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Tintin's fighting style

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Balthazar
Moderator
#11 · Posted: 29 Mar 2007 00:23
Thanks for that info tuhatkauno. From what you say about the Finnish version, it sounds quite likely that Tintin might have said "and that's savate" in Hergé's original (except in French of course), and that maybe the English translators changed it, reasoning (correctly no doubt) that 1960s British readers wouldn't know what savate was. If so, I'm happy to stand corrected that Calculus isn't the only character to mention he knows savate.

Ranko's evidence that boxing was also very poplular in the 1920s is also very convincing though. Maybe Tintin learnt both.

(additional post, several hours later:)
Just as I was dropping off to sleep last night, I remembered that the facimile of the first colour edition of L'Ile Noir, which I own, is of course in French. So I checked, and Tintin does indeed say "Et ca, c'est de la savate," as he delivers that kick to Puschov's bushy jaw. So I stand firmly corrected on that! From what tintinspartan said, it sounds like the TV/DVD version kept Tintin's references to his savate skills in, where the English book translators took them out.

Savate is, as Calculus tells everyone in Flight 714, French boxing in which the feet are used as well as the fists. Calculus says, in that scene, that he also learnt boxing and wrestling in his youth, and also says, "They make me laugh nowadays with their judo and their karate." Tintin's words in The Black Island seem to be displaying a similar distain for newly introduced oriental martial arts when he trumps Puschov's tricksy ju-jitsu move with his European savate kick.

You would have thought that Tintin might have picked up some oriental martial arts techniques from the Sons of the Dragon during his time with them in China. But if so, I don't think we see him using such techniques, in the books at least.
tintinspartan
Member
#12 · Posted: 30 Mar 2007 08:30
Hey, you could be right, Balthazar.
In case you don't remember the Sons of the Dragon, they are the secret society group that helped Tintin arrest Rastapopoulos and Mitsuhirato in The Blue Lotus. He may have done some yoga in the book but that's after The Blue Lotus. Firstly, in The Broken Ear and lastly, in Tintin and the Picaros, where he did a yoga handstand.
He would have picked up the art of tai-chi and yoga during his stay in China.

I heard you all talk about The Black Island, where Tintin was heared saying Savate. I don't understand. Anyone can direct me to the page number of that line and whether it's in the 1936 edition or the 1959 edition.

Tintin's strength was one huge issue. He could lift a heavy, long wooden plank which I, in my own terms calculated:

Tintin's weight: 50 kg=110 pounds (estimation)
Wooden plank: 1 metre long, 15 cm wide and high= 130 kg=275 pounds(estimated)

Tintin's strength could be up to 3 times his weight and that proves that he's one tough and muscular teen. Just like one of my favourite game characters, Master Chief-117 from Halo.

Just one question before I leave, is Tintin, in your opinion, a muscular guy?
Tintinrulz
Member
#13 · Posted: 30 Mar 2007 09:00
I should hope Tintin weighs more then 50kg! That's pretty light! He's not anorexic!
tintinspartan
Member
#14 · Posted: 30 Mar 2007 09:52
Ok. Well, Tintin's height was around 160-165 cm tall and he would be a bit overweight if we set the bar a bit too high. Evidence as I said is in Secret of The Unicorn and see the plank size. It was so big. I've made a mistake in my calculations. Well, i could set the bar at 65 kg.

But, maybe i'm wrong. Muscle is more denser than fat which means Tintin's body is made up off pure human muscle. And fat's more bigger but lighter than muscles. A bit off a human science lesson for you.
Tintinrulz
Member
#15 · Posted: 30 Mar 2007 10:02
I think 65kg is fairly realistic for that height.
I mean I'm 196cm tall and 82kg and that's a little below the average 'healthy.' Sadly very little of that is real muscle. (lol)
I was roughly Tintin's height in year 8 (though that's quite a long time ago now).
tintinspartan
Member
#16 · Posted: 30 Mar 2007 11:12
You mean it, ok. I'll just recalculate his strength with a good physhics friend of mine. I believe that you must be a tall man, Tintinrulz

Additional Post on 1 April 07 5 pm (+8:00 time zone)

Well, I have a good friend of mine who is 165 cm tall, weighs 50-53 kg and his body, Whoa, i tell you he's a good bodybuilder. And his age, 13. Well, if I may think of it, I belive that our good old friend, Tintin may be a muscular boy.

Now, in related topics. Tintin was mentioned to have said, 'And that's a straight left to the jaw' in The Black Island and to you guys, it's savate but I believe it could be kickboxing (muay thai) since I came from Asia and lived 900 km south from Bangkok. I'm not Thai, but a Singaporean and was shocked to learn that i'm the only asian here. If I'm wrong, please help in correcting my hypothesis.
Triskeliae
Member
#17 · Posted: 12 Mar 2008 18:10
In the original "Black Island" (in French) Tintin says: "And that's savate!" I found out Tintin was a savateur thanks to Tintin's official website.

I knew the existence of this fighting style on a TV program from The History Channel called "Human Weapon". One of the episodes is about the history and key movements of Savate. I just knew about it last year. Savate has a lot of kickboxing in it. The police in Paris is trained in Savate because it was indeed developed for self-defense in the streets.
tintinspartan
Member
#18 · Posted: 13 Mar 2008 03:39
I red the Tintin and The Land of The Soviets, he is quite good in savate but I believe this reflects his childhood. I may have repeated saying this a while back but that is a year ago.
Triskeliae
Member
#19 · Posted: 15 Mar 2008 04:13
The problem is that we don't know anything about Tintin's background to make that assumption. If Hergé designed, in his mind, a background for Tintin, he took it to the grave. Benoit Peeters, in his book "Tintin and the World of Hergé: An Illustrated History"; page 31, writes:

"Tintin is probably the strangest character in the history of the strip cartoon....when one examines him more closely, it is his unreality which is most startling. Take his name for a start. In neither French, nor English does it mean anything...He has no real age. Strictly speaking, he's characterless. This could be seen as his weakness...[But] in fact, it is the neutrality of the hero which is the key element of the books' success...allowing readers scope for identification."

--
There's more ...
Posted: 15 Mar 2008 04:23:23 · Edited by: Triskeliae

Another book to quote is Michael Farr's "Tintin & Co."; page 35:

"Unlike Tintin, who has neither parents nor ancestors, Haddock has a distinguished pedigree traced back to his...ancestor Sir Francis Haddock."
Both Peeters and Farr mention in their books that Captain Haddock is Tintin's opposite. While Tintin is neutral and characterless, Haddock is opinionated and colorful.

In conclusion, our beloved Tintin is a mysterious character when it comes to his past, but that's what makes us wonder, and keeps us hooked to his adventures.

In Short: TINTIN ROCKS!!!!!

AND more ...
Posted: 16 Mar 2008 03:40:11

I finally bought the "Human Weapon: Savate Streetfighting" episode of History Channel on DVD and could watch it again. Really: Savate is a mean fighting style! I'd love to learn it. For self-defense, this fighting style rules!

I don't remember the name of Tintin's move in 'The Black Island' book, but it comes from one of the roots of Savate, which is a fighting sport French Seamen created, called Chausson. They used only their legs to kick and their hands for balance.

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Note to poster from Admin: Merged consecutive posts. Where possible, do please use the 'Edit' function to add more to your original post. Thanks! :-)
Triskeliae
Member
#20 · Posted: 30 Mar 2008 21:05
In 2 books of The Adventures of Tintin the word savate is mentioned. Savate is a style of martial arts made in France in the mid-1800's.

The Black Island (French version)- Tintin kicks Pushov on the face, crying: "Et ça c'est de la Savate!"

Flight 714 (in French) - Professor Calculus says he knew Savate (meaning he was an expert 'Savateur') and practiced it on his youth.

If you know something about Savate,or practice it, share with us!

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