Savate (also known as The Fighter) is a 1995 martial arts Western film directed by Isaac Florentine and starring Olivier Gruner, promoted as the allegedly true story of the world's first kickboxer.

When the farmers go to town for purchases they are molested and eventually seriously attacked by the roustabouts of a local business man who wants their land very badly.

Consequently, he stays with them and even instructs Cain how to fight, so that he might win the martial arts tournament and hereby earn the money they need to pay the new taxes.

Charlegrand manages to cause enough confusion to disappear between two fights, so that he can free Mary and force Colonel Jones (James Brolin) to spill the beans.

Hitherto savateurs had used their hands mainly to block kicks or to fence with sticks (canne de combat) at the same time.

Against this background it is imaginable a savateur like Joseph Charlegrand could have served in Mexico and that he might have met a German-speaking legionnaire during this time, though the slow speed of communications and travel in 1865 as well as the lack of cross-over in combat sports of the time make the idea of an international martial arts contest in the wilds of the American West highly unlikely.