When we talk about martial arts and combat sports, our thoughts naturally turn to the
East, influenced by the Kung Fu films of the Seventies that showed us in a crude way
an aspect of a culture alien to ours.

In my sixty-five years of practice and teaching I have noticed a difference in the
teaching approach between the East and the West.

Here in the West a pragmatic mentality leads us to want to know many techniques in a
short amount of time to satisfy a kind of knowledge that can be superficial and, once
the initial enthusiasm is gone, expended, driven away by numerous stimuli from other
sports activities, as well as non-sports activities available within a consumer society.

In the East - I am talking about traditional teaching - there is a process of
Westernization in the field of martial arts, due to the progressive replacement - not
entirely in Japan however- of several ancient and fundamental principles with the
popularity of quick success and easy money.

These observations merit a more in-depth study that would cuase our discussion to
digress with considerations of the Taoist/Confucian roots in China and Buddhist roots in
Japan of martial arts.

In the West, indigenous combat sports have developed that emphasize the practical
and/or sporting aspect, they do not include forms of introspection and meditation.

Inward exploration- given that contact sports put us in direct contact with the deepest
sensations of our Self: fear, courage, aggression, pain -the practitioner is allowed the
freedom of initiative, whenever he receives the stimulus and possesses the ability, his
skill will deepen under the unimposing guidance of the teacher toward a possible
spiritual path never separated from the connotations of honor and loyalty to the group,
which are the fundamental values of every discipline that involves physical contact in
combat with an opponent.

Now I wish to speak of Savate - French boxing - a combat sport born in France in the
mid-eighteenth century.Credit for its popularization goes to the Parisian MichelCasseux (known as Pisseau) born in 1794, who studied ancient French fighting
methods.

Pisseau, beginning with self defense techniques in use at that time in France, namely
Chausson, combined it with football techniques from the North of France, and founded
an Academy called Art de la Savate. His work continued thanks to a student of his who
stood out from all the others named Charles Lecour.

Some of our French friends have argued that oriental fighting methods, which also
involve the use of the legs (kicking, knee blows, leg tackles), were influenced by
Savate. Theirs is a bold statement to say the least,since the most plausible hypothesis
is that French sailors, who had relations with the East, copied the fighting techniques
of those places, importing them to Marseille in France and modifying them as needed.

In early Savate, the aspect of self-defense was emphasized, which quickly spread
including even to the Parisian nobility; here the walking stick, later transformed into
canne de combat, found its use in the field of self-defense and was taught in well
established schools.

From Marseille, Savate spread to Italy, particularly in Genoa where we find the oldest
Italian schools of the method: that of Doria and Mameli.

Over time, Savate spread throughout Italy and, despite lacking the exposure of
Kickboxing or Boxing in the popular media, it is growing in popularity on account of the
elegance of its movements as well as it's eye catching nature and effectiveness linked
in part to the use of special shoes. Because of its intrinsic qualities, Savate is greatly
valued by women.

In the past, contests between English boxers and French savateurs were the stuff of
legend. Boxing as everyone knows uses only the arms and fists, but the pride of the
practitioners of that sport pushed them in the nineteenth century to challenge fighters
of a similar but potentially more complete fighting discipline, involving the use of the
legs and feet. Those contests always ended in favor of the best individual fighter and
not simply the adherent of this or that school of martial arts.

It is a rule that naturally still applies today and puts an end to any dispute regarding
the superiority of one method over another.and generic that marks a myriad of varied
styles)? Kickboxing or Savate? Judo or Olympic Wrestling?– it does not matter.

The distinction we must make is between traditional martial arts, which involve the
study of forms (kata, tao lu) and therefore have a more nuanced approach to combat –
a long and interesting discussion – and combat sports that dedicate all their time to
athletic/competitive preparation with the aim of victory over an opponent.

Given these premises, for those interested in the great world of martial arts and
combat sports, it is necessary to reflect on the reasons that attract the aspiring fighter
to the practice of one or another discipline in order not to be disappointed or deluded,
by training in a discipline that does not completely satisfy personal expectations.

Other aspects of fundamental importance are the teacher's ability to transfer his
knowledge with passion and competence together with up to date teaching methods.

Then, given the proliferation of exotic styles of fighting, mostly inauthentic, it isnecessary to verify the historical roots of the school put into practice. For example,
Boxing, Savate, Kickboxing, Karate, Olympic Wrestling, and in general the martial arts
from Japan, have a well established history and teaching method; other facsimiles,
which come from Israel or from exotic oriental countries, do not have a verifiable
tradition and therefore a codified and authentic teaching method established in the
distant past, if they are not altogether a knock-off contrived by some imaginative
practitioner in search of fame and fortune.

In some oriental martial arts there is even the risk of running into a "master" who puts
forward pseudo-philosophical and pseudo-spiritual ideas and concepts that, assumed
as "truth" by the younger and older students, can inflict damage on the development
of the student's personality.I cannot count the number times have I met "masters",
who posed as gurus or holy men, literally subjugating unwary athletes.

Regarding some considerations on the aggressiveness of our Sports, allow me to quote
Prof. Massimo Scioti: “The antagonism that translates into a desire to win is nothing
other than the expression of aggressiveness, which derives from the Greek
agonizomai, and has the same root as the word agony, the last struggle of the
organism that tries to avoid impending death. It is therefore aggressiveness that
allows one to fight, to compete with opponents, but also against adverse
environmental conditions, for the survival of the individual and for the preservation of
his species, of which sport is the most beautiful metaphor.”

A family, a clan or a culture, where everyone without exception knows how to behave
in compliance with the common and shared written and unwritten rules, finds it's
embodiment and expression in a team of Martial Arts and Combat Sports worthy of
admiration and respect.

Is it possible for Martial Arts and Combat Sports to trace a path for the man of
distiction? If so how?

It can be done by the continuous exercise of martial arts which leads to a clear
mind(as with Zen) and in pursuit of competitive goals among others, that turns oneself
away from the vanity and stress of a society given to the satisfaction of hedonistic
pleasure.

I think in this way that we can open the doors to a new critical awareness which go
beyond today's woke culture, which is spreading rapidly and influences the behavior of
many people, especially the young.

Is this utopian? Perhaps, but we know that through utopian ideas great revolutions
and changes have come about.

It is said that boxers are crazy. There is some truth to this. When American boxing
promoters offered Teophilo Stevenson five million dollars to fight Mohamed Alì,
Stevenson, a worthy and proud revolutionary, refused saying: "What are five million
dollars worth when I have the love of five million Cubans?"

Boxers can also be poetic.

“One day they will write a blues song dedicated to boxers: there will be a languid
guitar, a muted trumpet and the sound of the gong in the ring" (S.Liston)

”Boxers can be bitterly ironic.
“It is hard to be a black man, have you ever been a black man? I was once when I was
poor.” (L. Holmes)

Practicing our sports (Boxing, Savate and Combat Sports) is like trying to start a fire
with wet matches. After several attempts you can get some sparks and, if you are
patient, from these you will spark a fire that will last forever (Master T. Kase).

“You cannot experience the true taste of fighting by reading a book. You will discover
the meaning of many things related to the Way only by practicing without respite and
practicing very hard.” (M:Musashi)

The journey is very long …

Luca Tinti master of Savate, Kickboxing and Muay Thai IV dan karate Goju Ryu I dan
Kendo boxing technician
Technical director New Boxe 90 Savate team Tinti c/o Castelgym Sports Center via

delle Cerese Castelli Calepio (Bg)