Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Savate in Brazil

Written by Marcus Portela (translation: Julie) FIS

The story of Savate in Brazil began about 1946 with the arrival of M. René des Forest after his service in the free French Forces commanded by General Charles de Gaulle. Mr. de Forest practiced Savate at his home where he had several books on the sport. His son, Richard de Forest began training with his father.
Time passed and wanting to improve his technique, Richard left for France where he trained and participated in competitions. Later, he showed his ability to adapt and improve and attained the highest level of the sport; he achieved Silver Glove under Master Richard Sylla, in Vichy, France, becoming the only South American trained in France in Savate at that level. Master Richard, has a diploma in physical education, and passed the written test for his Silver Glove with Alain Druart and M. Bruandet.
On his return to Brazil, at the beginning of the 1980s, Richard began giving private lessons at his home. In 1989, he opened the first academy of Savate, which he called Charlemont, a homage to the big master Joseph Charlemont. Later, the name was changed to Centers Island Academy, which lasted to mid-1998.
In 1993, Richard promoted the first exchange between France and Brazil, bringing together 100 athletes of different sports. The seminars, held in the cities of Rio de Janeiro and Osasco (in the state of Sao Paulo), lasted over a week and were a success. The program created instructors, such as Ricardo Freire, who was a pioneer in the State of Sao Paulo. Several other seminars took place in the country, until in 2000 the first South American team, captained by Richard, went to France to a World Championship of Savate. The team came seventh, and included a vice champion of the world (Eric Lobão), in the arena with the big countries of this sport such as Russia, the USA, Canada and many others.
Master Richard was officially named President of the PanAmerican Savate Confederation on October 31 2009 at the time of an international event, which included a French delegation: Joël Dhumez (Vice President of the French Federation), Rodolphe Rendon (President of the Commission d'arbitrage of the French Federation), Jocelyne Triad (National Technical Director of France), Fathi Mira (technical team of France), Raphael Amouroux (athlete), Romaric Villaume (athlete) and Allan Blondeau (athlete).richarddforest_richardsylla.jpg

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