Martial Arts Influence in Indonesia Essay

Martial arts in Indonesia all started when the Chinese raced Indonesians brought the Chinese martial arts to Indonesia allowing Indonesian martial arts to develop. The martial arts depicted in Kho Ping Hoo and the movie ‘Merantau’ both have similarities and differences. Kho Ping Hoo was a famous Indonesian martial art author with Chinese ethnicity who wrote stories about martial art. Kho Ping Hoo was inspired from Hongkong and Taiwanese films. Kho Ping Hoo wrote books illegally since during that era, anything that was Chinese related was banned including the language. The type of martial art Kho Ping Hoo wrote was KungFu. KungFu is a martial art of self-defense. Kungfu is a martial art where the aim is to attack the pressure points and any other weak spots. Kungfu uses both hand and foot techniques. The kunfu techniques could also be applied on bamboo sticks, nun chucks, swords, spears and many other weapons; Kungfu techniques could pretty much be applied in anything realistic as a weapon. Kungfu is one of the most popular and oldest well known martial arts. Kho Ping Hoo mentioned that Kungfu is a martial art of internal energy. The movie ‘Merantau’ is an Indonesian martial art based movie, mainly silak minang. ‘Merantau’ means to seek for an opportunity in a new place. Silak minang is a type of Indonesian martial art, pencak silat. The specific type of martial art used in the movie was silat harimau. This martial art concentrates on the movement of a tiger. Silat harimau is a martial art which can be fought with both legs and arms. Silat harimau has a specific weapon used called the ‘kuku harimau’ which has a concaved shape. This weapon is used as an extension nail whereas can give severe damage. The Silak minang is mainly used for self defense. There are many similarities and differences between the martial arts in the movie ‘Merantau’ and the martial mentioned in Kho Ping Hoo’s book. A difference is that Kho Ping Hoo didn’t mention any specific weapon used in Kungfu apart from a bamboo stick. However, in the movie ‘Merantau’ the people that demonstrate the martial art of silek minang uses a weapon called ‘kuku harimau.’ A similarity is that both silek minang and kungfu is used as a purpose of self – defense. However Silek minang could also be performed in a ceremony or a festival. In conclusion, the martial arts depicted in Kho Ping Hoo and the movie ‘Merantau’ both have similarities and differences. Even though both these martial arts come from different places, they are both used as a purpose of self – defense.