Savate

Savate, also known as boxe française (French boxing) or French kickboxing, is a sport of French sparring - a type of boxe pieds-poings - that uses both hands and feet as weapons and includes elements of Western boxing, grappling techniques and leg techniques (feet only). Practitioners of savate are called "savateurs", in the case of men, and savateuses, in the case of women.

Savate acquires its name etymologically from the French word old boot (heavy footwear that was usually worn during combat) and is currently an amalgam for the French street fighting techniques of the beginning of the century XIX. At that time, savate was a common type of fighting in Paris and northern France; and in the south, especially in the port of Marseille, sailors had developed another style known as jeu marseillais, which was renamed chausson. /i> (slipper, which was the footwear worn by sailors). In contrast, at this time in England (the birthplace of boxing and Queensberry rules), kicking was seen as unsportsmanlike.

The two key figures in the story of the change from street fighting to modern savate are Michel Casseux (also known as "le Pisseux") (1794-1869), and Charles Lecour (1808-1894). In 1825, Casseux opened the first building to practice and promote a regulated version of chausson and savate (prohibiting blows with the head, attacks with the thumbs to the eyes, etc.). Either way, the sport still failed to shed its street fighting reputation. A student of Casseux, Charles Lecour was exposed to the English art of boxing around 1830 and felt disadvantaged, only using his hands to strike the opponent's feet away from him, rather than punching as in boxing. For this reason he trained in boxing for two years before, in 1832, combining boxing with chausson and savate to create the sport of savate boxe française as we know it today.

The most notable recognitions of Savate's respectability came when it was included as an exhibition sport in the 1924 Paris Olympic Games and when the Savate French Boxing Association was founded at the behest of Count Pierre Baruzy. The Savate community recovered much earlier in 1945 and after 1985, to which the French Baton and Canne stick fighting variants are also subordinate. Despite its roots, learning to play this sport is relatively safe. According to USA Savate [1], "savate ranks low for injuries when compared to soccer, football, hockey, gymnastics, basketball, baseball and inline skating."

Today, savate is practiced all over the world by amateurs: from Australia to the United States and from Finland to the United Kingdom. Many countries, such as the United States, have national federations dedicated to promoting the sport.

Modern savate provides three levels of competition: assault, pre-combat and combat. In assault, competitors need to focus on technique while attempting to make contact; Referees punish the use of excessive force with penalties. Precombat allows fighting without defects in strength as long as the fighters wear protection such as helmets and shin guards. Combat, the most intense level, is similar to pre-combat but the use of protective objects is prohibited (except in the case of shells and mouthguards).

Many martial arts have systems for calculating the level of practitioners, such as the color of belts in karate. Likewise, the savate uses different colors on the gloves to indicate the level of a fighter; although, unlike disciplines such as judo or capoeira, which are assigned new belts in each promotion, any fighter can use the same pair of gloves in several promotions (so the level does not directly correspond to the color of the gloves that you use but with what is established in the license). Rookies start with no color and the different promotion exams allow you to advance to blue, green, red, white and yellow in this order. Competition is restricted to red gloves and above; Each federation has the possibility of establishing the minimum conditions to be able to teach the sport. In France it is necessary to have the yellow glove to obtain the rank of instructor "moniteur" and the silver glove in its technical category to access the teaching profession. In other countries like Mexico, all technical degrees starting from green require an evaluation on teaching topics in order to increase the development of this art.

Types of matches in French boxing

The assault: It is a form of "key" encounter, where all the force of the blows is excluded. This type of confrontation concerns the majority of graduates of the French Federation, particularly women and young people. The assault constitutes the only possibility for those under 18 years of age to oppose other boxers.

Combat: This is a form of encounter where the force of the blows is authorized. The use of protections is mandatory.

Famous practitioners

Gioacchino Rossini, Lord Byron, Dumas, Richard Sylla, Michel Casseux, Joseph Charlemont, Gerard Gordeau, Ernesto Hoost, Cheick Kongo, Alain Ngalani, Charles Lecour, Christian M'Pumbu, Ludovic Millet, Fred Royers, Andrè Panza, Paolo Biotti, François Pennacchio, Alain Soral, Pierre Vigny, Max Greco, Alexandre Walnier, Bertrand Soncourt, Amri Madani, Farid Khider, Christophe Landais, Enoch Effah, Arnaud de Pape, Johnny Catherine, Jacques Dobaria, Kader Kessaghli, Derenik Sargsyan, Fathi Mira, Jérôme Huon, Tony Ancelin, Ismaila Sarr, Djibrine Fall-Télémaque Cyrielle Girodias, Julie Burton, Slimane Sissoko, Julie Lazard, Mike et Sullivan Lambret, Richard et Romain Carbone.