Thailand, one of the world's most visited tourist destinations, is known most for its beautiful white-sand beaches and its local combat sport of Muay Thai. Last month in January, a six-member team from the United States traveled to the city of Phuket for the World Pencak Silat Championships.
Pencak Silat is a martial art that was developed in Muslim majority countries of Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Brunei. Hundreds of competitors from 37 countries attended this event to test their skills against the worlds top Silat practitioners.
One of the coaches for the team, Northern Virginia resident Abdul-Malik Ahmad, competed in the two previous tournaments in 2010 and 2012. This year he was eager to bring an actual team from the USA for first time. Training for the tournament started months before in Virginia and Rockville, Maryland for sparring and artistic divisions. Although Pencak Silatís the self-defense aspect (Bela-Diri) has been in existence for centuries, the sport aspect (Silat Ohlahraga) been steadily growing in the last several decades. With close to 40 countries participating in Silat, organizers are actively pursing the sport to part of the Olympics in 2024.
Because Pencak Silat was developed in Muslim majority countries of South East Asia, more than half of the participants were Muslim. Halal food was served for all of the meals and the competition was paused for Friday prayers. Many of the athletes and coaches went to a local Masjid where the Khutbah was conducted in Thai language. Phuket is between 30-40% Muslim and the presence can be seen throughout the city. Pencak Silat is supported by the government of Thailand in order to maintain a good relationship with the growing Muslim population in Thailand.
Although none of the USA team members came home with medals, the experience of competing and training with the other teams was invaluable. Abdul-Malik Ahmad and Wona Sumantri took a course for becoming a Wasit (Referee/Jury) for sport Silat and were awarded their certificate for becoming international referees.
The entire competition lasted around 10 days and was televised live throughout Thailand. The team hopes to compete again at upcoming Pencak Silat tournaments in Indonesia and Australia and raise enough funds bring a stronger more experienced team next time, In Shaa Allah.