Thanks for the precisions, I was sure this distinction between indonesian and malay practice (just as the distinction between internal and external or souther and northern in TCMA) was way too sharp to be true. thanks again for informing me on this...I knew the thing about bersilat, I just used this term not to confuse anyone...eventhough malay isn't a language based on ideograms, thereare still several ways to write a word...indeed Pencak sounds as Pentchack (and the writing's almost the same), so I used Bersilat, just like everyone uses kung fu instead of gong fu etc... even if it refers to the performance and not to what is performed...
I have seen filipino barehand styles and to me either they are completely different from Silat but bear an ****nyme, either they ARE malay/indonesian Silat...
Tagalog and malay/indonesian sound a lot the same, I don't know but maybe filipinos use the same word silat to describe their practice, just as we use "boxing" to refer to different practices like savate, muai thai, english boxing etc...
Good idea to explain where the term Kun Tao comes from too, people often forget there are lots of Hokkien that have migrated south to Malaysia, bringing their martial styles with them along the way...
Thanks again for everything!!
Phoenix