Savate (Boxe Française)

Savate is the outlier, and the reason is footwear. Competitors fight in specialised boots, and the rules require that every kick land with the shoe — the toe, the sole, the heel or the edge — never with the shin or the instep. That single requirement transforms the kicking game. A shin kick is a club; a boot kick is a blade. Savate kicks are consequently long, precise and linear, aimed at specific targets rather than swung through them.

The technical vocabulary reflects it. The fouetté whips the toe into a target, the chassé thrusts the sole like a piston, the revers slashes with the outside edge, and the coup de pied bas skims the boot along the floor into the opponent's shin. Each is a distinct tool with its own range, and the sport treats naming and executing them precisely as part of the discipline.

What savate does not have is anything at close range. Knees, elbows and the clinch are all absent, so the fight is contested at kicking and punching distance throughout, with footwork carrying enormous weight. Two competitive forms exist: assaut, where control is required and excessive force is penalised, and combat, where full power and knockouts are permitted. Savate fighters entering K-1 rules bring exceptional kicking range and distance control, and typically have to build a clinch and knee game from scratch.