Himpunan Pencak Silat Panglipur (The Community of Panglipur Pencak Silat) is a well-known school of Pencak Silat that has grown in popularity because of the martial artists/actor Cecep Arif Rahman. His appearance in several films (including Star Wars) as well as his charismatic personality and strong command of the English language garnered an increased interest in Panglipur Pencak Silat.
Panglipur school was founded over a century ago in 1909 by Abah Aleh in Bandung (West Java). One of the meanings of Panglipur comes from a Javanese word meaning “the entertainment”. This is significant because, in contrast to other Pencak Silat schools that gained popularity due to competitions, Panglipur became famous for its Jurus (forms). Historically, the Panglipur Jurus were so aesthetically pleasing that audiences would gather just to watch the amazing performances and demonstrations from the seni (artistic) practitioners.
One famous story recounts how a governor by the name of Adipati Wiranata Kusumah, who was seriously ill at the time, had a desire to watch Pencak Silat and other artistic performances. The governor invited the Panglipur founder Abah Aleh to display their art of Seni Pencak. The governor was moved so much by the performance that he immediately started feeling better, and was soon cured. As a sign of gratitude, the governor gave each of the artistic groups that performed a name of its own. Alah Aleh’s group was given the Sundanese/West Javanese name of Panglipur Galih.
Experts also explain the meaning of Panglipur to mean “comforting” and/or “consolation”. It is explained that when Abah Aleh performed the movements, the governer felt comforted and thus cured of his condition that the medicine men/doctors could not not heal. There is also an acronym for the word Panglipur: Pek Aranjeun Neangan Guru Luhung Ilmu Pikeun Udagan Rasa, which translates to: “Please, you are looking for the quality scientific expert teacher who can help us reach the higher feeling knowledge”.
Although Pangliur has an interesting history in the seni (artistic) side of Silat, Pangliur fighters are also known for their exceptional fighting skills. Panglipur derives its techniques from a combination of several traditional styles (alirans), namely Syahbandar, Kari-madi, Serak, Cimande and Cikalong. The goal of Panglipur is to develop a healthy body, calm mind and to gain the ability to efficiently defend oneself and family. The curriculum includes self-defense, breathing work, physical conditioning and meditation.
Some characteristics of the system include: hard/soft, fast/slow, and dynamic movements with footwork, as a guiding principle. Practicing in set forms called jurus; teaches students effective striking, the economy of power, awareness of multiple opponents. Balanced with the drilling of the self defense aspects, technical and freestyle sparring to pressure test students and prepare them for anything life throws at them. The dance aspect is called Ibing, which show-cases the various stylistic movements of the system. This is usually performed with live, traditional Indonesian music called Gendang.
Source Website: Pencak Silat Panglipur USA
Another interesting fact is that for many years Panglipur was lead by a female master Ibu Enny Rukmini Sekarningrat, also known as Mami Enny. She is the fourth child of the Panglipur grandmaster Abah Aleh. In 1950, her father officially handed over the reins of Panglipur leadership to Ibu Enny, as the most capable of his children to lead the organization. Well respected in the international martial arts community, Ibu Enny continued to be very active in Pencak Silat even in her 90’s. Under Ibu Enny Rukmini’s leadership, the Panglipur Pencak Silat College grew rapidly even outside of Indonesia.
As time passed, other Panglipur schools splintered off and created independent branches across Indonesia. These new schools include: Rayi Panglipur, Panglipur Muda, Mekar Panglipur, Sinar Panglipur, Panglipur Jembar Kencana, Simpay Panglipur, Panglipur Pamager Sar and Panglipur Siliwangi. Thus the Himpunan Pencak Silat Panglipur (Community of Pencak Silat Panglipur) was created, in order to unite the difference schools under one umbrella organization. Ibu Enny was the leader of this association of various Panglipur schools until her death in June 17, 2011.
Pencak Silat Panglipur is now taught in many countries around the world such as in Malaysia, the Netherlands, Austria, France, UK, Saudi Arabia and USA . Panglipur has over 30 branches outside Indonesia. Panglipur hosts an international Pencak Silat camp each year called the Kasundan International Silat Camp where martial arts enthusiasts can experience Pencak Silat and the culture of Indonesian martial arts in the native country of Indonesia. For more information, contact them here.
