The beautifull French style of KICKBOXING, known in France as La savate
Boxe Francaise (French kickboxing of savate) or simply La Savate
is considered today as the oldest kickboxing art in the whole of the
western world .
It was first systemetized by Charles Lecour (1808 - 94) in 1832.
Before that a foot fighting art existed in two versions with two differnt 'shoe'
names in France: La Savate(meaning a street shoe ) in old Paris and Le
Chausson Marseillais (meaning The ballet shoe of Marseille) also often known
as LE JEU MARSEILLAIS (meaning the fighting game of Marseille) in and around the
old southern dockyards of Marseille , and on board sailing ships..
The main
difference between the two versions of the French foot fighting was that the
kicks used in the southern style of le chausson marseillais were often
aimed and delivered much higher than those in the northern style of la savate
of Paris, and the hands were mainly used for support and balance..This included
placing the hand, or hands, on the floor, or grabbing hold of any convenient
handrail or object, whilst lashing out with the feet.. hence the original French
kickboxing in both its northern and southern versions was based solely on kicks
and the hands were used mainly for blocking ,parrying and balance. It is very
probable that this emphasis on kicking might have been inspired by the french
dancing art of le ballet which in its turn may have its roots in the moorish
Dervish chivaleric dances of medieval Southern Europe. Equally possible that
French sailors may have introduced a form of an oriental martial art from China
or Indochina ... Lecour,realizing that French kicking fighters can be at a
disadvantage in close encounters ,adopted the punching techniques of English
boxing and added them to the high kicking methods of le chausson
marseillais combined with the low kicking and sweeping techniques of
Parisian savate , to create la Savate Boxe Francaise or savate
BF for short (also called sometimes la boxe francaise-savate).
la savate boxe francaise later had the distinction of going on to be the
demonstration sport in the 1924 Paris-based Olympic Games. Sadly, the first and
second World Wars accounted for the death of many of the top professeurs and
Savateurs. As a result, la savate boxe francaise verged on extinction for a
number of years. Fortunately, the art has made a slow but steady recovery in
recent years. In addition to France, there are currently groups all around the
world, who are trying to promote this fascinating kickboxing art in three main
forms :as a self-defence art, as a full contact combat sport and as a fitness
training system such as savate forme or savate kick-boxercise WHERE Savate Kick-Boxing is adaptated for health and fitness rather than
for professional competition .
like boxercise and tai-bo and other aerobic kickboxing styles,savate forme or savate kick-boxercise is taught to dance-music using pads
,punchbags ,dumbells and semi-contact sparring.
savate Kick-Boxing is an 'old school' savate which is dffferent from other styles of savate is that it is
primarily a kicking art
where hands are used mainly for blocking .in this style boxing techniques which were introduced in savate in late eighteenth
century are used only as a warmup .
Savate Kick-Boxing for physical fitness
aerobic fitness ,muscle strength ,endurance, speed balance and flexibility,
motor fitness ,postural alignment : the main physical fitness components , are all cultivated in
savate Kick-Boxing circuit training.it tones, conditions and streches all the major muscle
groups of the body ..
Savate Kick-Boxing for emotional fitness
current scientific research shows that any form of physical exercise has
positive effects on emotional health by reducing depression, stress and anxiety.
Savate as a combat exercise has a further advantage in that it acts as a channel
for ACTIVELY outletting blocked negative feelings of anger, fear, hostility and
frustration .It also increases one's self-confidence and sense of achievement as
one masters each of the fighting techniques of la savate .
Savate for cognitive fitness
savate Kick-Boxing like all forms of kickboxing improves quick and effective cerebral
information processing ,quick reaction times and it enhances the intuitive and
spatial intelligence .Bouddhist Shaolin temple monks in China knew this fact
millennia ago when they adopted martial arts training as a fundamental part of
their higher psychological development..
SAVATE KICK-BOXING BASIC TECHNIQUES
SAVATE KICK-BOXING BREATH
In savate, movements are executed in harmony and synchrony with one's
natural breathing rythmes.. specific harmonious breathing patterns for each kind
of activity is taught along with the kickboxing techniques.
SAVATE KICK-BOXING STANCE
the standard Savate Kick-Boxing fighting stance is known as ’’ le profil ‘’. it is a side stance,
with the front foot pointing towards the opponent at 0 to 30 degrees depending on which technique is to be used , where both feet forming the shape italic L. it is similar
to the T stance in Koeran kickboxing aka taekwondo.
to see the picture of the stance click HERE
SAVATE KICK-BOXING PUNCHES
Punching techniques of Savate kick-boxing are those of Boxing.note that punching techniques represent only five per cent of savate kick-boxing repertoire ,
kicks and blocks dominate this style.
Here are the three basic punches :
l'horizontal :le direct= Jab, le croise = Cross.
le vertical: le vertical avant=front upper-cut, le vertical arriere =rear upper-cut.
le crochet: le crochet Avant = front hook, le crochet Arriere = rear hook.
SAVATE KICK-BOXING BASIC KICKS
Savate kicking techniques are derived from the ancient
Southern-French foot fighting style of Savate (known as either le Jeu
Marseillais or le Chausson Marseillais) and as such high kicking techniques
predominate the style ... It also attaches great importance
to esthetics as well as to psychomotor education ;a move does not only have to
be powerfull and effective but also has to look gracefully beautifull ,chic and
kiniseologically perfect.
Savate Kick-Boxing comprises only two types of kicking :lateral kicking and frontal kicking .
the lateral kicks are known also as prImary kicks aS they are the most effective in both self defense and competition..
the three main basic kicks of le jeu marseillais are
all delievered from monopedal delivery stance
(standing on one foot with the kicking foot bent at the knee), known as
'l’armee '.
these three primary lateral kicks are: le chasse lateral (side kick), le fouette lateral (round kick)
and le revers lateral (reverse kick) .
when delivering these kicks with the front foot they are known as jabs
when delivering these kicks with the rear foot anti-clockwise they are known as crosses(cp croises)
when delivering these kicks with the rear foot clockwise they are known as spins(cp tournants)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE THREE BASIC KICKS:
1-ROUND KICK(le fouette lateral or fouette for short )
It is delivered with any part of the instep ,the shin or the knee .We have le fouette avant with front leg and
le fouette croise with rear leg.
2-REVERSE KICK(le revers lateral or revers for short)
It is delivered with the ball,the sole ,the back of heel.
The final position of le revers is the starting position for le fouette
and vice versa
so the two kicks are antagonists and can easily be used
together to form a “two kick agonist-antagonist combination”..We have le revers avant with front leg and le revers tournant
with rear leg spinning clockwise.
3-SIDE KICK (le chasse lateral )
it is delivered with the sole or external edge of the foot
..We have le chasse lateral avant with front leg and le chasse lateral croise with rear leg
and le chasse lateral tournant with rear leg spinning clockwise.
these three basic kicks could be high(haut) medium (median)or low (bas) and static ,moving,
or jumping kicks .
for video clips of the correct performance of the basic kicks click the followng lnks:
1- REVOLUTION OF KICKING
although these are tae kwond o techniques they are nevertheless the same as in Savate kick-boxing .
2- FRENCH KICKBOXING BASIC KICKING TECHNIQUES
the text is in french but you can click the download links to view the technique of each kick..Note the fighting stance is slightly different from our style of savate kick-boxing.
DEFENSIVE TECHNIQUES
EVASION TECHNIQUES
(LES ESQUIVES-pronounced aysqueeve)
we can distinguish the following techniques: les esquives sur place, les
esquives partielles (déplacement d'un seul appui), les esquives totales
(déplacements des deux appuis).
BLOCKING TECHNIQUES
(LES PARADES-pronounced paraad
)
both hand and feet are used for blocking we have les parades bloquées which
stops a strike, les parades chassées which redirects a strike , les parades en
protection which stands in the way .
THREE BASIC BLOCKS OR PARADES BLOCKES:
-downward block parade basse
-outward block parade ext
-inward block parade int
SAVATE BASIC TERMINOLOGY
Allez! (al-LEY): Literally, "Go!" The referee's command for fighters to begin fighting.
Avertissement! (ah-vehr-teess-MON): Literally, "Warning!" The referee's way of telling a fighter he has received a warning. Warnings can be given for a variety of reasons, including the use of blows which are not proper savate or insufficient aggressiveness.
Au Centre! (oh SON-trh): Literally, "To the center!" The referee's command for fighters to leave their corners and meet in the center of the ring.
Enchainement (onh-SHEN-mon): Literally, "a chaining together". The French word for a combination of blows.
LE FRONTAL (frohn-TAL): see secondary fronatal kicks.
LE LATERAL (lah-tey-RAHL):see side .
LE CHASSE (pronounced shassay): see front and side kicks
LE FOUETTE (pronounced fu-ettay):see round kick
LE REVERS (pronounced roever):see hook kick
LES PARADES((pronounced paraad )
LES ESQUIVES((pronounced aysqueeve)
LES COUPS DE PIEDS( pronounced coo-d -iyay ):See kicking techniques
LES COUPS DE PIEDS SAUTÉS, SAUTÉS-CROISÉS, COUPS DE PIEDS TOURNANTS OU TOURNANTS
SAUTÉS:see advanced kicking techniques
LES COUPS DE POING(pronounced coo d-pwen) :LE DIRECT, LE CROCHET((pronounced
croshay):see punching techniques
Reprise (ruh-PREES): A single round of savate boxing. Generally lasts 90 seconds.
Saluez-vous! (sol-oo-wey VOO): Literally, "Salute each other!" The refree's command for fighters to salute each other before assuming their guard positions. The salute involves placing one's right fist over the heart, palm towards the chest, then swinging the forearm out and to the right until the arm is at full extension.
Savateur, -euse (sa-va-TUHR, sa-va-TUHZ): A practitioner of savate (feminine and masculine forms, respectively).
En Garde! (onh GAHRD): Literally, "On Guard !". The referee's command
for fighters to assume their guard positions: gloves up protecting the face, assuming the fighting stance, left foot forward.
STRENGTH TRAINING FOR SAVATE KICK-BOXING
here are the main French Kick-boxing -specific weightlifting exercises:
{{
( 12 MR +
8MR+6(4 MR) + 8MR+12 MR):(nMR means a Maximum weight for n Repetitions):
an overload of a 6 sets of 4 mr is necessary for recruiting the fast twich
fibres involved in fast and powerfull kicking and punching strikes. they are
preceded by 1 set of 12 mr and one set of 8 mr for warm up load and followed by
the same routine in a reverse order for a cool down load.
The resting time beween the sets is 1 to 2 minutes.
Approximate duration for each exercise would be around 10 to 15 minutes.
It is therefore advisable to use no more than 4 exercises per
session.}}
For kicks (attacking and blocking kicks):
the squats (specifically for les esquives)
side pull kick (specifically for le lateral )
side knee pull up raises (specifically for l'armee)
the adductors/abductors press(specifically for l'armee)
the hip flexor/extendor(specifically for le frontal )
the leg curl (especially for le revers)
the side leg press (specifically for le lateral)
the leg extention (especially for le fouette et le frontal )
For punches and hand blocks:
pulling punches
the bench press
the lat pulldown
The triceps pushdown
the shoulder press
the twisted dumbell chest press (the twisting of the arm should be the same as delivering a straight punch)
the twisted dumbell shoulder press (the twisting of the arm should be the same as delivering a straight punch)
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
SAVATE RESOURCES ON THE WORLD WIDE WEB
NEUROSTAR9 ONLINE VIDEO LIBRARY OF SAVATE KICK-BOXING
Boxe Francaise de la Savate, France
Cambridge Academy of Savate, UK
Savate Kickboxing,Canada
Great Britain Savate Federation
Savate Techniques @ Savate-UK
BACK TO HOMEPAGE
