Dear my brothers in pencak silat,
So many misconceptions about pencak silat is spreading out there, so this forum is one of the gift to give the right concepts of pencak silat which has been done by our people in Indonesia. I saw lots of topics regarding the title pendekar claimed by some people in some countries, so we have to understand the terminology of "pendekar" itself. We can also compare the terminology of "pendekar" with "jago" or "jawara".
"Pendekar" is a title given by society to a master of pencak silat art that qualified to held that title by his expertise in pencak silat techniques and his attitude towards his enemy, friends, students and his society that shows his noble characters. so if a pencak silat master without noble character, we could call him "jawara" or "jago" NOT "pendekar". Also the title pendekar are given by society, not claimed by himself or his students.
I hope explanation will clarify about pendekar title.
Salam Hormat
AR
http://www.silatcenter.com