The Effect of Plyometrics Training on Crescent Kick Speed among Bintang Selatan Pencak Silat Athletes

Abstrak

Objectives: This study aimed to determine the effect of plyometrics training on crescent kick speed among Bintang Selatan pencak silat athletes.
Materials and Methods: This study used a pre-experimental method with a one-group pretest-posttest design. The participants were 10 pencak silat athletes selected through purposive sampling. The intervention consisted of plyometrics training using double-leg speed hop and single-leg hop exercises, conducted three times per week for approximately five weeks. Crescent kick speed was measured using a 10-second kicking test for the right and left legs. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, the Shapiro-Wilk normality test, homogeneity test, and paired sample t-test.

Results: The mean right-leg crescent kick score increased from 19.80 ± 1.87 to 23.40 ± 1.58, while the mean left-leg score increased from 17.70 ± 1.42 to 21.50 ± 1.18. The paired sample t-test showed significant improvements for the right leg, t(9) = 16.282, p < .001, and the left leg, t(9) = 15.234, p < .001.

Conclusions: Plyometrics training significantly improved crescent kick speed among Bintang Selatan pencak silat athletes. Double-leg speed hop and single-leg hop exercises can be recommended as practical training methods to enhance lower-limb explosive performance and kicking speed in pencak silat.