old style Fouette from Savate

[MC]

I'd like to include the Savate kick called Fouette in my technique
arsenal, but I guess I have some problem with the mechanics.
It is definitely different from the common roundkick I was used
to do.
Could somebody describe the fine points of old style (non-sport)
Foutte, especially the arms action (=arms behind the body, not
in front)?

Thanx
MC

[Caea]

re

I've done some Savate, but never was I taught to kick with my arms behind me.

Basically a "fuete" is a round kick that uses the point of your toe to make contact. Hurts pretty bad if the kicker is wearing shoes, or spends hundreds of hours kicking stuff with his bare toes.

All in all - I don't have much use for that Savate stuff.

[JaredExtreme]

savate?

Savate? C'mon Mc. Do you really want to learn an art taught by skinny fench doods in tights? Do some Muay Thai. Be a REAL man ! hehe

[phillyman]

Savate

Any one now anything about the bristal karate club in Bristal PA they teach savate. Also can someone tell me a little about savate what its strenghts are is it good for learning to defend myself on the street. Does it have self defense manuevers etc etc any info will help thanks

[Underdog]

I'm currently training Savate kicks as a part of my PSF course (I'm doing private lessons with a Phase one instr.) I was shocked to learn how effective they are. I dare to say that as far as kicking goes, savate is the best method to employ in the street.

First, the training and the mechanics are geared toward the use of SHOES; second, kicks to the knees are legal in Savate, third ALL the savate guys cross train in Muay thai (at least here).

As for the fouettè, the mechanics of the kick is similar to a taekwondo circular kicks, in which the very tip of the toe contact the side of the opponent lead knee. The kick is done in a whipping mode, and retracted very quickly.

Basically it's a Jab with your leg.

[pfsjkd]

Savate can be very effective for the street as it's praticed with shoes. The kicks don't look that strong, but the power is due to the fact that you're using a very small striking area; the toe or the heel.

Targets for the toe are the softer areas of the body; The knee, groin, kidneys, solar plexus, and eye socket.

One of savates strong points is the deceptive nature of the kicks. A kick may start out looking like one thing and end up being something totally unexpected. You also can strike from farther out than other arts such as Muay Thai. They actually complement each other very well. Especially if you stick to the low line kicks

Every person I've seen with good Muay Thai experience who's sparred with someone with good Savate eperience has come away with new respect for it.

[MC]

Fouette

Well, let me re-phrase my question:
At

http://royharris.com/tactical/jkd/kicks2.htm

you can see the old method of delivering fouette - instead
of the counter-twist of your upper body like in common roundkick, you turn it the other way (CCW when kicking with right leg),
extending your arm behind you - this way the mechanics is
more similar to the thai roundkick.
But the way I do it is probably wrong , because I either
don't get the full power or turn completely around (like
the thai roundkick). Can anybody help me with that?

[phillyman]

Savate

Does Savate have any self defense moves or some sort of method for dealing with a stand up type clinch?

[pfsjkd]

MC,

The fouette is not delivered with a full body spinning motion like a Thai kick. From my experience, you can break a rear leg foutte down to 5 basic motions. Let's use left lead, so we're kicking with the R. leg. From a normal stance (left leg forward, hands up to your face);

1) The first motion is to twist to the left on the balls of your feet but keeping them in the same position. Your left toe should be pointing to the left about 90 degrees or so.
This is where you would extend your left arm behind you if you want. At the very least, keep your right hand up to protect your face.

2) Lift the R. knee and point it at the intended target. Your knee, hips and shoulders should all be in a line with your body facing to the left.

3) Extend the R. leg stiking the target with the toe. You can get extra penetrating power by rotating your hip at the last second before the toe makes contact. It's hard to describe 'cause it's very subtle, but it can make a big difference.
Don't over-rotate. The only thing that should be moving is your R. leg. This differentiates it from the Thai kick where the whole body has rotation.

4) Bring your foot back so that you're basically in the same position as #2. You should be ready to fire another kick if necessary.

5) Step back to your starting stance (left leg forward, hands up).

I don't know if this helps. If it's still not clear, let me know and I'll try to clarify.

[pfsjkd]

Phillyman,

The old Savate utilizes throws, dirty shots, etc. The sporting Boxe Francaise Savate doesn't allow clinching, I believe.

[MC]

Fouette

pfsjdk :-);
thank you. My problem is that at point 3, I was used to twist
my upper body to the right (for right leg roundkick) to counteract
to the power of the kick (this is the common way, at least for me).
But in fouette, it seems to me that your upper body is in a straight line with your kicking leg (-> no twisting), so I either
don't get the power, or overspin. How do you "stop" the fouette
so that you are able to get back to the starting position (for
example in the case you miss the target) ?

[pfsjkd]

If you're over-rotating one way or the other, I would guess that you need to concentrate on Step 2 more. The finer points took me a while to understand. Of course, understanding doesn't mean you can do it perfectly :-)

I would suggest doing each step slowly and freezing for a second as each one is completed. If you freeze after #2 with your knee pointed and everything in a line, it may help you understand.

If you get to #2 and you find that you've already got some rotation, then you can further narrow it down and try to prevent it.

To go from #1 to #2 you don't need to swing the knee out and bring it to bear, you can just lift it straight up. Swinging it out and then over to your target will cause rotation.

I don't know what to tell you about twisting to the right when executing the kick other than, "Don't do that!" LOL It's not required.

The thing about the fouette is that you don't need a lot of power since you're aiming for soft targets. That's not to say that you can get away with throwing a wimpy kick, but the concept behind it is that you don't need to wind up from last week to drive a toe into solar plexus.

Do all the steps slowly many, many times, left and right side. When your hips get a little stronger, add some ankle weights and do them again. THEN start pratcicing them with speed (without the ankle weights, of course. That's only for slow work).

I would also recommend Salem Assli's videos. They're not great, but he's got pretty much perfect form.

[MC]

Thanks

YES, that was the problem. I was swinging the knee from rear
to front ala thai kick and that caused the overrotation!
I didn't understand that the kick is only a snapping motion
originating from the knee.
Now I lift my leg straight up and the kick is no prob.
Thank you very much, man!