Quote Originally Posted by SPX View Post
I think two things are particularly interesting here:

1. For a long time in many parts of the world, including America, a fist fight was considered the manly way to go about things. My step-dad even told me once that when he was growing up there was no kicking in fighting. Kicking was for cowards and pussies. Real men fight with their fists. It seems that this was not the mind-set of the French.
I don't necessarily buy into that line of thinking by and large. While that's something that was "said" as soon as asian martial arts came to the western world it was like an explosion. Bruce Lee wasn't a total celebrity by accident. As soon as kung fu and other martial arts made their way to Europe/America everyone wanted to learn to look like a ninja while fighting.

Also, I think another thing that may have influenced this is kicks themselves. Not everyone has one punch knockout power in their hands. That much is just a fact in the world. Even professional boxers and fighters seemingly lack that ability to place the shot that puts the other guy to sleep. Anyone, literally anyone over the age of ten years old who isn't a midget has the leg strength to knock someone out/end a conflict with a well placed kick.

Quote Originally Posted by SPX View Post
2. Considering that Savate was not created strictly as a ring sport with rules, I think it's interesting that there was little to no concern about kicking in a street fight in the sense that kicks take your base away and being wrestled to the ground is a much greater possibility with only one leg supporting all your weight.
Well for john everyman who may not be versed in catch wrestling it wouldn't make a difference is he was throwing punches or kicks against one. His best chance at getting out of there before he's robbed and possibly bleeding is to kick while keeping his hands up to protect his face. Also, distance becomes important in a scuffle involving more than just two people, especially when the odds aren't even. Being swamed on is pretty much a loss for the most part, being able to keep at least one or all of your attackers at a distance to be able to have a free range of motion is imperative for coming out of that kind of situation.