The word savate has been derived from a middle French word which means an "old shoe". It is a traditional French sport that involves fighting by kicking. The combat sport primarily uses the hands and feet as a weapon to knock out the opponent.
It has an old history and has been practised since the early 19th century. The two classic blows in savate are the back heel aimed at the opponent's stomach and a double mule kick to the face delivered from a handstand position.
Majorly in the savate match, only foot kicks are permitted, unlike some other forms such as Muay Thai, which uses both the knees and shins.
The objective of the savate fighters is to knock-down the opponent with perfect kicking. They are allowed to use hands, strikes and grappling as a weapon to fight. Feints are a vital movement of French kickboxing.
The fighter strives to attack with various combinations and reach out for match strategies. The players are forced to anticipate and adapt to distance and speed changes while demonstrating their awareness of time and space, using the sophisticated footwork for which the art is renowned.
The roots of savate can be traced back to the legendary Greek fighting art of Pankration. However, the recent records indicate that the sport has sprouted from various street-fighting systems used in France during the late 17th century.
The pioneer of La boxe Francaise, or modern savate, was Charles Lecour, who opened a school in Paris in the 19th century. Lecour modified the style and allowed both punching and kicking. Later, it modernized and took the shape of savate.
The primary inspiration for developing savate transpired to Lecour when he lost a friendly match to English boxer Owen Swift. It led him to combine the le Chausson with English boxing. His loss led to tremendous technical changes in savate that remained for decades.
It was successfully codified as a ring sport in Joseph Charlemont's L'Art de la Boxe Fra Francaise. After World War 1, in 1924, savate was included as a demonstration sport in the Olympic Games held in Paris, France.
In 2008, savate was recognized by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). This recognition allowed the sport to conduct the official University World Championships.
In 2010, the International Savate Federation was accepted as a member of SportAccord (formerly AGFIS). The International Savate Federation (FIS) is the highest official governing body of savate.
