Sensor Technology for Measuring the Footwork Skills of Tarung Derajat: Development and Initial Validation of Instruments

Tarung Derajat (TD) martial arts requires excellent footwork skills to support athlete performance, but footwork measurement in the context of TD is still limited to methods that are less accurate and relevant to the dynamic movement characteristics of this sport. Although sensor technology has been applied to other martial arts, footwork measurement instruments that are suitable for TD techniques, such as evasion and positional shifts in combat, have not been widely developed. This study aims to develop and validate a sensor-assisted footwork measurement instrument specifically designed for TD athletes. The initial validation process involved five experts in the fields of instrumentation, sports measurement, TD, information technology, and language, as well as 12 TD athletes for laboratory testing. The data obtained were analyzed using descriptive statistics and correlations to assess the feasibility of the tool. The results showed that the average validity score was 85 (very feasible) with an ICC value < p=0.05. Limited testing on 12 TD athletes showed that this tool can provide objective data on the success of athletes in following the rhythm of the sensor movement pattern (r=0.865; p=0.007), which in turn can be used to improve the effectiveness of training and evaluation of athlete performance. This study suggests conducting further trials with a larger number of participants and involving real match conditions, as well as developing tools with additional sensors to improve training and evaluation effectiveness.