| Joseph Charlemont | |
| Birth Date: | 1839 |
| Birth Place: | Lesdain, France |
| Death Date: | 1918 |
| Nationality: | French |
| Known For: | Savate |
| Children: | Charles Charlemont |
| Occupation: | Instructor |
Joseph Charlemont (born 1839 in Lesdain, France - died 1918) was a French savate and Canne de combat teacher.[1] His son Charles Charlemont (1862 - 1944) was also a noted savateur.
Although Charlemont has often been described as a student of Charles Lecour, he was instructed by Louis Vigneron.[2] After he had fought Hubert Lecour (who was Charles Lecour's brother and a savate instructor himself), Joseph was considered one of the best competitors within French boxing.[3] He gained recognition by taking on representatives of other schools and different styles.[4] His fighting style and own teachings and developments were built on the modern version of savate as promoted by Charles Lecour.[5] His detailed update of Lecour's French Boxing established Charlemont's reputation.[6] He described his system[7] in two books, where he described a system built around four ranges of combat (i. e. striking distances,) where striking and grappling were to be used in conjunction with one another.[8]
His books established a new standard where system forms the technical syllabus which modern sport of savate is based on.[9] Moreover, he founded an association for French boxing, the Society of French Boxers (Société des Boxeurs Français).[10]