Joseph Charlemont
The Communard exile who codified boxe française
- Born
- April 12, 1839, Lesdain, Nord, France
- Died
- September 15, 1929 (aged 90)
- Nationality
France- Style
- Academic-method codifier
- Active
- 1860s
The story
oseph Charlemont turned boxe française into a system. Born in Lesdain, northern France, in 1839, he learned boxing and cane fighting as a soldier, trained under the strongman Louis Vigneron and, in an 1867 assault, beat his old teacher. A bout with Hubert Lecour, Charles Lecour's brother, confirmed him among the best of his generation. During the 1871 Paris Commune he commanded a National Guard battalion; a court martial condemned him in absentia, and he spent the 1870s in Brussels, teaching university students and writing his treatise on the art. Amnestied in 1879, he returned to Paris and in 1887 opened the Académie de boxe française on rue des Martyrs with his son Charles. His academic method, upright and balanced, became the technical basis of the modern sport. He died in Paris in 1929, aged 90.
Tap a technique with an arrow to learn how it works.
- Founder, Académie de boxe française, 24 rue des Martyrs, Paris (1887, with his son Charles)
- Founder, Société des boxeurs français (1890)
- Author of a treatise codifying boxe française, written in exile in Brussels (late 1870s)
- Author, L'Art de la boxe française et de la canne (1899)
Defining fights
- 1871Assault vs Hubert Lecour, before (it ranked him among the best in France)
- 1867WINvs Louis Vigneron (assault against his former teacher)
- 1887Founded the Académie de boxe française with his son Charles Charlemont
Charlemont's academic style prized an upright body and balance. After every kick, bring the leg back to your guard under control before throwing the next strike, so you are never caught standing on one foot.
2015–now