Side‐kick ability in Tarung Derajat martial arts: Leg muscle strength and waist flexibility

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the effect of leg muscle strength and waist flexibility on the side‐kick ability of Tarung Derajat athletes. The study involved 60 male Tarung Derajat athletes (aged 21.33±2.03 years). Data were collected by testing their leg muscle strength (leg dynamometer), waist flexibility (sit and reach), and side‐kick ability (left and right legs) for one minute. Then, the data were analyzed using correlation and linear regression techniques. The results of the analysis showed that leg muscle strength and waist flexibility had a significant effect on side‐kick ability (p<0.05), with average scores of 172.90±41.14, 8.60±3.26, and 24.88±4.21, respectively. Partially, leg muscle strength contributed 36.60% (R=0.605; R²=0.366; F=33.444; t=5.783; p<0.05), while waist flexibility contributed 23.40% (R=0.483; R²=0.234; F=17.670; t=4.204; p<0.05). Simultaneously, both variables contributed 48.90% to side‐kick ability (R=0.699; R²=0.489; F=27.224; p<0.05). It can be concluded that leg muscle strength and waist flexibility are important in supporting side‐kick performance in Tarung Derajat martial arts, with leg muscle strength showing a more dominant influence. Despite these important findings, further research is still needed to explore other physical variables and psychological factors with a larger sample size.