Savates Low Blow - La Coup De Pied Bas By Craig Gemeiner
One of Savate’s most fundamental foot skills the “coup de pied bas”, is an effective low-line street kick that requires very little strength and flexibility to perform, and recruits gross motor skills in its execution.
The “Coup De pied bas” is particularly useful when fatigue sets in from a prolonged engagement with an enemy. If a combatant is wearing heavy foot gear, such as steel-capped boots, or is too exhausted to lift and arm the knee for a conventional kick, the “coup do pied bas” is an effective option.
When examining historical Savate manuals of the 1800’s we discover the great majority provided detailed analysis and illustrations of the of the “Coup de pied bas”. Continually included in many instructional texts from the 1800’s and well into the 1900’s the kick was recognised by several early western combative groups, who incorporated it (along with other Savate kicks) into their methodologies.
Even in the face of gradual evolution of Savate into an international kickboxing sport, the “Coup de pied bas” has not been discarded, but has been adjusted slightly to suit the modern sport syllabus.
Long-range application:
The kick is generally delivered from the back leg. To begin the “Coup de pied bas”, lean your upper body forward while extending your arms towards your opponent – the object here to draw his focus high. Next, quickly lean back on the frontal plane while sliding the back foot along the floor. The trunk and the thigh move together in one line.
The elbows are drawn back sharply into the bodyline, with the hands up and guarding the face. This simultaneous leaning back of the upper body and forward swing of the leg adds power to the rapid friction release of the foot as it leaves the ground.
Facilitating impact with the inner edge of the boot, the kick aims to cut or hack into the opponent’s shin (centre of the Tibia) with the sharp wedge of the inner sole. Much like an axe chopping into a piece of wood, the heavier the weapon (in this case the boot) the better.
Follow ups after the “coup de pied bas”: There are many, but here are two simple ones. 1. Upon completion of the kick, step forward and switch the attack up high by striking your opponents face with your hands. 2. Alternatively, follow up with another “coup de pied bas” with your opposite leg.
Defences against “Coup de pied bas”:
There are several, but the most painful for the opponent is the “Chasse-d’arret” (stop kick). Using the closest leg to the attacker, intercept the “Coup de pied bas” by striking your opponent’s foreleg with the bottom of your heel.
Close-range application:
An interesting defence against a straight left, from d’armoric, 1899. Slip the punch to the outside while simultaneously checking the right hand and deliver a “coup de pied bas”.
The “Coup de pied bas” can be utilised from a standing clinch position ( as can many of Savate’s kicks) in much the same way the Devonshire and Cornwall wrestlers skilfully booted each other in the shins and legs.
“The Cornish man strikes with his heal or instep, using it somewhat as the French athletes in the Savate, endeavouring to cut away the other man’s legs from under him and thus render him an easier victim. The Devonian not only does this but aims vicious blows with his toes at the shin bone of the enemy, in hope for inducing him through pain and faintness to yield on the day.
Formerly, when the kicking was fashionable in Devonshire, it was considered a sign of cowardice for a wrestler to take his shoes off, the soles of which something contained a steel plate artificially inserted between the piles of leather. When this was the case, the boots of the competitors have been known to run over with blood.” 1*
In addition, at this range the use of various foul blows can be used to set up the kick.
1* Walter Armstrong’s observations of the Cornish and Devonian wrestlers documented in the Badminton library book Fencing, Boxing and Wrestling (1889)
Primary Sources
Charlemont ,J, " L' Art De LaBoxe Francaise Et De La Canne "- 1899
Leclerc, Julien, " La Boxe Pratique Offensive & Defensive"
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