In the 18th century, at the beginning of the modern era, it was common to settle disputes with kicks, punches, and sticks. This is the origin of our discipline.
"French Boxing is a profound science that requires great composure, calculation, agility, and strength. It is the finest development of human vigor, a fight with no weapons other than one's natural weapons where one cannot be caught off guard."
1797: Vidocq, aged 22, discovers "Savatte" (spelling of the era) while waiting at Bicêtre prison for his departure to the Brest penal colony.
1800: "Savatte" is then the sport of the bad boys from the barriers of Paris.
1820: Michel, known as "Pisseux," opens the first Savate hall in La Courtille, Paris. He also teaches combat cane in a rudimentary manner.
1834: Colonel Amoros, in his work the Manual of Physical and Moral Education, defines Savate as a popular fight: "the object of this fight is to touch the face or some other parts of the body with the hands or to touch the body or legs with the feet, or to grab an opponent's foot or leg and lift it to make them fall backward. To avoid injuries, savates or slippers without soles or nails are worn."
1838: Charles Lecour attends an English boxing match and immediately understands the benefit of combining savate and fist fighting, thus creating "French boxing."
1840: It is Théophile Gautier who, in his work "Le maître de chausson" (The Master of the Slipper), invents the term "French boxing."
1845: Charles Lecour opens with his brother Hubert the first French boxing and cane hall in central Paris, Passage des Panoramas. This method quickly became very popular, and the number of halls increased. Starting from the underworld of the capital, French boxing has now become the sport of the aristocracy. Other fighters mark this era: Larribeau – Leboucher, who also publish methods.
"Mr. Charles Lecour has reduced to an art this fencing of thugs, this boxing of the court of miracles... With this art, no more nocturnal surprises; one can forget one's cane, one's pocket pistols, but one never forgets one's legs or arms..."
1854: Louis Vigneron, an excellent fighter but also a showman, creates a sensation by defeating the Englishman Dickson. A text in verse recounts the first victory of French boxing over English boxing. Because French Boxing has entered literature. Many famous authors take an interest in our sport: Théophile Gautier, Eugène Sue, Alexandre Dumas, Honoré de Balzac, Jules Vallès. One man will mark the end of the century; he is a career military man named Joseph Charlemont.
1871: The Paris Commune. Refusing the humiliation of the end of the 1870 war against Prussia, Joseph Charlemont joins the insurgents, but to avoid being shot, he is forced to exile himself to Belgium where he participates in the development of French boxing.
1877: Still in exile, Joseph Charlemont publishes the "Treatise on French Boxing" in which strikes and positions are codified for the first time in a very precise manner with texts and engravings. This will be the first reference work of our sport.
1879: Finally granted amnesty, Joseph Charlemont returns to Paris and quickly trains many disciples, the most brilliant of whom are Castérès and his son Charles.
1887: Charlemont father and son create the "Academy of French Boxing" at 24 rue des Martyrs in Paris, a hall that will operate until Charles's death in 1944.
1899: This is the fight of the century that makes the headlines of newspapers of the time. It is the confrontation between English boxing and French boxing. Charles Charlemont defeats his opponent with a controversial low blow to the stomach, valid for some, forbidden for others! In any case, this encounter, which proved nothing, ended in a trial (because it was not officially authorized!) and the two protagonists were convicted of... assault and battery.
1900: This is the golden age of French Boxing, with the two Olympics in Paris. But English boxing and French boxing, judged too violent and not educational, are represented along with cane and stick only in the form of group exercises performed by Gymnastics Societies.
1903: The "French Federation of Boxing Societies" (FFSB) is created, to which both English and French boxing adhere.
1907: Georges Carpentier is crowned French champion of French boxing before turning to English boxing with the success we know.
"French Boxing is the daughter of long patience and long study. When you know everything, you must invent. And when you have invented, you must still learn."
1900 to 1910: The concern is defense in the street. Many works deal with personal defense: which discipline is most effective, French Boxing, Cane, or Jiu-Jitsu arriving from Japan? This is also the era of the "Tiger Brigades."
1914: This is the beginning of decline. Professional English boxing matches begin to overshadow our discipline. The FFSB simply becomes the FFB (French Boxing Federation). French Boxing is then only a commission.
1918-1945: These years will be a long period of dormancy. At the 1924 Olympics, French Boxing and combat cane make a timid appearance as a demonstration sport. However, throughout these years, one man, Pierre Baruzy, tries to keep the flame alive (he will be French champion eleven times).
1944: Pierre Baruzy manages to preserve a loyal existence for our sport by reconstituting the French Boxing commission within the FFB.
"There is no other path to social solidarity than respect for human dignity. French boxing is among those sports whose educational qualities are exceptional and thus contribute to the fulfillment of the human person as well as to their respect."
1945: For about twenty years, French Boxing attempts to survive thanks to men such as Alloot, Berceau, Cayron, Laford, Lyon, Plasait, and Prévost. But the horizon brightens; official competitions will soon resume.
1961: French Boxing returns to Italy. Arrigo Manusardi publishes a work "Box Francese" and teaches in Milan and Pavia. In 1965, an important French Boxing section exists in Genoa.
1965-66: Under the impetus of some enthusiasts of the new generation, Marc Kunstlé and Claude Simonot create the CNBF (National Committee of French Boxing). A few months later, the CNBF is welcomed within the Judo Federation as an associated discipline. This is the true beginning of the revival; halls begin to reopen. Michel Marlière launches French Boxing in the university world. Marcel Le Saux introduces it to schools. These are also the French Championships of the renaissance.
"French Boxing has this virtue: one learns life there. Usefully and joyfully."
1970: Sylvain Salvini, then president of the CNBF, organizes the first European championships at the Mutualité hall in Paris!
1973-1974: The CNBF becomes the "National Federation of French Boxing" (FNBF) and leaves the Judo Federation.
1975: The Ministry of Youth and Sports grants delegation of powers to the FNBF. But the previous year, after the general assembly, a split occurred and an independent group "National Federation of Savate French Boxing" was born. We then witness a war of acronyms: the FNBF becomes the FFBFS and DA (French Federation of French Boxing Savate and Associated Disciplines (cane and stick)).
1978: It is the hour of reason, of reunification. Our discipline then has more than 3,500 licensed members and 125 clubs. And on the sports level, everything accelerates with the arrival of women in assault competition.
1980: The FFBFS has 10,719 licensed members and 318 clubs.
1985: Creation of the FIBFS (International Federation of French Boxing Savate). The FFBFS has 21,336 licensed members with 569 clubs.
1988: A notable event: the first French Women's Championships in... Combat.
1995-1996: First European and World Women's Championships.
Creation of HandiSavate.
2004: Jean HOUEL is elected President of the FIS. First World Championships of Combat Cane on Réunion Island.
2010: English woman Julie Gabriel becomes the first female president of the International Savate Federation.
2015: Savate French boxing is registered in the French ICH (Intangible Cultural Heritage).