Weapons & Fighting Arts of Indonesia

Absolutely Five Stars (don't know why it shows up as 4 out of 5). Donn Draeger's "Weapons and Fighting Arts of Indonesia" is the definitive Western work on Indonesian fighting arts, and is "must" reading for anyone interested in Indonesia's martial history and culture.

This book is excellent,you will find allot of information in it.I think it might need to be updated,it's missing a few weapons and many styles of pencak silat.Many styles are not even known about outside some families.You know,keep it in the family!Some styles are not that old in terms of how long silat has been in Indonesia.I also wish they had more about inner power.I have seen it with my own eyes.But their is nothing close to this book out there.I stayed in Bandung for about 3 years.

Draeger offers a relatively detailed overview of the martial arts of Indonesia. An invaluable starting point for anyone with an interest in Silat or Kuntao.

this is the best book of it's type.this book is the most in-depth book on the Indonesian fighting arts I have seen.it's an excellent source for the armed/un-armed fighting arts of this region,as well as a resource for the history and culture/anthropology of Indonesia.some of the descriptions of the people in this book are rather outdated and ideo-syncratic. there are tons of photos and illustrations in this book.there are also great descriptions of how some of these things are made such as boobie traps,poisons,clubs with fish bone edges,etc. if you are an avid collector,beginning collector(especially),practicioner,or someone with an interest in the country and people of this region this is a must.

This book was out of print for years and thankfully it has been reprinted. If you have any interest in SE Asian martial arts this book is essential reading. It is very wordy and does not, by its own admission, cover all of Indonesia, but it is very thorough and covers so much more than just the Tjimande and Harimau based styles that we see in the west. The chapters are by island and are broken up into sections on silat, kuntao and any other odds and ends. There are some wonderful black and white photos. The style is a little dated but there is no other book of its kind in existence.