Savate is a form of French martial arts, also known as French foot fighting, French kickboxing, and French boxing, that involves the use of hands and feet as weapons. Savate works through a combination of Western boxing elements and elegant kicking techniques. Beginners can now learn the basics of Savate through martial arts video training.
The martial arts training videos on Savate will teach the beginner how to use foot kicks, which are the only form of attack allowed, without shins and knees. When you compete in Savate, you are only allowed 4 types of kicks and 4 types of punches. Kicks include the whip, chase, reverse, and low kick. The whip consists of a roundhouse kick that makes contact with the instep, and can be low, medium, or high.
The chase is the piston action side or front kick which can be low, medium or high. The reverse is a hook kick that makes contact with the sole of your shoe and can be low, medium, or high. The low kick is a front or sweeping kick to the shin that makes contact with the inside edge of the shoe and is executed with a characteristic backward lean. Punches include the jab or lead hand, the cross or rear hand, the hook or bent arm, and the uppercut involving the use of either hand.
The mixed martial arts training videos present the 3 levels of competition in modern Savate, which are: assault, pre-combat and sparring. In assault, you will be asked to focus on his technique while still making contact with your opponent; however, excessive force is not allowed. The pre-combat level will allow you to engage in fights at full strength, as long as both you and your opponent are wearing protective gear like helmets and shin guards. The final and most intensive level is sparring, which is similar to pre-sparring, although no protective gear is allowed, with the exception of the mouth guard and muzzle guard.
Unlike other forms of martial arts that offer belt colors as their ranking systems, in Savate you will train for glove colors. However, as a beginner, you won’t have any color. Thereafter, you can train your way up to successive levels: blue, green, red, white, and yellow. You must have a yellow glove rank or higher if you want to compete. The highest ranking savateur (for men) or savateur (for women) is a silver glove.