| General Information |
Canne de combat, also referred to as “la canne” is an armed combat sport originating in France. It is the most organized and widely practiced stick-fighting form in Europe.As a sport, la canne the combat uses just a set of six techniques (Menard 2001b).Fencing masks and padded jackets are worn during practice and tournaments (CNCCB). |
| History/Development |
Canne de combat arose from the French martial art savate which includes stick-fighting. Next to canne de combat boxe française also finds its origin in savate. In the 19th century canne d’armes developed because of the Napoleontic law banning swords. Many fencers started to practice with the stick and a crossover of practitioner between la canne d’armes and fencing led to the introduction of new sword-fighting techniques (Menard 2001a ; Menard 2001b).Starting from the 1970 a new interest in historical European martial arts was found. Following this the first French Championship for canne de combat came about in 1980 in Paris. In 2004 the first World Championships took place and in 2006 European Championships were organised. (Loudcher and Cerruti 2010). |
Transmission
(Policies/institutions) |
There are many associations promoting and teaching canne the combat all over France, overseen by the Comité National de Canne de Combat et Bâton which organizes tournaments etc. |
| Relevant Organisations |
- Comité National de Canne de Combat et Bâton (CNCCB)
https://cnccb.net/
- Federation de Savate Boxe Française
- USA Savate and Canne de Combat Association |
| Additional Materials |
- Chouinard, M. (2018). “Duffing rascals: What is La canne?”, Hema Misfits.
https://hemamisfits.com/2018/09/10/duffing-rascals-what-is-la-canne/
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica, (s.d.). “Cane fencing” Encyclopaedia Britannica,
https://www.britannica.com/topic/cane-fencing |
| References |
- Menard, K.P. (2001a). “Savate”. In Green, T. and Svinth, J. (eds.) Martial Arts of the World: An Encyclopedia of History and Innovation. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO.
- Menard, K.P. (2001b). “Stickfighting, Non-Asian”. In Green, T. and Svinth, J. (eds.) Martial Arts of the World: An Encyclopedia of History and Innovation. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO.
- Loudcher, J.-F. and Cerruti, L. (2010). “Canne de Combat”. In Green, T. and Svinth J. (eds). Martial Arts of the World: An Encyclopedia of History and Innovation, Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, p. 218-220.
- CNCCB (Comité National de Canne de Combat et Bâton) https://cnccb.net/decouvrir/canne-de-combat |
*see also Historical European Martial Arts (HEMA); Singlestick; Savate; Canne Italiana; Bartitsu |
