Pierre Vigny (1866–1943) was a French master-at-arms who was active during the late 19th century and early 20th century. He specialised in French

savate Savate (), also known as French Boxing (French language, French: ''Boxe Française'') or French Foot Fighting, is a French hybrid martial art and full-contact combat sport that combines principles of boxing, western boxing with a wide variety ...

and in the art of

stick fighting Stick-fighting, stickfighting, or stick fighting, is a variety of martial arts which use blunt, hand-held "sticks" for fighting, most typically a simple, non-lethal, wooden staff or baton. Schools of stick-fighting exist for a variety of weapon ...

known as

canne de combat Canne de combat is a French combat sport. As weapon, it uses a ''canne'' or Stick-fighting, cane (a kind of walking-stick) designed for fighting. ''Canne de combat'' was standardized in the 1970s for sporting competition by Maurice Sarry. The ''c ...

, which he heavily modified to better suit his theories of effective

self defense Self-defense (self-defence primarily in Commonwealth English) is a countermeasure that involves defending the health and well-being of oneself from harm. The use of the right of self-defense as a legal justification for the use of force in tim ...

Biography

Pierre Vigny was born in

Taninges Taninges () is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France. Taninges is a pleasant town of over 3000 people in the French Alps, about 35 km directly east-southeast of Geneva and clos ...

, Haute-Savoie on 25 March 1866. In 1886, he joined the Second Regiment of French Artillery at

Grenoble Grenoble ( ; ; or ; or ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of the Isère Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region ...

. Leaving the army in 1898, he founded a school of arms and

self defence Self-defense (self-defence primarily in Commonwealth English) is a countermeasure that involves defending the health and well-being of oneself from harm. The use of the right of self-defense as a legal justification for the use of force in tim ...

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

and then moved to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, where he became the chief instructor of the

Bartitsu Bartitsu is an wikt:eclectic, eclectic martial art and self-defence method originally developed in England in 1898–1902, combining elements of boxing, jujitsu, cane-fighting, and French kickboxing (savate). In 1903, it was immortalised (as "bar ...

Club operated by

Edward William Barton-Wright Edward William Barton-Wright Civil engineering, CE, FRSA, MJS (member of the The Japan Society of the UK, Japan Society) (8 November 186013 September 1951) was an English entrepreneur specialising in both self defence training and physical ther ...

. Around this time, Vigny also established a tradition of annual exhibitions of

combat sports A combat sport, or fighting sport, is a contact sport that usually involves one-on-one combat. In many combat sports, a contestant wins by scoring more points than the opponent, submitting the opponent with a hold, disabling the opponent (''knocko ...

and

skills. In 1903, Vigny opened his own self-defence academy in

, based at #18 Berner Street. During this period, he also married a young woman named Miss Sanderson, who became his assistant instructor. He continued to work as a

hand-to-hand combat Hand-to-hand combat is a physical confrontation between two or more persons at short range (grappling distance or within the physical reach of a handheld weapon) that does not involve the use of ranged weapons.Hunsicker, A., ''Advanced Skills in ...

instructor, including an engagement training recruits at Aldershot Military School. A few years later, his wife Marguerite developed a self-defense technique with an umbrella. In 1912, Vigny returned to Geneva and established another self-defence school there.

The Vigny method of stick fighting

Vigny is best-remembered today as the founder of a unique style of stick fighting, which employed walking sticks and umbrellas as weapons of self-defence. Aspects of his method were recorded by E.W. Barton-Wright in a series of articles entitled ''Self Defence with a Walking Stick'', published in ''Pearson's Magazine'' in 1901. In 1923, Superintendent

H.G. Lang Hg is the symbol of chemical element mercury (from its Latin name ). Hg, hg, HG, inHg or "Hg may also refer to: Arts and media *H. G. Wells, English writer * ''House & Garden'' or ''HG'', a former US magazine *Harry G. Nelson, half of the Roy ...

, an officer of the Indian Police, wrote a book entitled ''The Walking Stick Method of Self Defence'' which drew largely from the Vigny system via Lang's training with Vigny's student Percy Rolt. During the 1940s, Lang's book became the basis for self-defence training of tens of thousands of

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

living in

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

Bibliography

Lang, H.G. ''The Walking Method of Self-Defence by an Officer of the Indian Police'' London: Athletic Publications, LTD 1923

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vigny, Pierre 1866 births 1943 deaths People from Paris French savateurs French emigrants to Switzerland