Canne de combat
French sport with a light chestnut cane, codified by Maurice Sarry in the seventies of the 20th century. Six codified strikes and no thrust.
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Who It Suits
Organisation & Competition
What the style is built from
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About Canne de combat
Canne de combat is a French sport with a light cane made of chestnut wood. The federation FFSbf&DA's training booklet Cahier n°10 (2005) states that it comes from 19th-century methods, especially the method of master Charlemont, and that Maurice Sarry newly codified it in the seventies of the 20th century to adapt it to competition. The federation calls Sarry the inventor of the sport. According to the federation's sports regulations of 2026, the cane is 95 centimetres long and weighs 100 to 130 grams. Strikes are made with the side of the cane like sabre cuts, and thrusts are forbidden. Cahier n°10 codifies four vertical and two horizontal strikes to the head, flank and leg, the flank only for men. The bout is fought as assaut and duo. In assaut the referees count hits, and any force aimed at putting the opponent out of action is forbidden. The federation treats canne de combat and bâton as one discipline with two weapons. The grades are called pommeaux, blue, green, red, white and yellow. According to the 2012 report of the international savate federation, the world championship was held once every four years, and the 2026 edition was held in Prague according to the French federation.
History
On its website, the federation FFSbf&DA describes canne and bâton as the twin of savate, which arose at the same time, with the same teachers and for the same reasons, at the beginning of the 19th century in fencing halls. Olympedia states that canne de combat was shown together with savate as a demonstration sport at the 1924 Olympic Games.
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Cahier n°10 states that Maurice Sarry newly codified canne de combat and bâton in the seventies of the 20th century. The federation credits him with two principles: the principle of protection, according to which one must be sure of not being hit before attacking, and the principle of effectiveness, according to which every strike with a wooden weapon must describe a large rotating movement to be potentially dangerous. Sources differ on the years around Sarry. The French Wikipedia gives his book of 1978, the first competition under his method in 1979 in Paris, and the founding of the Comité national de canne de combat et bâton in 1983. Green writes of a special commission for canne in 1982, and the HEMA Misfits blog of a committee in 1975 and the first championship in 1986. In 2004 Bertrand Dubreuil, president of the Comité National de Canne de Combat et Bâton, updated the techniques of canne and bâton and wrote the methodology Cahier n°10. At an extraordinary general assembly on 13 April 2024 the federation dissolved the committee replacing it with a national commission within the federation.
How it differs
The ban on thrusts distinguishes canne de combat from the old la canne of the 19th century. In 1899 Charlemont still taught the coup de bout, a thrust with the cane's tip. Cahier n°10 (2005) mentioned two then marginal, uncodified practices: the double canne, with a cane in each hand, and the Panache, combining savate and canne de combat techniques. Under the 2026 sports regulations the double canne is already a competitive form. The English Wikipedia also lists among variants canne chausson, savate kicks combined with canne techniques, and canne défense, self-defence with the cane without competition.
Technique
The federation's sports regulations (2026) prescribe a cane of straight, dry, peeled chestnut wood, conical, 95 centimetres long and 100 to 130 grams heavy. The federation's website says the cane weighs about 110 grams, reaches about the hip and is held in one hand. Cahier n°10 says strikes are delivered with the side of the weapon like sabre cuts, without thrusts, to the head, flank and leg, the flank only for men. Four vertical and two horizontal strikes are codified. The French Wikipedia names them: latéral extérieur and latéral croisé, brisé and croisé tête to the head, and enlevé and croisé bas to the legs. The French Wikipedia says a hit must land with the upper quarter of the weapon, and every strike must be preceded by an armé, in which the hand with the cane passes behind the spine's axis. The regulations count a strike without an armé or with a faulty one as an offence. Cahier n°10 adds that thrusts were removed from canne and bâton for safety and that the compulsory lunge for strikes to the lower line was introduced after the revival in the seventies of the 20th century, to reduce their obliqueness. Green gives another list of six strikes and writes that they must be wound up behind the shoulder.
Ranks and progression
Cahier n°10 describes the technical progress of canne de combat and bâton in five grades called pommeaux: blue, green, red, white and yellow, each with a skills sheet and an exam. According to the French Wikipedia, the blue pommeau attests knowledge of the technical repertoire, the green cooperative techniques and the red techniques in opposition, needed for competition. The white and yellow were taken, it says, under the supervision of a CNCCB committee representative. Training as a referee or delegate requires, according to the federation, the red pommeau and at least two seasons of federation licence.
Competition
According to the federation's sports regulations, canne and bâton are contested in two forms. The assaut, possible with canne and double canne, is judged on technical mastery, style, accuracy and fighting spirit, and any force aimed at knocking out is forbidden. The duo, possible with both canne and double canne, is the only form of competition with the bâton. Bouts have two to four rounds of one minute, a minute and a half or two minutes of actual time, team competitions six to twelve rounds of one minute without a break. There are no weight categories. According to the federation's website, fighting takes place in a ring 9 metres in diameter. The assaut is judged by three referees, and each awards a point for a hit he considers valid. The sports regulations themselves state that their part on canne does not apply and that Memento n°10 of 2018 and Cahier I of 2024 apply.
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The prescribed equipment is a fencing mask with a collar, padded headgear, gloves, shin and ankle guards, a groin guard for men and a chest protector for women, and a full padded jacket and trousers. According to a 2012 report of the international savate federation, the world championships were held once every four years. The 2012 edition in Saint-Herblain was, according to it, the third in history, and ten countries from four continents took part. The world championships were also held in September 2016 in Varazdin and, according to the FFSbf&DA, in July 2026 in Prague, where France won the team competition. The French Wikipedia gives the first world championships as 2004 and the first European championships as 2006.
Today
The FFSbf&DA federation states that canne de combat and bâton are practised in several dozen clubs and sections in France and overseas (Réunion, Martinique) and in almost fifteen countries, for example Germany, Japan, Australia, the Czech Republic, Rodrigues and Canada. An adapted practice has developed for almost ten years, at first for wheelchair users and today for all disabilities. Internationally, canne de combat is governed, according to Olympedia, by the Fédération Internationale de Savate (FISav), founded on 23 March 1985, with 63 member countries in January 2026. According to the French federation, the 2026 world championships in Prague also included a world championship for wheelchair users.
Did you know
In the final of the team competition at the 2026 World Championships in Prague, France, according to the French federation, defeated a joint team of the Czech Republic and Japan, and Germany in the semifinal. The English Wikipedia states that the first canne de combat and savate club in the United States affiliated with FFBFSDA and FIS was opened in 1983 in Philadelphia by Dr. Jean-Noel Eynard. In 2001 Green stated that in the United States the sport is governed by the USA Savate and Canne de Combat Association.
Styles & Branches
Frequently asked questions
Who created canne de combat?
According to the FFSbf&DA federation, the inventor of the sport is Maurice Sarry, who, according to its teaching booklet on canne and bâton, recodified it in the seventies of the 20th century according to the methods of the 19th century, especially those of Charlemont.
How long and heavy is the cane used in canne de combat?
According to the federation's sporting rules of 2026, it measures 95 centimetres and weighs 100 to 130 grams. It is made of chestnut wood and tapers conically.
Can you thrust in canne de combat?
No. According to the federation's teaching booklet, thrusts were removed for safety and may be used only in demonstrations and technical competitions. Only blows with the side of the cane count.
Similar styles
Selected by overlap in the style profile, not by historical lineage.