Reflection - Savate training

Reflect Once

Twice is Better, Right?

Petal grows

In my last post, I talked about using reflective practices for martial arts. So lets put this into practice, and provide this to the public of the Internet. The other night I went and trained in the French kickboxing art of Savate. It had been the first time in a while, I usually focus on Muay Thai training. And unlike the straight forward approach of Muay Thai kickboxing (and lets be honest it is generally a grueling punishment fest), Savate is very technical, quick and deceptive. Think of it as boxing with your feet.

General thoughts

Similar to the boxer's "sweet science", Professor Salem Assli would say Savate something like is the art of hitting the opponent and then escaping, "I hit you, you don't hit me". Which is funny, because it is so simple yet it is very hard to actually put into practice. Boxing champion Floyd Meyweather is a great example of dodging and then counter attacking.


What was successful?

Even though I haven't really trained in Savate for months, I definitely needed to shake off the cobwebs. I still felt good particularly with defense and with the combinations. I was teamed up with Kyoko, a blue glove like myself, we worked on the Fouette Bas combinations back and forth.

What was unsuccessful?

I felt incredibly slow and a bit clunky, where as my techniques in Muay Thai seem smooth and fast. Most likely I have just not put in enough time and drilled out Savate enough times. Specifically, there were two areas I noticed that I was struggling with. First, I need to work on my boxer's shuffle, moving in and out of attacking range. Second, I need to work on my spinning hook kick. I threw it more like the Muay Thai style rather than chamber and snap/ whip at the opponent.

-Dwight