Sex Differences in 20 Meter Sprint And 5 M × 4 Shuttle Run Performance among Pencak Silat Athletes

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.31851/hon.v9i2.22749

Abstract

Linear sprint speed and change-of-direction (COD) speed are physical qualities relevant to the footwork-dependent, intermittent demands of pencak silat, yet sex-specific field data for Indonesian athletes are scarce. This study compared 20-m sprint and 5-m × 4 shuttle-run completion times between male and female pencak silat athletes of IPSI Kutai Kartanegara and examined whether the differences remained after adjustment for chronological age. A cross-sectional comparative design was applied to 43 athletes aged 16–27 years (22 males, 21 females; total sampling). Differences were tested with Welch’s t-test and Hedges’ g, followed by linear regression with age as a covariate and HC3 robust standard errors. Males were faster than females in the 20-m sprint (3.28 ± 0.53 vs. 3.78 ± 0.34 s; difference = 0.50 s, 95% CI [0.23, 0.78]; g = 1.10) and in the shuttle run (6.35 ± 0.70 vs. 6.89 ± 0.60 s; difference = 0.54 s, 95% CI [0.14, 0.94]; g = 0.81). The age-adjusted differences were 0.51 s (p = 0.002) and 0.54 s (p = 0.011), and both remained significant after Holm correction. Because the absolute gaps were almost identical in the two tests, the shuttle-run difference appears to mirror linear speed rather than an additional sex-specific cost of changing direction (exploratory interpretation). Within this sample, male athletes were faster in both tests independently of age, supporting the use of sex-specific reference values. Training history, anthropometry, maturity, and strength were not measured; therefore, the findings are descriptive and do not establish causes of the difference.

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Published

2026-07-31