Akshay Kumar in Savate

SAVATE

Savate, also known as boxe française, French boxing, French Kickboxing or French Footfighting, is a French style of foot and fist fighting. This French martial art uses the hands and feet as weapons combining elements of western boxing with graceful kicking techniques. Only foot kicks are allowed unlike systems such as Muay Thai, which allow the use of the knees or shins.

Savate is a French word for "old shoe". Savate is perhaps the only style of kickboxing in which the fighters habitually wear shoes.

Systematized in post-Napoleonic France, savate is the only martial arts native to Europe that still exists in both sport and combative forms.

The precise origin of the art is unknown. Though, it is known that 17th-century sailors of Marseilles were required to practice stretch-kicks to keep them in condition for ocean voyages. Sailors called this form of foot-fighting "chausson," or "slipper," in reference to the felt slippers they wore when practicing the kicks.

Later, Napoleon's soldiers developed an unofficial punishment for regimental misfits. A group of soldiers would hold an offender in place while another kicked him severely in the buttocks. The punishment was called "la savate."

By the beginning of the 19th century, the fighters of Paris brawled with their feet rather than their fists. Their kick-fighting was popularly called savate.

Eventually, Michael Casseuse sought out the better street fighters and observed and categorized their techniques. The result was a refined fighting system. His offensive techniques emphasized front, side, and round kicks to the knee, shin, or instep. The hands were held low and open to defend against groin attacks. Palm heel strikes were used to attack the face, nose and eyes. In addition, as a result of encounters with chausson street fighters, savate came to include both mid-level and high-level kicks, in addition to Casseuse's low kicks.

Later, Charles Lecour, one of Casseuse's best students, studied bare-knuckle boxing from one of England's most respected teachers. He later synthesized English boxing and Casseuse's savate to create "la boxe Francaise," or "French boxing." Lecour also introduced the use of boxing gloves for training, which minimized accidents and increased the art's popularity.