30 Years of Pencak Silat in Belgium

There was something special on the opening ceremony of the 17th Belgian Open Pencak Silat Championship which was held in Schoten, Belgium, on May 5, 2012: Chairman of the Belgian Pencak Silat Federation "Harimau Bongkot" Ludo Pieters received congratulations from his family in front of the participants from 11 countries and invitees for his efforts in advancing the Federation which was founded by his father 30 years ago out of his love of this Indonesian martial arts.

Officially opened this championship, Ambassador Arif Havas Oegroseno expressed his high appreciation towards the Pieters family who introduced and developed pencak silat in Belgium. Belgian Pencak Silat Federation has successfully conducted European Pencak Silat Championship for three times and Belgian Open Pencak Silat Championship for 17 times. He added that pencak silat is not only about competition, but also about understanding the culture, philosophy, tradition of sportmanship, and also about developing the cultural heritage of Indonesia and the world.

Ambassador Oegroseno also welcomed Vietnam and Japan which joined this competition for the first time. He regretted Indonesia’s continuing absence in the competition. [Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia,  Brussels]