This past weekend was an historic event for Pencak Silat in the United States. Our Roadshow to the Olympics was the first truly inclusive gathering of the diverse number of Pencak Silat styles in America. This summit brought together silat players from over 12 different styles and 10 different states spread across all regions of America. With approximately 30 pencak silat players in attendance, the atmosphere was abuzz with this newfound spirit of unity.
As part of the showcase, we were honored and blessed to host PERSILAT Executive Chairman, Benny G. Sumarsono. He made the long trek from Indonesia (through multiple flight delays no less) to attend this gathering and to offer his expertise and leadership. In addition to providing training on the specifics of pencak silat events — helping to lay the foundation for development of future athletes, coaches and officials. Our event culminated with Pak Benny’s speech at our celebratory banquet. He advised the audience that our success hinges on coming together under one umbrella and expressed support for USSSA, its mission of sharing Pencak Silat with the United States and its goal of serving as the governing body for Pencak Silat sports competition in the United States.
Selection of State Coordinators
Also as part of this meeting we selected coordinators for the states in attendance. The list below enumerates our current representatives. More details will come soon on the website. These people have graciously stepped forward to oversee development of Pencak Silat sports in their states and will be organizing state and regional competitions as part of the Road to the Olympics. We will publish more details for about how to communicate with them in the near future. In the mean time, thank you coordinators for your commitment.
| State | Coordinator | Style / Affiliation |
|---|---|---|
| California | Yusuf Kurniawan | Perisai Diri |
| Colorado | Edward Alexander | Inti Ombak Pencak Silat |
| Florida | Chester Melonius | Pencak Silat Manyang |
| Georgia | Kireeti Sangadala | Premiere Martial Arts Pencak Silat Tenaga Tiga |
| Hawaii (Big Island) | Bahati Mershant | Pencak Silat Tenaga Tiga |
| Hawaii (Oahu) | Leo Sues | Pencak Silat Mande Muda |
| Illinois | Dr. Sheik Shamsuddin | Silat Seni Gayong |
| Maryland | Dr. Scott Sobel | Silat Serak |
| Massachusetts | May William | Baringin Sakti Pencak Silat |
| Missouri | Jeff Sprawls | Maju Bela Diri Pencak Silat |
| New Hampshire | Ismail Sujadi | Pencak Silat Galih Pasundan |
| New York | Benny Rahardja | PGB Bangau Putih |
| Texas | K.R. Doc Dority | Pencak Silat Mande Muda |
| Utah | Nate Zeleznick | Merpati Putih |
| Vermont | Mark Zizis | Inti Ombak Pencak Silat |
| Virginia | Chris Robinson | Silat Satria |
