Silat in Egypt

Egypt is famous for its ancient pyramids and fertile Nile river. This middle-eastern country on the continent of Africa also has a long history with martial arts. Egypt won 2 bronze medals in Taekwondo during the Olympics, one from Hedaya Malak a 27-year-old, who finished third in the -57kg category at the Rio Olympics four years ago, and has qualified for the upcoming 2021 Olympics in Tokyo. Egypt is one of the dominant forces in Sport Karate in Africa, winning 8 medals at the African championship in 2017.

In the recent years, however, Silat has become increasingly popular in Egypt. In the 1990’s, Indonesian students who came to Egypt to study, introduced Silat to the their friends and colleagues. The growth remained slow but steady, until 2011 where it became increasingly popular. There are two main perguruans (Silat Schools) in Egypt: Tapak Suci (easily recognized by their red and yellow uniforms) and Talago Biru (black uniforms).

As the word spread, Silat steadily became more popular throughout Egypt. They began holding regular classes at various centers in Cairo and formed the Egyptian Penack Silat Association (EPSA) in 2014. The current president of the Egyptian federation is Ahmad Safwat Abdelfattah. Abd al-Rahman Ramadan, another competitor also had a good performance at the event. Pencak Silat is now being practiced in 6 districts (governorates) in Cairo, Giza, Alexandria, Menoufia, Dakahlia, Kafr El Sheikh and Benha. There are over 3,700 practitioners and 44 coaches/instructors in Egypt at the time of this writing.

In 2016, Egyptian pesilats held their first Pencak Silat tournament at the Indonesian Cultural Center in Cairo. In 2018, Egypt sent a delegation to the 18th World Pencak Silat Tournament in Singapore. Egypt won a bronze medal by Ahmed Hamdy Al-Zoghbi in male tanding (sparring) The next Egyptian national championship is schedule to be held at the end of 2021 (depending on the pandemic situation).

The EPSF is now recognized as an Associate Member of the International Pencak Silat Federation (PERSILAT).