Associations of lower limb muscle strength and body reaction time with crescent kick performance in competitive pencak silat athletes
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Background: Crescent kick performance is an important technical component of competitive pencak silat and may be associated with physical capacities such as lower limb muscle strength and reaction time. However, evidence regarding the relationships of these physical characteristics with crescent kick performance remains limited.
Objectives: This study aimed to examine the associations of lower limb muscle strength and body reaction time with crescent kick performance among competitive pencak silat athletes.
Methods: This quantitative correlational study involved 30 competitive pencak silat athletes (age: 19.8 ± 2.1 years; height: 168.4 ± 6.3 cm; body mass: 61.7 ± 8.2 kg; body mass index: 21.7 ± 2.3 kg/m²) recruited using total sampling. Lower limb muscle strength was assessed using a leg dynamometer, body reaction time using a reaction timer, and crescent kick performance using a 10-second crescent kick test. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, and multiple correlation analysis, with statistical significance set at p < .05.
Results: Lower limb muscle strength was positively associated with crescent kick performance (r = 0.734, p < .001), whereas body reaction time was negatively associated with crescent kick performance (r = -0.739, p < .001), indicating that shorter reaction times were associated with better kick performance. Multiple correlation analysis showed a strong combined association of lower limb muscle strength and body reaction time with crescent kick performance (R = 0.754, R² = 0.568, p < .001). Together, these variables accounted for 56.8% of the variance in crescent kick performance.
Conclusions: Greater lower limb muscle strength and shorter body reaction time were associated with better crescent kick performance among competitive pencak silat athletes. These findings highlight the relevance of muscular strength and neuromuscular responsiveness to crescent kick performance and may inform physical conditioning programs for pencak silat athletes. Further studies with larger samples and additional biomechanical, physiological, and technical measures are needed to better understand the factors associated with crescent kick performance.
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