Monday, March 9, 2009

Fight Quest - Savate

SAVATE
Location: Marseille, France
Masters: Christian Robert, Frank May/Frederic Baret/Laurent Bois/Patrick Gellat
Features: Hands, feet


My take on this episode -
I think they look "funny" in the suit.


What is Savate?
Savate takes its name from the French for "old boot" (heavy footwear that used to be worn during fights). The modern formalized form is mainly an amalgam of French street fighting techniques from the beginning of the 19th century[1]. Savate was then a type of street fighting common in Paris and northern France. In the south, especially in the port of Marseille, sailors developed a fighting style involving high kicks and open-handed slaps. It is conjectured that this kicking style was developed in this way to allow the fighter to use a hand to hold onto something for balance on a rocking ship's deck, and that the kicks and slaps were used on land to avoid the legal penalties for using a closed fist, which was considered a deadly weapon under the law. It was known as jeu marseillais ("game from Marseille"), and was later renamed chausson ("slipper", after the type of shoes the sailors wore).

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