| What is Savate? | | | | Cassaux (1794-1869) who was commonly known as |
| Savate (pronounced Sa-vat) dates from the early | | | | Michel Pissaux. Born in the Belleville district of Paris, he |
| 1800s and is a mixture of French kicking and English | | | | systemised the streetkicking methods and named it |
| boxing, making it a rare European martial art. The | | | | the 'Art of Savate' and taught it alongside Canefencing |
| features of Savate are its accuracy and elegance in | | | | and Paume. He attracted many personalities including |
| comparison to other kicking arts. We train with style in | | | | the Duke of Orleans, Count Labattut, Lord Henry |
| mind, winning the fight with an understanding of angles, | | | | Seymore and artist Paul Gavarni. |
| timing and psychology rather than sheer force alone. | | | | In 1853 the military collage 'L'Ecole De Joinville' was |
| Savate is particularly popular in Europe and North | | | | established and part of the training included La Boxe |
| Africa, with a growing following in North America. | | | | Francaise and stickfencing. This commenced a long |
| Elements which may be emphasized in its study | | | | association with the military although it is believed that |
| include self defense ("savate defense") and weaponry | | | | Chausson was practised by the French Foreign Legion |
| such as "baton" and cane ("la canne"). | | | | some twenty years earlier. The disciplines became |
| Two forms of competitive savate kickboxing have | | | | cultural arts, and through adventurers, emigration and |
| emerged from savate, the harder-hitting "combat" and | | | | movements of the military they found their way |
| the technical "assaut". The sport aspect of savate is | | | | across Europe, Africa, England, Canada and America. |
| sometimes also known as French boxing (boxe | | | | A product of this period was Alain Jebrayel |
| francaise). combines many of the Western Martial | | | | (1898-1954) who commenced Chausson at an early |
| Arts such a boxing, grappling, weaponry, as well as its | | | | age under his father. He became a third generation |
| unique forms of kicking. | | | | exponent as passed down from his grandfather. |
| A savate's history | | | | Athletically, he was a strong person with excellent |
| The growth of Boxing from the mid 18 century along | | | | muscular control and a 'killer instinct'. After the war he |
| with Wrestling and Streetkicking was a direct result of | | | | opened a small salle in Nice named 'Chausson de la |
| social and economic changes brought on by the | | | | Riviera'. He integrated some commando-unarmed |
| Industrial Age. However the methodologies can be | | | | combat that he used as a resistance fighter. Two of |
| traced back to the earliest Greek Olympics. In France | | | | his foremost students Philippe Dufour and Marcel |
| kicking became the antithesis to English boxing. The | | | | Villenaux continued teaching after he died in an |
| breeding grounds were about the Western | | | | accident in 1954. |
| Mediterranean where the warmer climate and looser | | | | Roger Lafond (1913- ) was another important Parisian |
| clothing allowed greater freedom of movement. In | | | | instructor after the Second World War. He is a third |
| Paris and some of the French provinces there was | | | | generation exponent whose grandfathers linkage can |
| some streetkicking and others that were influenced by | | | | be traced back to the Lecours. Where Baruzy was a |
| local dance customs and games. | | | | traditionalist, Lafond introduced some post war ideas |
| In Paris the streetkicking became known as La Savate | | | | into his syllabus. In 1955 he created "La Panache" that |
| (pronounced Savath) after the time tested 'old shoe' | | | | included some Japanese hand to hand combat. At one |
| that so often delivered the final crippling blow. It was | | | | stage he operated the majority of the schools in Paris. |
| not until the Napoleonic Wars did French prisoners of | | | | Method Lafond is now the only syllabus in Paris to |
| war detained on convict hulks and their British captors | | | | teach elements of traditional Savate. |
| came in direct contact with Chausson and Boxing. | | | | "Savate Sport" is now an international kickboxing sport, |
| After the war boxing began to appear with the | | | | and with its growth there is an increase in interest in |
| Chausson, but with anti-British sentiment it took nearly | | | | the traditional and self-defence aspects of the art. This |
| two decades before boxing gained acceptance in | | | | has placed pressure on the Federation, who with their |
| France. | | | | concentration on the sport, have lost a lot of |
| Meanwhile Chausson enjoyed a growth period. | | | | knowledge and rationale relating to these methods. |
| Chausson was usually used with a knife or an | | | | They have come to realise that there are only a few |
| improvisation tool. From about the 1820s the activities | | | | veteran instructors around the world able to teach |
| started to attract the imagination of the young | | | | Savate and its associated weaponry, as a holistic |
| aristocrats. | | | | discipline. |
| The most famous instructor of this period was Michel | | | | |