Composite

Weapons in this category may be used with equal facility for a wide variety of actions. One such is the cabang an ancient Indonesian weapon of the truncheon type. It is made ofiron and has double tines fastened at the juncture of shaft and handle.

The pencak-silat exponent is never, in fact, "empty-handed", for almost any object within his reach such as a chair, a bottle, or a stone, may become a weapon of expediency in an emergency.

Projectile

The most important members of this family of weapons in Indonesia are the bow and arrow (panah and anak panah) and the blowpipe (sumpit). Their diversity and ingenuity of design are truly astonishing. Although not used for infighting, the stances and postures adopted in using this sort of weapon are modeled on the pencak-silat training and exercises.

The projectile category also includes weapons which can be thrown as well as used in hand-to-hand combat. A good example is the spear (tombak), which is customarily used in a fencing type of action but which obviously may also be utilized for hurling. The jiau (a small knife for throwing) has many varieties throughout the country, and there' are also weapons of the boomerang type as well as plain throwing sticks.