52 Hand Blocks - let's talk about it
- Thread starter KyokushinKarateMan
- Start date
KyokushinKarateMan
Train hard, fight easy
Never too late to do it in the amateurs
I'd take a few trial sessions if it was offered in my area
Never too late!
I'd take a few trial sessions if it was offered in my area
Nobody knows about this shyt out here,gonna watch clips n incorporate them into my routines.
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I've never trained in this fighting style but have always been interested since waaay back in the early 90s.
My personal attractions to it is that it's very street effective, it's a Black originated art, and the practicioners are usually conscious brothers (whether you agree with their 'religious' beliefs or not).
I also like it because it makes racist whites uncomfortable - and i'll touch on that a little more, later.
Many peoples' first recollection of ever even hearing the term '52 hand blocks' was when the GZA referenced it in the song "Cold World" from the album Liquid Swords, in this line:
"...Beat nikkaz toothless, physically cut up like gooses,
but with iron on the side thugs took no excuses, therefore,
your fifty-two hand blocks was useless.."
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Here are a few clips briefly explaining 52 Hand Blocks
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A few excerpts from Wikipedia:
Jailhouse rock (fighting style)
Jailhouse rock or JHR is a name which is used to describe a collection of different fighting styles that have been practiced and/or developed within US penal institutions. The different regional “styles” of JHR vary but share a common emphasis on improvisation governed by a specific set of underlying principles.
Some examples of the many styles of JHR are 52 Hand Blocks,Comstock Style, Stato. Many of these styles of JHR are thought to have evolved regionally in different penal institutions.[1]
Jailhouse Rock if it exists is in fact one of two of the USA's only "Native Martial Arts", the other being called Rough and Tumble. As such, Jailhouse Rock, the 52 Hand Blocks and their variants may be compared to savate, which was originally a semi-codified fighting method associated with an urban criminal subculture, which underwent a gradual process of codification before becoming established as a martial art accessible by the cultural mainstream.
52 blocks has been referenced in journalist Douglas Century's Street Kingdom: Five Years Inside the Franklin Avenue Posse, as well as numerous Wu Tang Clan songs and Ted Conover's book Newjack. Recently, celebrities including actor Larenz Tate and rapper Ludacris have taken up the fighting system for film roles and self-defense, shining a brighter light on this previously unknown martial art.
Existential controversy
"The existence of this martial art has been debated, but some media exposure has contributed towards verifying the existence of Jailhouse Rock. According to researcher Douglas Century, professional boxers, including Zab Judah and Mike Tyson, have testified to the existence of the style and it is referred to in rap songs by artists including the Wu Tang Clan. Tales of the pugilistic exploits of legendary 1970's New York prison fighter "Mother Dear" have also contributed to the extensive urban mythology surrounding this system......."
"......The name 52 may be a reference to the playing card games of 52 Pickup and to the expression "let the cards fall where they may." Other theories relate the name to a combat training game involving the use of playing cards and/or to the Supreme Mathematics of the Nation of Gods and Earths. It could even be a reference, coded, symbolic, or otherwise, to a specific cell block. However, a more likely explanation is that it simply refers to the fifty-two blocking techniques encompassed in the art."
"......According to Dennis Newsome, a well-known JHR specialist, JHR is an indigenous African American fighting art that has its origins in the 17th and 18th centuries, when slaves were first institutionalized and needed to defend themselves. Oral tradition has the skill evolving secretly within the U.S. penal system, with regional styles reflecting the physical realities of specific institutions. This theory relates JHR to the fusion of African and European/American bare-knuckle fist-fighting styles known as "cutting", which is said to have been practiced by champions such as Tom Molineaux, and also to the little-known African-American fighting skill known as "knocking and kicking," which is said to be practiced clandestinely in parts of the Southern US and on the Sea Islands..."
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And here are some excerpts I found from the site USADojo.com where the author is an obvious bigot cac:
http://www.usadojo.com/articles/phil-elmore/myth-52-blocks.htm
"...These techniques range from striking to wrestling, using the hands, elbows, knees, head butts, and some low kicks. Practitioners of Jailhouse Rock supposedly learn in-depth knowledge of pressure points and vital striking areas, as well as foot sweeps and “Gangsta Locks”(which Newsome equates to trapping such as in Wing Chun or Jeet Kune Do)...."
"...According to Newsome, 52 Blocks or Jailhouse Rock is an underground system. Unless you go to jail, hang out in underground fighting circles, or are family to an ex con, you’ll never learn it — and if you are white guy, nobody will teach it to you. ..."
"....As Newsome’s interviewer, identified only as “Dempsy,” wrote, “the art is the art of the African who needs it for survival. Much like the Asians decades ago, who would not teach outside their race, the analogy is that you do not give your enemy your best weapon.” In other words, Jailhouse Rock is a racist, racially determined system, in which all of you who are white and NOT in prison are the enemy. .."
"...The fiction of Jailhouse Rock is now realized as a living, breathing style because there are people who say so… regardless of the truth. In so doing, they’ve breathed life into the lie of 52 Blocks… and helped further the popular culture imagery associated with street criminals and thugs, for good or for ill..."
Got these bigots sick to their stomachs at a Black Martial Art
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More Footage:
http://www.nytimes.com/video/style/1194841017001/the-52-blocks.html?src=vidm
Good Article on 52 Hand Blocks and origin: http://www.fullcontactmartialarts.org/52-hand-blocks-jailhouse-rock-jhr.htm
FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/52Blocks
Good stuff. I know Wesley Snipes stated that Blade's fighting style is based on Jailhouse Rock. Stating Blade is a brother he can't be going on looking like a Chinese guy.
Pos repI was taught the 52 by this 5% cat named Unique in Crown Heights, Brooklyn when I was a lad. Slim dude about 6'2 but was ripped and strong as a teen age Shaq. Over the years I made mad jokes in this forum about slap boxing, but Unique showed me the art of 52 blocks slap boxing, I just never practiced with a razor blade like he and other dudes who went to the Rikers Isle or up top. Growing up in Brooklyn knowing the 52 was essential and got you a lot of respect on the streets. Knowing your 52 blocks and your 120 lessons as a teen wasbecause once you got the respect of the older dudes, you were GOOD!
Peace
The style can be quick and deadly.... is why you can't find it.As much as I admire the style, that's what makes the shyt suspect to any skeptic.. it shouldn't be hard to find a decent 52 vs boxer vid.
If it's as effective a style as they say, why not have a plethora of 52 vs boxing vids to prove the point
Ita sorta like wing chun, not in style, but in effectiveness. Wing chun has maddd bodies on the streets laying beat up. It was even the first style of Bruce lee.
52 isn't sanctioned by any cac sport competitions so its will never get credit due outside the conscious community. If a dude uses it in some random prison, that's not like seeing it on hbo.
Just like how caperira in Brazil didn't really get play til cacs put it in some video games and movies.
KyokushinKarateMan
Train hard, fight easy
Too deadly for the ring or octagon , eh? That's McDojo-speak for "my style is fraud and I dont want it exposed".
Don't give 52 that reputation, brother.
They are most likely more than willing to show it in the ring or octagon- I was just saying that i don't SEE it out there much on youtube, etc. I honestly dont think they're purposely hiding it or anything, but when all your vids are against amateurs of your same style, it does get a little suspectciouso..
lol
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I didn't say too deadly for the ring...
I said its not in sports competitions much, so because of that wouldn't get notoriety.
You'd have to water some of it down to make it into a sport and add rules to something not developed with rules.
The type that mainly master it more than likely aren't making fake YouTube videos for you to post and compare it to some sport.
KyokushinKarateMan
Train hard, fight easy
I hear you, but if that's the case then they need to stop promoting it's usage in MMA. Check out 52Thoughts on Instagram, it's extremely MMA affiliated, yet it's 52Blocks
It wasn't designed for sport, but that's what they're(maybe not their whole community) is aiming for, and I'd like to see some footage
*mightve just partially answered my own question though
heading to that IG page to see if there are any clips/footageyeah,I hear you, but if that's the case then they need to stop promoting it's usage in MMA. Check out 52Thoughts on Instagram, it's extremely MMA affiliated, yet it's 52Blocks
It wasn't designed for sport, but that's what they're(maybe not their whole community) is aiming for, and I'd like to see some footage
*mightve just partially answered my own question though
you're thoughts went in a circle , lol.
and idk how to use instagram so idk.
KyokushinKarateMan
Train hard, fight easy
iFightSeagullsForBread
The Working Class Hero
I reckon a feller might have to try and give this a shot somehow....I reckon trying to do a few sparring sessions out here in the parks may make the ladies eh, uh moist and 
at the same time.
at the same time.
KyokushinKarateMan
Train hard, fight easy
I reckon a feller might have to try and give this a shot somehow....I reckon trying to do a few sparring sessions out here in the parks may make the ladies eh, uh moist and
Do it, but do it for yourself. Don't think about "the ladies". Shouldn't even be doing it out in public like that as a beginner, in my opinion. You need a more controlled, more secluded (indoors) environment where you can be fully focused. But again, that's all just my opinion. I hope you are in an area where it's offered and do embark on that journey! And if you do be sure to keep us updated.
KyokushinKarateMan
Train hard, fight easy
Found the page. Everyone interested should check it out when you get a chance! He's got a lot of good things up there not only regarding 52 but BlackExcellence as well
http://instagram.com/52thoughts