what exactly is kali and silat?

Kali and Silat are both Indonesian and Philipinno martial arts. Both have emphasis on weapons of all types, including knives, sticks, swords, chains, ropes and clothing. The arts are very, very similar. Kali and Silat are general terms of the indonesian arts.. there are several thousand systems within each art. It's like saying Kung Fu or Karate.

 

These arts are still actively used for life/death fighting in indonesia, as the countries there are 3rd world and fighting happens alot.

 

 

what exactly do the arts entail when it comes to hand to hand combat? is it just striking or is there submission holds and throws?

Yes.. all of that. Striking, grappling, locks and chokes are all done with and without the weapons. You'd be amazed how much more effective the grappling is when you use weapons for leverage. There are 12 areas in Kali which includes weapons, missle weapons (firearms), grappling, kickboxing and spiritual developement.

 

 

Thinking to the future, after I hopefully obtain my Taekwon-do black belt which will take another 3 or 4 years, I then think I may train in Kali/Silat or Muay Thai, since they appear to be some of the most realistic and down to earth arts.

 

Thats just my long-term plan