Sizing Savate Shoes

Dear Sifu Z:

I've been thinking of getting a pair of Savate shoes but one foot is a half-size bigger than the other. Should I just get one pair of shoes, or would I be better off getting two different sized shoes - one to fit each foot?

I have purchased 5 pairs of Savate shoes, 4 size 45, one size 44.5. (I'm an American 10.5) The 44.5 fit, the 45's were all too small. I think you'll be safe splitting the difference. they do stretch a bit. You can always take 'em to a shoemaker and have them stretched professionally. At $50 bucks a pair for shipping they get pricey.

Glossary: Assaut a thème

Roughly, "sparring with a theme."

Savate loves to make simple things difficult. Assaut a thème is one of the more insidious ways of doing that.

During an assaut a thème one is given the direction to react to a technique with a specific response. This could be something simple like, "scoop the chasse frontal and return with a fouette median." The sparring partners would then spar normally, but whenever that front thrust kick is thrown, they defend as directed and throw a roundhouse kick.

Easy enough, but higher level savateurs will end up doing things like, "if they attack with A, respond with this 5-strike combo. If they attack with B, use this one" and so on and so on until you have essentially specific responses to a half-dozen different attacks.

While some consider this unrealistic busywork, in actuality, it is an extremely useful tool to apply your knowledge in a live environment as well as just get used to immediately responding during sparring.

Savate shoes

by Meredith

I've been approached a couple of times by people at the school I work out at about savate shoes. Generally the questions are a combination of:

• How much are they?
  
  
• Where can I get them?
  
  
• What's the difference between savate shoes and those shoes my friend got at Sports Authority?

Unfortunately (if you're in the United States), savate isn't huge in the US except for in one or two concentrated regions. In any case, not nearly large enough for the manufacturers to cater to US customers, much less for there to be a US manufacturer of savate shoes. At the moment, if you want the real deal you have to order them from France. Good luck translating the website if you took Latin in school. I ordered my current pair from Sport7 (not to be confused with the fencing gear manufacturer). Be ready with your European size and it may not hurt to order them one half size larger if my Rivats are any indication. They will stretch, but it takes a while.

Also, be aware that French online customer service is not the same that you'd get from a US company, possibly because they don't deal with enough US orders to be concerned with it. My order involved multiple translators, cryptic emails and no way to track the slow progress they were making. Also, I ordered my shoes in August. And apparently no one in France works in August. Or so I was told by my French savate seminar instructor, who found my lack of new shoes hilarious for that reason. I got them sometime in late September, but have been told that any time from three weeks to two months is not unheard of.

Also be ready with your credit card, because they are not cheap. And you'll have to pay the conversion rate since you'll most likely be purchasing them in Euros. The cheapest ones Sport7 offers are about $80 and a midrange pair can cost $150+.

Because of the above hurdles, many people just use wrestling shoes when they first start out. I borrowed a pair of savate shoes from a friend until I was able to determine if this was something I liked and was going to stick with or not. Wrestling shoes are a fine substitute if you're just taking class and not going to be competing. The main difference between savate shoes and wrestling shoes is that savate shoes have a reinforced toe to protect ... well, your toes. But again, if you're not competing, you probably won't be blasting your partner's leg and the wrestling shoes will offer you enough protection. Savate shoes also have smooth soles that are even with the vamp and the reinforced heel. The competition savate shoes are also very light and can be resoled (if you live in France).

The soles are one of the main reasons that wrestlers wouldn't want savate shoes and vice versa. Wrestling shoes help your feet to grip the mat for shooting in, whereas savate shoes are made specifically to glide over the mat for lots of spinning and movement.

You MUST wear some kind of shoe when taking a proper savate class. If you're not kicking with your toes, you're not doing savate. And if you are kicking with your toes and plan on doing it more than once, you should wear shoes.

See also: Shoes: To Wear or Not to Wear?