What is the difference between Savate and Kickboxing?

If you’ve ever thought about starting savate, then the chances are that you’ve seen it compared to kickboxing. This is due to the many similarities as at the heart of it, both are very similar martial arts. In brief, they both use striking and primarily use a combination of punches and kicks without using elbows or knee strikes. Having said this, there are a few differences that we shall point out in further detail. Whilst these differences may be small, they should give you a better understanding of the differences between the two.

The history of Savate and Kickboxing

Historically speaking, savate is an older art compared to kickboxing although these days kickboxing is far more popular. Originating in France during the 1800s, it was used as a way of fighting that combined regular boxing with kicks. With this said, it is regarded as the biggest martial art to come out of France, albeit it still lacks international recognition of other martial arts.

Like kickboxing, these kicks could be to the front of the body as long as it wasn’t to the groin. The creator of savate was named Michel Casseux who primarily developed the art for self-defense. Roughly speaking, the term ‘Savate‘ translates to ‘boot’ or ‘shoe’ in French, which is appropriate considering it uses shoes and strikes from the foot as one of its main methods of attack.

Elsewhere, kickboxing was developed in Japan in the 1950s, although its origins may have been around for some time beforehand. It’s safe to say that when it comes to combat, humans will have been using kicks and punches for a while, albeit the combined system of kickboxing may not have been around to add organization to the system. This is often a shock for some people as it’s a commonly held belief that kickboxing comes from the Netherlands. It’s not uncommon for people to refer to the art as ‘dutch kickboxing’ as the dutch helped popularize it due to favoring the art and producing a number of high profile champions and fighters such as the legendary Bas Rutten and others.

So, what are the cultural differences between Savate and Kickboxing?

As clarified, there are not really too many differences between the two. However, there are a few differences that are mostly based on customs and traditions. The first is that kickboxing has a standardized belt system that starts at white belt and goes through to black belt. Although some gyms do not use belts, kickboxing does recognize them to symbolize rank and status. This is a common feature of many martial arts and in this regard, kickboxing is no different. However, Savate has a slightly different system. In Savate, the rank of the practitioner can be seen by the color of their gloves. There are several colors to achieve and it may take around 8 years to get to the highest rank which is the silver glove.

Secondly, the uniforms are different. In kickboxing, you may wear standard trousers and a t-shirt or go topless. However, in competition savate, the outfit is more like a vest which is built into trousers. This is often an all-in-one suit that is designed to allow flexibility and comfort whilst throwing strikes. Although there is some room for variation, this is the standard outfit that features commonly in savate.

Thirdly, savate is unique in that it always features special shoes. Visually, these shoes look similar to those found in college wrestling so they are sturdy by design and have good grip on the floor. This differs from kickboxing which doesn’t use shoes and often competitors or those in the gym will go barefoot whilst training. However, this is the only difference in terms of equipment as other items such as gumshields, headgear, and boxing gloves are used in both.

What are the physical differences between Savate and Kickboxing?

Lastly, the main difference between the two is probably in terms of fighting style. This may differ per gym, but generally, it’s found that savate favors punches as opposed to kicking. Whilst kicking is a massive part of savate, it’s generally a bit more focused on punches whereas kickboxing uses kicks more often. Because of this, whilst knockouts do happen with kicks in savate, usually they are more likely to happen due to punches. Again, it should be repeated that this isn’t a huge difference, but nonetheless, it’s something that has been noticed.

Why did Kickboxing boom in popularity whilst Savate didn’t?

As touched upon earlier, kickboxing was massively embraced by the dutch who really helped spread the art on a global scale. Before the dutch got involved it was mostly seen as a more traditional art from Japan. However, as the dutch mastered it, they showed the brutal effectiveness of it in kickboxing matches and early MMA. Even today in MMA, it is a common way to fight.

However, it was possibly due to the popularity of Jean-Claude Van Damme and his global appeal that helped kickboxing go mainstream. He featured in 80s films such as Bloodsport and Kickboxer which captivated audiences around the world. Not only were his films big in Europe, but even in Asia he was successful, and most importantly he did well in the USA. It is often said that the USA is culturally dominant in terms of world countries and its influence, so when North America bought into Jean-Claude Van Damme and his kickboxing skills, the rest was history.

Looking towards savate, this simply didn’t happen. It would be the equivalent of an iconic French actor and martial artist featuring in commercially successful savate films at the time. The very fact one film was even named Kickboxer helped its growth, whereas this never happened with savate. Instead, it remained fairly obscure in terms of mass appeal. Such was the gulf in popularity, that sometimes people today will refer to savate as ‘savate kickboxing’ which says it all. Nonetheless, from a cultural aspect at least – savate is definitely its own art and should be respected in its own right.

Final Thoughts

In the big scheme of things, there really isn’t much difference between savate and kickboxing. It is almost like trying to compare karate with tang soo do. Whilst there are cultural differences and the occasional technical difference in training or rules, for the most part, they are different in name. With this said, if you’re looking to start training at either savate or kickboxing then we recommend either. Most importantly is the atmosphere in the gym and that you feel comfortable. With this said, you shouldn’t dismiss savate either for being less mainstream and neither should you ignore kickboxing for the opposite reasons.