Francoise Pennachio was one of the greatest 'combat' savateurs in living memory. He is also the fighter who famously defeated Ramon Dekker in an open Muay Thai vs Savate challenge

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xbjabp_clip-pennachio-version-rock_sport

Now that's some good kickboxing right there

Great find Cord, I haven't seen much Savate, that looks like some pretty devastating stuff in the right hands. I like my muay thai but boy that guy could kick.

2 things about Savate that make it an interesting skillset in self defence.

1. footwork and evasion. Good savateurs have the best movement in any art. I am not a fan of these absolutes, but honestly, there is nothing more miserable than trying to catch a good savateur. I know, because I am/was a bad savateur . There is no doubt that Muay Thai clinch, use of elbows etc are rightfully considered devastating, but you never have to look for your oponent in a muay thai fight- they are always 3 feet in front of you . Savate can teach you skills that can create space in a phone booth. SD 101 keep moving, keep your attacker(s) off balance and on the trot. That's savate.

2. It is a booted art. The kicks are designed to turn your feet into the weapon, not the leg. In competition like that clip, the fighters keep their boots in ice boxes to make them extra hard (they are already reinfrced boots). Again, in an SD situation, a savateur wearing work boots is going to make an attacker hurt badly very quickly. Dont get me wrong, I have nothing but love for muay thai's powerfull shin kicks, but the effect tends to be accumulative. I have experienced, and seen on a frequent basis, a well placed boot dig in to a thigh and give an instant dead leg. Truly horrible- and awesome

This is why Dekker had such trouble - the conditioning he had was for a different kind of impact and damage, and the nature of the kicks meant that he could not check their damage either. His leg went quickly, and he just could not catch the little bugger to give him some in return.

Again, not trying to do an 'art vs' argument, but Savate does get a bit of a rough deal in regards to rep and awareness, and its a shame because it presents a very usefull skillset in a very 'live' environment.

Savate has always interested me, although I have never had any instruction in it. Savateurs do seem to have the ability to throw strikes from all angles, and use some really good footwork. I would love to train a bit of that! Cord, if it makes you feel any better, Bruce Lee thought pretty highly of Savate.

Sent a PM to you Matt.

I can imagine botted kicks are brutal (and faster than our kicks), although I have taken some pretty light shin kicks that nonetheless, with perfect form were also pretty brutal, I saw my instructor actually break the hooks off a thai heavy bag secured on both top and bottom. That's femur breaking power. If a botted savate kick is worse than that I hope I never face a savateur!

There are some good fights online.

This is D. Fall-telemaque -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GtUYcmEhtc

in a combat bout.

Er booted, no idea why I kept saying botted. Anyhow, that Savate stuff looks like TKD on roids. Good stuff.

Storm,

while that does sound impressive I wonder if they were new hooks or have taken a lot of abuse over time.

Freshly installed Jason. They just opened the school and finished the inside a few weeks ago (it happened about a week after it opened, we all sat there jaws dropped). Dave Hagen is also a pretty solid 260 lbs. and has been involved in thai boxing for decades.
So how do typical Savate workouts go anyway?
By the way: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShAAxFmOTQ4&feature=fvw interesting