Savate – ‘The Unconventional Fighting Art of the French’

Savate, also called boxe française or French kickboxing, is a French combat sport that combines kicks thrown with a shoe and English-style punches. It is fought standing, in a ring, with gloves and special shoes, and it rewards precision and footwork over raw power.

Ask most people to name a style that mixes punches and kicks and they will say Muay Thai, kickboxing or karate. Few would picture a Parisian salle in the 1800s. Welcome to savate.

What Is Savate?

In middle French, “savate” means an old shoe or boot, and the shoe is still the art’s signature. The French Ministry of Culture’s intangible heritage record defines savate boxe française as a sport of punches and kicks in a roped ring, where the fists only strike while the feet strike and stop an opponent, with straight or circular kicks, facing him or turning. It notes that “the most characteristic element is the shoe.”

The art has gone by many names. Writer Théophile Gautier coined “boxe française” in 1840, and in the 1990s the French federation settled on “savate boxe française.” In English it is usually called French kickboxing or French boxing.

From Paris Streets to the 1924 Olympics

Savate’s origins are murky. Police reports and court gazettes from late-18th-century Paris describe kicking fights, and a defence method with kicks was practised in Marseille and then in the Paris underworld in the 1820s. Stories of French sailors kicking on deck are part of the legend, but the written record is thin.

According to the French federation, a teacher known as Michel “le Pisseux” opened the first savate salle at La Courtille in Paris in 1820. His best pupil, Charles Lecour, watched an English boxing bout in 1838 and began combining English fist fighting with savate kicks. That blend is the savate we know today.

Joseph Charlemont codified the art in his 1877 Traité de la boxe française et de la canne. In 1899 his son Charles fought English boxer Jerry Driscoll in Paris, a famous style-versus-style match. Driscoll was counted out in the seventh round after a kick the British press called a foul.

Savate was a demonstration sport at the Paris 1924 Olympics, its only Olympic appearance. The First World War had already killed many practitioners and teachers, and the art slowly declined until a revival after the Second World War. The international federation, FISav, was founded in 1985, and the first world championships were held in 1991.

Savate Kicks and Punches

The French federation lists the core techniques. Every kick lands with the shoe, never the shin or knee:

Feints are a big part of the game. A kick faked low to the leg often turns into a fouetté to the body or head, and fighters move constantly to change angles.

Savate Rules: Assaut and Combat

Savate is contested in two main forms. In assaut, power is excluded and knockouts are forbidden; judges score precision, technique and virtuosity. In combat, full power and knockouts are allowed, and judges score technical effectiveness. In both, judges give extra value to clean high kicks.

Under the FISav refereeing rules, fighters wear savate shoes with a flat, rigid sole and no heel, savate gloves with a long cuff (8 to 14 oz by weight class), and a one-piece suit called an intégrale. Mouthguards and groin guards are always required. There are no knee or shin strikes, and no clinching or grappling.

The Coloured-Glove Grades

Instead of belts, savate uses coloured gloves. The French technical grades run blue, green, red, white and yellow, followed by the silver gloves (gants d’argent) for advanced technique. Teaching qualifications are separate: in Britain, for example, instructors progress from assistant to initiateur, moniteur and finally professeur. Practitioners need at least two years of training before competing and three before teaching.

Is Savate Effective?

Like every martial art, savate is a way of applying force, and applied correctly, a shoe to the knee or a fouetté to the head can end a fight. France’s heritage record notes it is practised by the police and the army, and the federation teaches a dedicated self-defence form, Savate Défense, against armed and unarmed attacks.

Compared with Muay Thai, savate gives up knees, elbows and the clinch, and fighters kick with the shoe rather than the shin. In exchange, it builds exceptional footwork, range control and precise, fast kicks. Which matters more depends on the fight you are training for.

Savate Today

France remains the heart of the sport, with about 50,000 licensed practitioners and 740 clubs, making it the country’s leading contact sport. Savate featured at the 2013 and 2023 World Combat Games, appeared once at the World University Championships in 2010, and is governed worldwide by FISav. In Britain it is a minority sport, organized by the Great Britain Savate Federation since 1998. Many clubs also teach canne de combat, the French cane-fighting art that shares savate’s history.

A Coach’s View: Sam Byford-Winter

Sam Byford-Winter founded Nam Yang Brighton, where he is senior instructor and teaches kickboxing styles including savate; his club’s fighters won silver and bronze at the 2023 World Youth Savate Championships. He came to savate after years in other arts. “I already had 14 years training in Kung fu, Tai Chi, Kickboxing, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Boxing and came across Savate. I loved the footwork and array of kicks,” he told us. “So much of it was based on strategy and technique.”

Because the combinations are endless, partner drills and sparring are central to training. “Most important for Savate is movement and being able to put together combinations with your hands and feet whilst constantly changing angles,” Sam said. “A lot of good Cardio is needed for Savate as it is quite a high paced combat sport.”

He believes the art deserves a bigger audience. “I think Savate is greatly underestimated,” he said. “…there is an emphasis on technique as opposed to brute force so it’s a great sport to teach kids as they learn control. Plus it is a great form of self-defence.”