What boots to wear for Savate
Savate means ‘shoe’ and your boots are the most important item in your kit bag. Appropriate footwear is required for every class. Good boots should feel comfortable, light, effective, and be safe for your training partners.
For your first class
Please hold off buying anything before you start. It is better to save your money until you have trained a few times and know what will work. Bring a trainer or sports shoe you already own.
Safety and hygiene are paramount.
- No jagged edges.
- No sharp tread.
- No metal eyelets.
- No dirt or mud.
- Never walk to class in them!
If your shoes have ever been worn outside, please wash the soles under a tap with washing-up liquid before training.
Ideal
Savate boots.
For grading and competition proper Savate boots are required.
We recommend
- Savate Live https://www.savatelive.com/
- Top Sport Savate https://topsportsavate.com/en/
- Rivat https://www.rivatshop.com/
Acceptable
Decathlon Outshock Boxing Boots.
These are lightweight, with ankle support, the soles are rounded into the upper, with minimal tread.
Acceptable
Wrestling boots
Designed with body contact in mind, not just floor contact, so the soles are safer for Savate and are also omni-directional.
Okay
Squash shoes
Designed to move in all directions, so the tread is more forgiving, but there is no ankle support
Okay
Boxing boots
There is ankle support and the sole will not have deep tread, but watch out as the edges can still be very sharp, especially on a new boot.
Not okay
Trainers, running shoes
No ankle support, and the sole is designed to grip the ground, so it has directional tread which would hurt a person or could tear skin.
Not okay
Barefoot
Savate kicks strike with the toes and other parts of the foot, meaning it is unsafe and inappropriate to train barefoot in a Savate class.
Rules about boots in Savate
- 14.3.3 Boots
- The upper and top parts must be supple
- The sole must be rigid without being hard, without a protruding heel, and being neither sharp nor serrated
- They must be tied with laces, without hard ends or eyelets, with the knot tied behind the top of the boot
- The tied laces must be covered with soft adhesive tape around the ankle
- The upper should not exceed the length of the malleolus by more than 5cm
- The front surface of the upper should be as rounded as possible without being hard and be padded with a thin layer of protective material
- The same protective layer lines the entire shoe internally.
- A delegate will check the boots for confomity
- 14.3.3 Les chaussures
- Elles ont une tige et une empeigne faites en matière très souple (cuir ou peau retournée ou non)
- La semelle rigide sans être dure est plate, sans talon ni talonnette, et ne doit pas remonter sur l’avant ou l’arrière de la chaussure, ne doit pas être coupante (ex. chaussures de Boxe Anglaise), ni striée.
- La fermeture se fait par lacets, sans extrémités dures ni œillets, et dont le nœud devra se situer derrière la tige.
- Comme pour les gants à lacets, la boucle de fermeture doit être recouverte par un ruban adhésif souple, non coupant, entourant la cheville.
- La tige, semi longue, ne devra pas dépasser de plus de 5 cm le niveau des malléoles.
- L’extrémité avant de l’empeigne, sans être dure, est aussi arrondie que possible, et est “matelassée” d’une mince couche interne de “latex” (ou toute autre matière similaire et protectrice).
- Une même couche protectrice double intérieurement toute la chaussure.
- Le délégué aux tireurs (en dernier ressort le D.O. ou le D.O.G.) appréciera leur conformit