Savate Canada

Report on the Championnat du Monde Combat Qualifier, Novi Sad, Serbia

2009-07-10T10:47:00.000-07:00

Please note that this is an "unofficial" post from one of the members of Canada's very small delegation (two athletes, one coach!)

It should be noted that the most outstanding aspect of this competition was the level of organization by the Serbian organizers, who set a new standard for savate events! The quality of all elements of the competition was incredibly high. As well, everything started on time, which was amazing. Everything from the weigh-ins to the gala ceremony were well-planned and staffed with terrific local volunteers.

Novi Sad was a terrific location, with the stadium within walking distance from the main accomodation AND within walking distance of a sandy recreational beach on the Danube River!

Results

The overall intensity and skill level of combat was high, with the Canadian delegation witnessing three TKOs in a row in one ring on the second day!

At the last moment, as she was putting on her shinpads, Florence Quist was disallowed from competing because she does not hold a Canadian passport. This threw her weight category into disarray. The head of our delegation protested strongly and Savate Canada will hopefully look into this matter: Florence has represented Canada at several championships and is a skilled and experienced competitor.

Florence went on to show team spirit and sportsmanship by doing an amazing job warming up and cornering the Canadian competitor and the British competitor, Rafal Tichanow.

First-time combatant J. Leung earned a bronze medal in the -52 kg senior women's category which included Michiko Hara, winner of the trophy for "best overall female fighter."

Thanks

Rebecca Murray donated her time, money, competitive experience and personal charm and travelled to Serbia act as Canada's coach. She was awesome, as always!

We would also like to thank for their support:

Coaches:
Richard Sylla
Paul Atangana
Lillian Guicherd-Callin
Gaelle Villette

Gyms:
Renegade Muay Thai and Kickboxing
Toronto Kickboxing and Muay Thai Academy
Ness Martial
Cabbagetown Boxing Club and Youth Centre

Support Services:
Inside Out Physiotherapy
Lee Boyce, Trainer
Kyle Byron, Nutritionist

Montreal Seminar and Gala: May 28-30, 2009

2009-04-07T10:55:00.000-07:00

Savate Canada is proud to announce our upcoming seminar and gala with Richard Sylla. Based on the success of a preliminary event just this past February, we're ready to do it all over again, but bigger!

Call for competitors:

There will be Gala on Saturday evening, May 30th (details to be announced.) We are expecting a delegation of athletes from Cameroon and are confirming other international participation. These will be fast-paced bouts with controlled contact -- rules to be confirmed and circulated.

Please contact Rebecca (rebecca.murray@sympatico.ca) as soon as possible with your weight so we can work to get you a match with a visiting athlete! As well, Paul is hoping to get pictures of the competitors to be featured on posters and t-shirts!

Schedule:

Thursday, May 28th-evening (Lions Boxing)
Friday, May 29th-evening (Lions Boxing)
Saturday, May 30th-morning (Ness Martial)
Saturday, May 30th-afternoon (Ness Martial)

Locations:

Thursday and Friday's workshops will take place at Lion’s Boxing Club, 868-A Beaumont (entrance on side of building).

Saturday's workshops will take place at Ness Martial, 6995 Jarry Est.

Cost:

The cost will be $50.00 per workshop before May 1st, with a 15% discount for those who register for all workshops. A group rate of $35.00 per workshop is available for groups of 10 or more.

To register email rebecca.murray@sympatico.ca.

Bio:

Richard Sylla is a living legend! For many years he dominated the lightweight division with fitness, skill, accuracy and knock out power. Nicknamed the "Muhammad Ali of savate," he became a household name throughout France.

During his competitive career Sylla gained a reputation as a knock-out specialist. When he reached the finals of many French and European championships his opponents would often pull out of the competition.

Sylla won the French championship 10 times, the European championships 3 times, the Paris international championship 3 times and the international championships 7 times. His savate fight record stands as 69 fights for 68 wins with only a single loss.

Stay posted via our Facebook event!

Seminar with Richard Sylla (Feb 28-29, 2009)

2009-04-07T10:33:00.000-07:00

This February seminar, organized by DTN Paul Atangana, was suprisingly small but a great experience!

Richard Sylla was generous with his knowledge, helping us with technique, tactics, mechanics, and conditioning, but also taking the time to correct our ways of putting on hand-wraps and discuss mental preparation. He took time to work with each participant with focus pads and in the ring (speaking for myself, it was nerve-wracking stepping through the ropes with a legend!)

In contrast to seminars I've attended where the participants are self-conscious or intimidated, the question period at the end of this seminar was a lively dialogue between the group and Richard, with a mix of French, demonstrations and translated English.

Applause to Rebecca Murray for being Richard's frequent demo partner and for the excellent French-to-English translation -- always succinct, accurate and well-timed. (She also entertained the crowd quite nicely by nailing Richard with a stiff punch in the face during a demonstration, which added to the drama!

There were more Americans than Canadians present, which was our loss! However, the small numbers gave us all a chance to work together and chat as a group, which gave the Canadians in attendance a chance to meet and hang out out with American savateurs from Maryland and Connecticut as well as reconnect with friends from Chicago and New Hampshire.

We did exhibition matches (after all chilling playing board games and having snacks as a group.) Richard provided each competitor with individualized feedback at the conclusion of each match, which we were able to capture on video. This ended an excellent weekend and a great learning experience!

2008 Activities

2009-04-07T10:08:00.000-07:00

Savate in Canada during 2008

2008's largest event was our Canadian Championships/Canada Cup, which included competitors from Quebec, Ontario and Nova Scotia.
Experienced competitor and coach Paul Atangana took the helm as Canada's National Technical Director.
Highly experienced and decorated combat and assaut athlete Gaelle Villette, who had provided strong support for Canada's team at the 2006 Championnat du Monde assaut, accepted the role of National Team Coach.
Janesse Leung and Anne-Laure Bouvier attended a competition and seminar hosted by Eugenio Traballano in New Hampshire, USA, and featuring members of Belgium's national team as well as talented competitors from around the USA.
At the 2008 Championnat du Monde Assaut, held in Paris, Canada's team earned its strongest results ever by men, including two bronze medals earned by Marcelo Flores and Jaeson Buttle.
Anne-Laure Bouvier de Candia earned a bronze medal in the women's -60 kg category.
Canada provided evidence and input into an internal investigation by the FIS of officiating procedures for its international championships.

What is savate?

2009-04-07T09:49:00.000-07:00

Our art is best known as an elegant but intense style of kickboxing in which the fighters wear shoes (savate being a French word for “old shoe.”) Savate originated in in France and can be traced back to the early 1800’s.

Modern savate includes the growing international kickboxing sport (boxe-française savate,) a self-defense curriculum (savate défense,) and two weapons arts (“la canne” and “le baton”).

In Canada, savate is currently practiced in Montreal and Toronto, with a few lonely savateurs holding the fort in Halifax and Calgary.

National savate federations exist in 37 other countries and are part of the International Savate Federation/Federation Internationale de Savate (FIS.)

2007 Activities

2009-04-07T09:44:00.000-07:00

Savate in Canada During 2007

Seven competitions were offered in Canada in 2007, including our first international event in Montreal which included participants from the US and Belgium.
At the 2007 World Championships we achieved our highest medal placements ever in combat and our first gold medal in international savate competition.
Our first domestic instructor formation session was held (in Montreal.)
We had our first national competition outside of Quebec: the Canada Cup held in Toronto in May of 2007.
The Board of Savate Canada has passed an organizing bylaw creating a stronger and more representative structure to represent Canadians involved in savate.
We improved our board communications and governance.
We welcomed a new university club: the Université de Montréal.

Welcome to the Savate Canada Blog/Site

2009-04-07T09:40:00.000-07:00

Savate Canada volunteers have set up this Blog as a way of keeping our information more current and getting more of our volunteers involved in working on our web "presence."

Hopefully with a Blog instead of a static site, wewill be able to get more info out, faster, about our competitions, events, documents and the like. And, we'll be able to get more feedback from our visitors!

As well, we hope to be able to do "more with less," because operating with a Blog will save us on hosting and domain fees!

So, let's get started....