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BOXINCS WITH THE FEET#Tbe French Style of FfghfluC T* Coming Into Fashion In America#Mon who set the fashion iu Ameri-Can nniuteur athletics have lately taken up the French Htyle of lighting, which, if not hb deudly an the present prize ring method, in much more picturesque anti requireH double the umount of agility for scion ti lie work,In Paris there are numerous academies where this science is taught, The art is known as savato, which literally means old shoe, The young American regards a kick iu a fight as tno Y rankest kind of foul play, but a Frenchman argues on the theory that when a man is attacked he should be qualiiied * to use each and all of the weapons given him by nature without any show of partiality. The average Frenchman uc-s quires a knowledge of the suvute for tho single purpose of defending himself against attack by street rufllans. Ho does not expect to make use of it on 0 his friends or acquaintances, us that would be vulgar. The duello code covers thut contingency,There are six times as many blows In lt;the French style as there are in the accepted form of fighting. Many unique combi nations are made with the feet and hands, and for rough and tumble fighting it utl'ords a system which is not lt;to be beaten easily. A clever man at the suvute can disable an adversary in0 short order. His leg can be broken, his il neck dislocated, or his face smashed in li ut the will of the man of science, t Tho primary rule in learning snvate, r and one of the most difficult to remember in the heat of combat, is that the weight of the body must ulwuys rest on the foot farthest away from the opponent. The foot in front must 1x3 entirely free of all weight or other hindrance, so that it can wave about in all direc-1 tions like a flag in a gale of wind, r This rule is neceasury both for offensive and defensive reasons. If the front foot is hampered by weight, it cannot deliver a speedy kick. Moreover, as soon as tho man you arc lighting with! sees that you are resting your weight on your forward foot he kicks it from under you, and you collide with the flour, As the rapidity of the contest keeps the two men dancing about, sometimes with one foot in front and ) just us often with the other foot forward, it behooves the lighter to do a lot of thinking to always sustuin his weight on the rear foot. When a beginner lias thoroughly learned this rule, hulf of tho art has been uequired# The rest is simply learning where and when to kick d and how to puny.—Philadelphia Press.
Newspaper Details
Keeseville Essex County Republican
Keeseville, New York, US
Thu, Jul 16, 1896
Page 3
Full Page
Clipped by
Savate M.
NA, 22 Dec 2024
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Keeseville Essex County Republican
