FEET V. FISTS.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XXIX, Issue VIII, 23 August 1902, Page 451

FEET V. FISTS.

Boxing with the feet is a science in France. In England one regards such a mode of attack and self-defence as appropriate only to the hooligan. But that is because our idea of foot-fight-ing is derived from Police Court account of a rough who has jumped on his wife with both feet, or brutally kicked a mate. Still we have a national prejudice against using the feet in combat. It is not quite English. We prefer to trust to our fists, to keep a straight front, as it were, and deliver a “knock-out” blow without any kind of decorative sparring. The Britisher is a straightforward, simple-minded fellow, who has an inherent love of utility before anything else. The picturesque or the artistic makes no appeal to his susceptibilities, nor what might be termed the ornate in the art of self-defence.

Englishmen are inclined to think boxing with the feet rather more of a graceful gymnastic feat than a serious attempt at attack and defence on the most telling principles. In any case we are promised some sort of comparison between the two modes. As stated, two teams, one of Frenchmen and the other of English and American, are to come together, and each is to fight in its own way. The result should prove most interesting, and let it be hoped that some satisfactory conclusion will be come to as to which is the sounder method.

To provide against a contingency which we hope and believe is remote —that is, that the English team is beaten and has to resort to new methods of self-defence—we will explain what sort of tuition a young Englishman would have to go through to become a savatier, as it is sometimes called.

To begin with, you need not go to Paris to learn. There are professors of the art of foot-fighting in London who will put you up to all the agile devices necessary. You will have to be extremely flexible in the joints. How a heavy-weight would get on as a foot-combatant we do not quite know.

First of all you must learn to stand firmly on one leg while the other is performing evolutions in the air—not mere waving about, but direct thrusts and parries. If you attend an academy where foot-boxing is taught you wilj find yourself among a group of energetic men kicking out at a wall, going through an elaborate goose-step, parrying invisible blows.

and delivering trenchant, toe-pointed digs at imaginary adversaries. All this has to be gone through to get the limbs supple, to learn the different strokes de pied, and incidentally to get into the way of throwing your legs high into the air and still preserve a rigid equipoise—all of which requires considerable practice. And when you are a proficient in the art you .will be able to raise your foot to the level of your opponent’s face and strike him lightly on the cheek. With the same graceful delicacy you will shoot forward your leg slap into his chest, or gently flick him off his feet, having, by the way. rapped your heels about his ears.

One of the first instructions that you will receive is to keep your weight well behind you, so that you cannot be switched off your supporting leg while the other is negotiating a kick. Most of the blows

are delivered sideways, as it were. That is to say, you kick out from your side and not straight in front of you. In this way you can keep one foot planted firmly on the ground.

You will be told that one of the most tremendous kicks is the coup de vache, or cow-kick, which is especially designed to catch your adversary in the thigh and knock him off his legs. It is a scientific development of the ordinary donkey’s kick known to schoolboys.

Next you will be initiated into the stop thrust, which is simply raising your foot to the level of your adversary’s chest and keeping him at foot’s length. The recovery from this thrust is one that must be carefully watched, for, you may depend, instant advantage will be taken of your temporary loss of balance, and you will be sent sprawling. Really a most alarming kick is that known as the coup de pied tournant. In this the boxer turns half round to get a start, and then lets out at your head with a long rapid sweep. It is delivered with startling rapidity, and is generally preceded by a feint—a little butterfly blow or innocent pat which you guard with a certain self-assur-

ance, only to receive a swift hard drive that may stun you. In one of the illustrations you will see how such a blow may be guarded. The English team in Paris will certainly defend themselves in this way, having only two hands, so to speak, to the Frenchman’s four. Another method is the evasive. Bob your head, avoid the blow, and endeavour to repay the attempt by a well-aimed right-hander. Then there is a kind of charge kick, when the French boxer rushes at you obliquely and uses his foot like a cavalry lance. This, if it takes effect, is a terrible kick, and must be met with both hands, or dodged. The coup fondamental is a series of light raps with which you may open your encounter to get your limbs into play. It is pretty, it will give a hint of your grace and dexterity, but when you settle down to work it will be relegated to the past.

It may occur to the astute English pupil that if he could catch hold of the leg that continues to describe circles round his nose he might throw the Frenchman to earth. But be wary. This trick may cost you a bruising. You will find if you attempt to catch the offending member the other one so lately firmly planted on the ground will rise up and twist you round with a smart rap on thigh or shin. Whereas if you doggedly hang on to the leg the Frenchman will not hesitate to get off his legs altogether, drop on to his hands, and kick you fiercely with a coup de vache that will shake you into the corner of the room. Generally speaking, don’t attempt to hold the leg of your adversary. Besides these leg blows you will be taught to combine the ordinary blows, such as obtain in boxing. So that when you are not using your feet you can put in a little work with the gloves, or make a feint with the gloves when it is your intention to deliver a straight “crusher” with the feet. But what the value of the fourhanded game is compared to the British two-handed we have yet to learn. The result of the French and English contest will be most interesting.