. Silat is a broad term for the martial traditions of Indonesia and the surounding Island kingdoms. The level of skill displayed by the pactitioners in the following clips is phenominal, I would say up there with, and even exceding some of the best from China and Japan. The Silat traditions have the advantage of not being diluted by the influences of cultural revolution, comercialisation and political manipulation, suffered by the Chinese and Japanese arts. However, there are many examples of silat on the net that are surprisingly bad too...
Bruneian Silat with Maul Mornie:
Martial Dance
Dance, music and martial arts have been an important part of taditional culture all over the world. Together, these disciplines formed the cultural heritage of most ancient civilizations. It was common that the disciplines of music, dance and martial arts would influence each other and combine.
In traditional cultures people would use dance and music to express themselves, communicate, celebrate, strengthen the community and worship the gods or ancestors. In cultures where war and fighting were an important part of life the skills of war were naturally incorporated into dance, and dance was incorporated into the fighting arts. Warrior dancing is found in most of the world’s traditional cultures. Its is a beautiful part of our world’s cultural heritage. Here are a few video examples:
Video Clips 
