We’ll be back in action for more fight training this Sunday, March 8, 2009. It’s your last chance to learn some moves before SXSW. You know you’ll need ‘em if you plan on attending Diggnation Live.  Clover Park in Santa Monica is where it all happens. See you there!

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I often get asked about the fighting style I mostly train in. Savate is a French form of kickboxing that has its roots in kicking techniques brought back by French sailors visiting Asian ports in the 18th century. It was further developed by Marseilles bravos who used it to defend themselves on the streets, but later refined by Parisian gentlemen who incorporated British boxing techniques. By the end of the 19th century “Le Boxe-Francaise” aka “Savate” was quite in fashion among the men (and a few women) of society and it became the national fighting art of France. It was taught to French military and police personnel but Savate was almost entirely wiped out when WWI and WWII killed off most of its practitioners. This uniquely French fight technique managed to survive and it’s been having a sort of renaissance throughout the world lately. Bruce Lee acknowledged Savate’s effectiveness and incorporated several of its kicks into his own style, Jeet Kun Do.

Savate looks decidedly different from other kickboxing styles in that it’s somehow elegant. I have been practicing Savate for 9 years and love the sport, having competed in about 10 amatuer fights (with a record of 6-4).  Take a look a the the clip above to get an idea of what full contact Savate can do.

The Dramatic Face Off

The 7th session was spent doing a lot of sparring as you really don’t know whether the techniques you’ve learned will work in a fight until you actually fight. Matt West (Deca TV) and Dan Tischler (BBC America) both joined in the fun and added to my growing collection of bruises after 2 hours of pad work and sparring. Lots of sweat and fun. Come join us next time. More photos here.

Matt, Cherie & Dylan.

We had 3 new attendees at W2FC this time and they were great! Joining us were Matt West (Boing Boing TV), Cherie Hurwitz (Buzznet) and Dylan Tarason (Gold Circle Films). Jessica Mae Stover (Artemis Aeternal) trained for an hour with us but had to leave early due to production deadlines. Everyone had some had prior training in other arts, so after a few minutes they picked up the basics of kickboxing quite rapidly and by the end they were doing six strike punch/kick combos (jab-cross-left hook-right hook-right roundhouse-left roundhouse). They were so good, we tried doing spinning back kicks and they each were able to pull off push kick-spinning back kick combos after just 2 hours of training. A little sweat and a lot of fun on a Sunday morning.

Only the finest fight training.

We’ll resume training Janury 25th, 2009 at 11am at our usual location. Come join some cool people from the new media world to get a great workout and learn some fight techniques. Please let me know if you plan on attending by emailing me here. Pass the word.

Highlights from Enter the Dragon to tide you over during the holidays.

Everyone who participated in Web 2.0 Fight Club this year was amazing and inspirational. It was great to see people who had never had any kind of martial arts training put on gloves, kick pads and even try sparring. Fight Club will return in January 2009 to help you lose those holiday pounds. Merry Christmas everyone!

Oscar De La Hoya lost, so I’m in a funk. Oh and my son’s soccer team is in the AYSO playoffs this weekend. Check back soon for the date of our next session.

Jessica, Kathleen, Rudy, Casey, Tracy, George and Sagid

Our 5th session concentrated on defending certain attacks and we practiced techniques against jabs and hooks. There was a fair amount of contact this time out but everyone controlled their power and no one got hurt. Overall, quite an impressive showing from Jessica Mae Stover (Aertimis Eternal), Kathleen Leonard (ICM), Casey McKinnon (Galacticast, A Comicbook Orange), Rudy Jahchan (Galacticast, Best. Zod. Ever), Tracy (The Man With No Las Name) and Sagid (guy who saw us in the park last time and joined in). Looking forward to see you there next time. More pictures after the jump.  Link

We’re gathering again for fisticuffs this Sunday at Clover Park in Santa Monica. Start time is 11am and we’ll go for two hours, or until the last survivor pleads for mercy.

Kidding! No one gets (seriously) hurt. Really. It’s fun. Come find out and learn some fight techniques with great people from the internets.

Tracy, Mike, Dan, Ryan, Alex, George, John and Liz

Great turnout this session! Joining in the fun were Tracy (from the Twitterverse), Mike Outsmeguine (WiFi Toys), Dan Tischler (BBC WorldWide America), Ryan (Exec. Producer of MTV’s “Exiled”), Alex Albrecht (Diggnation, Project Lore, The Totally Rad Show), John Meadows (Savate tournament fighter), and Liz Shannon Mller (New TeeVee). We focused on Muay Thai and Savate techniques so there was a lot of punching, kicking, spinning, push-ups, and sparring. Everyone left happy and tired after two hours of training on a windy Sunday morning. Please join us next time!

More photos from this session and past meetings are here.