Pencak silat is a traditional martial art that has developed into a competitive combat sport characterized by repeated high-intensity offensive and defensive actions. In the fighting category, athletes are required to perform explosive technical actions, including punches, kicks, and takedowns, across repeated competition rounds, placing substantial demands on both physical capacity and technical execution. Kicking techniques are particularly important because they constitute a major component of attacking actions and scoring opportunities in pencak silat. Previous research has indicated that kicking is among the dominant techniques used during competition, emphasizing the importance of developing the physical and motor capacities that support effective kick execution (Subekti et al., 2020). The competitive demands of pencak silat therefore require athletes not only to master kicking techniques but also to generate and repeatedly apply force while responding rapidly to dynamic situations during a bout. More recent evidence also demonstrates that repeated high-intensity technical actions place substantial physiological and performance demands on pencak silat athletes (Subekti et al., 2025).

Among the kicking techniques used in pencak silat, the crescent or sickle kick is an important offensive action characterized by a semicircular trajectory toward the opponent. Successful execution requires coordinated lower-limb movement, postural control, and the ability to perform the technique rapidly and repeatedly. Nugroho (2017) identified the crescent kick as a frequently used technique and emphasized that its execution is supported by physical characteristics such as leg muscle strength and movement coordination. Evidence from pencak silat studies further suggests that kicking performance is multidimensional. For example, Subekti et al. (2020) found that eye-foot coordination and movement speed were significantly associated with sickle-kick ability, while the combined contribution of coordination, speed, and limb-length characteristics accounted for a substantial proportion of kicking performance. Similarly, Ihsan et al. (2022) reported that leg muscle explosive power, agility, and self-confidence were associated with sickle-kick performance, with the three variables collectively accounting for 70.2% of the outcome. These findings indicate that effective crescent-kick performance cannot be explained by technical skill or a single physical characteristic alone.

Lower limb muscle strength represents one potentially important physical characteristic because kicking requires the production and control of force through both the supporting and kicking limbs. Although maximal strength and explosive power are distinct physical qualities, research in pencak silat consistently demonstrates the relevance of lower-extremity force-producing capacity to kicking performance. Ihsan et al. (2022) identified leg muscle explosive power as an important component associated with sickle-kick performance. Experimental evidence also supports the responsiveness of kicking performance to lower-limb conditioning. Lubis et al. (2024) reported significant improvements in force, peak power, jump height, and left-leg kicking speed following six weeks of combined plyometric, functional, and interval training in male university pencak silat athletes. Resistance-band training has likewise been reported to improve performance in a 10-second front-kick test among adolescent female pencak silat athletes (Ilahi et al., 2023), while repetition training increased crescent-kick performance by approximately 15% in a small sample of trained athletes (Nugroho, 2017). Collectively, this evidence supports the relevance of lower-limb physical capacity to repeated kicking performance, although the existing literature has predominantly emphasized explosive power, training responses, or specific kick-speed outcomes rather than directly examining lower limb maximal strength.

Body reaction time represents a complementary neuromuscular characteristic that may also be relevant to technical performance in combat sports. Reaction time reflects the interval required to detect a stimulus, process the relevant information, select an appropriate response, and initiate the corresponding motor action. Cano et al. (2024) demonstrated that these processes involve both central decision-making and peripheral neuromuscular components and found that athletes performed motor reaction tasks approximately 30% faster than non-athlete controls. Faster reaction time has also been associated with better physical and sport-skill performance, supporting its relevance as a performance-related characteristic in athletes. In striking combat sports, this capacity is particularly important because athletes must continuously perceive an opponent's actions and rapidly initiate an appropriate offensive, defensive, or counterattacking response. Faro et al. (2025) further demonstrated that reaction time can be assessed reliably using a striking-specific perceptual-motor task in professional combat-sport athletes, highlighting the functional relevance of reaction-related capacities within striking performance. At the same time, their findings emphasize that reaction-time assessment should be interpreted within the context of the task because generic laboratory tests may not fully reproduce the perceptual and environmental demands of real competition.

Despite growing evidence regarding the physical characteristics associated with pencak silat kicking performance, the literature remains fragmented. Previous studies have examined leg explosive power, agility, coordination, speed, anthropometric characteristics, and responses to different conditioning interventions (Ihsan et al., 2022; Ilahi et al., 2023; Lubis et al., 2024; Subekti et al., 2020). For instance, explosive power and agility have been examined together in relation to sickle-kick performance, while coordination and movement speed have also been investigated as correlates of kicking ability. However, within the evidence identified for the present study, considerably less attention has been given to the combined association of maximal lower limb muscle strength and body reaction time with repeated crescent-kick performance. These two characteristics represent complementary domains: muscle strength reflects force-generating capacity, whereas reaction time reflects the efficiency with which an athlete initiates a motor response following a stimulus. Examining them simultaneously may therefore provide a more integrated understanding of the physical and neuromuscular characteristics associated with crescent-kick performance than examining either characteristic in isolation.

Accordingly, the present study extends previous research by examining lower limb muscle strength and body reaction time within the same correlational framework in competitive pencak silat athletes. Rather than treating either characteristic as a causal determinant or predictor, the study evaluates their individual and combined associations with performance on a 10-second crescent-kick test. This distinction is important because the outcome represents repeated crescent-kick performance, rather than direct biomechanical kick velocity. The findings are expected to contribute to the emerging evidence on physical correlates of pencak silat performance and to provide coaches and strength-and-conditioning practitioners with empirical information that may assist in identifying relevant physical training priorities. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the individual and combined associations of lower limb muscle strength and body reaction time with crescent kick performance among competitive pencak silat athletes.

This study examined the individual and combined associations of lower limb muscle strength and body reaction time with crescent kick performance among competitive pencak silat athletes. Descriptive statistics were first calculated to characterize the distribution of the study variables, followed by assumption testing and correlation analyses.

As shown in Table 1, the athletes demonstrated a mean lower limb muscle strength of 128.61 ± 10.11 kg and a mean body reaction time of 0.277 ± 0.021 s. The mean crescent kick performance was 23.47 ± 2.08 valid kicks within 10 seconds, with individual scores ranging from 20 to 28 kicks.

The Kolmogorov–Smirnov test indicated no statistically significant deviations from normality for lower limb muscle strength, body reaction time, or crescent kick performance (all p ≥ 0.200) (Table 2). These results supported the use of parametric correlation analyses.

Note. p = 0.200 represents the lower bound of the true significance value reported by SPSS.

The linearity tests indicated statistically significant linear components for the relationships of lower limb muscle strength and body reaction time with crescent kick performance (p < .05) (Table 3).

Pearson correlation analysis showed a strong positive association between lower limb muscle strength and crescent kick performance (r = 0.734, p < 0.001) (Table 4). Athletes with greater lower limb muscle strength tended to perform a greater number of valid crescent kicks during the 10-second test.

Body reaction time was strongly and negatively associated with crescent kick performance (r = -0.739, p < 0.001) (Table 5). Thus, shorter reaction times were associated with a greater number of valid crescent kicks during the 10-second test.

The multiple correlation analysis showed a strong combined association of lower limb muscle strength and body reaction time with crescent kick performance (R = .754, R² = 0.568, adjusted R² = 0.536, F = 17.777, p < 0.001) (Table 6). Collectively, lower limb muscle strength and body reaction time accounted for 56.8% of the variance in crescent kick performance.

The present study produced three principal findings regarding the associations of lower limb muscle strength and body reaction time with crescent kick performance among pencak silat athletes at Kuningan Terate Sport Center. First, lower limb muscle strength was strongly and positively associated with crescent kick performance (r = 0.734, p < 0.001), indicating that athletes with greater lower limb muscle strength tended to perform a greater number of valid crescent kicks during the 10-second test. Second, body reaction time was strongly and negatively associated with crescent kick performance (r = -0.739, p < 0.001), indicating that shorter reaction times were associated with better kicking performance. Third, lower limb muscle strength and body reaction time showed a strong combined association with crescent kick performance (R = 0.754, R² = 0.568, p < .001), collectively accounting for 56.8% of the variance in the performance outcome. These findings suggest that crescent kick performance is associated with both force-generating capacity and neuromuscular responsiveness and therefore should not be considered solely in relation to a single physical characteristic.

The positive association between lower limb muscle strength and crescent kick performance may be understood from the mechanical demands involved in executing repeated kicking actions. Lower limb muscle strength provides the capacity to generate and control force across the hip, knee, and ankle joints (Suwirman, 2021). During crescent kick execution, the supporting limb contributes to postural stability and force transmission, while the kicking limb must be accelerated rapidly through a coordinated sequence of lower-extremity movements. Greater lower limb strength may therefore provide athletes with a greater capacity to generate and repeatedly apply force while maintaining control of the supporting and kicking limbs. Previous research has similarly emphasized the importance of lower-extremity physical capacity for kicking performance (Kabadayı, 2022). However, because the present study assessed the number of valid kicks completed within 10 seconds rather than biomechanical kick velocity, the findings should be interpreted as evidence of an association between lower limb muscle strength and repeated crescent kick performance rather than direct evidence that stronger athletes produce greater angular or linear kick velocity.

The observed relationship between lower limb muscle strength and crescent kick performance is also consistent with previous literature emphasizing the importance of lower-extremity physical capacity in martial arts and pencak silat. Moreira (2021) reported that leg muscle strength contributes to the physical requirements underlying kicking techniques, while Lubis (2022) emphasized that improvements in lower limb physical capacity may support kicking performance when accompanied by appropriate movement control and flexibility. Similarly, Karo-Karo et al. (2023) highlighted lower-extremity conditioning as an important component of sport-specific movement performance. Although these studies involved different populations, measurements, and training contexts, their findings support the general interpretation that lower limb physical capacity is relevant to successful kicking performance. Nevertheless, the present results extend this evidence by demonstrating a strong association specifically between lower limb muscle strength and the number of valid crescent kicks performed within a standardized 10-second testing period.

Body reaction time demonstrated a similarly strong but inverse association with crescent kick performance. Reaction time reflects the efficiency with which the nervous system detects a stimulus, processes relevant information, selects an appropriate response, and initiates motor action (Ojeda-Aravena, 2023). In combat sports, rapid responses are particularly relevant because athletes operate in dynamic environments in which offensive and defensive opportunities emerge within short periods. Athletes with shorter reaction times may therefore be better able to initiate movement rapidly following a stimulus and organize subsequent motor actions efficiently. Previous evidence has similarly linked faster reaction-related abilities with technical execution and performance in combat sports (Ervilha et al., 2020). The present finding extends this evidence to competitive pencak silat athletes, showing that shorter body reaction time was associated with a greater number of valid crescent kicks completed during the performance test.

Nevertheless, the relationship between reaction time and crescent kick performance should be interpreted within the context of the measurement procedures used in the present study. The reaction timer assessed a relatively general neuromuscular response, whereas successful kicking during competition involves more complex perceptual processes, including recognition of an opponent's movement, response selection, anticipation, and sport-specific decision-making. Thus, the strong negative correlation observed in this study does not necessarily indicate that general reaction time directly determines competitive kicking effectiveness. Rather, it suggests that faster neuromuscular responsiveness may represent one physical characteristic associated with better performance in a standardized repeated-kicking task. This distinction is important because technical performance during actual competition is influenced by substantially more complex perceptual, tactical, and environmental demands.

The combined analysis further demonstrated that lower limb muscle strength and body reaction time collectively accounted for 56.8% of the variance in crescent kick performance. This finding supports the interpretation that kicking performance is multidimensional and may reflect the integration of mechanical and neuromuscular capacities. Muscular strength provides the physical capacity to generate and control force, whereas reaction-related capacity contributes to the rapid initiation of motor responses. Previous studies have similarly emphasized that physical and neuromuscular characteristics operate together rather than independently in supporting technical performance (Moreira, 2021; Ojeda-Aravena, 2023). Accordingly, the present findings suggest that evaluating multiple physical characteristics simultaneously may provide a more comprehensive understanding of crescent kick performance than examining either lower limb muscle strength or reaction time in isolation.

Importantly, the associations identified in the present study should not be interpreted as evidence that lower limb muscle strength and body reaction time are the sole determinants of crescent kick performance. When lower limb muscle strength was considered individually, approximately 53.9% of the variance in crescent kick performance was associated with differences in strength, leaving a substantial proportion of variance unaccounted for. Similarly, the combined model accounted for 56.8% of the variance, indicating that other characteristics may also contribute to performance. Previous research has emphasized the multidimensional nature of sport performance, with factors such as coordination, balance, flexibility, technical proficiency, and movement control potentially contributing to successful technical execution (Apollaro, 2024; Kusuma, 2023; Suwirman, 2021). Therefore, lower limb muscle strength and reaction time should be viewed as relevant correlates within a broader performance framework rather than as isolated or causal determinants of crescent kick performance.

These findings have practical implications for physical conditioning and athlete monitoring in pencak silat. Because greater lower limb muscle strength and shorter reaction time were associated with better crescent kick performance, coaches may consider integrating strength development and reaction-oriented exercises with sport-specific technical training. Progressive resistance training may be combined with plyometric exercises, dynamic balance activities, reaction drills, and repeated crescent kick practice to facilitate the transfer of general physical capacities into sport-specific performance (Ojeda-Aravena, 2023). However, improvements in general physical qualities should not be assumed to translate automatically into better kicking performance. Consistent with the principle of training specificity, physical conditioning should be integrated with technical practice that reflects the movement characteristics and perceptual demands of pencak silat competition. Periodic assessment of lower limb muscle strength, reaction time, and kicking performance may also assist coaches in monitoring athlete development and identifying individual training priorities.

This study demonstrated that greater lower limb muscle strength and shorter body reaction time were significantly associated with better crescent kick performance among competitive pencak silat athletes. Collectively, these variables accounted for 56.8% of the variance in crescent kick performance, indicating that both muscular and neuromuscular characteristics are relevant to sport-specific technical performance. These findings support the integration of lower limb strength development and reaction-oriented exercises with sport-specific technical training in athlete conditioning programs. However, the correlational design, relatively small sample from a single training center, and inclusion of only two physical variables limit causal interpretation and generalizability. Future studies should involve larger and more diverse athlete populations, incorporate additional physical, biomechanical, technical, and psychological characteristics, and use longitudinal or experimental designs to further clarify the factors associated with crescent kick performance.

The author would like to express sincere gratitude to the athletes and coaches of Kuningan Terate Sport Center for their participation and cooperation throughout the study. The author also gratefully acknowledges the supervisors, lecturers, and Faculty of Sports Science, Universitas Negeri Semarang, for their valuable guidance, constructive feedback, and academic support during the research process.

The data supporting the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request. The data are not publicly available due to participant privacy and confidentiality considerations.

This research does not receive external funding.

The authors declare no conflict of interest.