Control

A martial artist goes through about the same progression throughout his life, pesilat or otherwise.

He starts out thinking of silat as a method of combat. Then as fair combat. Then he realises that fair combat can only exist in a social, physical, cultural and religious vacuum, which is impossible.

He realises that too many variables contribute to the outcome of a battle and seeks to master and control those other variables, either directly or by proxy.

And most often, he discovers that, he controls nothing, but exists as a dot on an intricate web of reality, insignificant, and stops struggling, acheiving exactly what he gave up trying to achieve in the first place.

Control.