Post Avenue Park, early 1990’s…

Summer…

You stand there straddling the bike you built from parts salvaged from stolen Mongoose’s and Dyno’s that had been dumped around the neighborhood. The park is full as usual, the basketball courts all brimming with tension. Violence is not uncommon.

The young cats brawled with reckless abandon. Random haymakers thrown from what may as well have been outer space while the older heads generally seemed to have a finesse about them. The way some of them moved reminded me of the kung-fu movies I’d watch on TV however their pugilism while still “western” in nature seemed to embody something different all together. Almost as if the same information was being processed through a different delivery system if that makes sense. The old heads referred to this as “Jailhouse” and explained that it was more like boxing than a martial art like karate where practitioners are more often than not, cookie cutter. Jailhouse allowed the used to mold it to their specific build and skill set, their intellect, everything.

There are folks out there today, still saying that 52 Blocks “doesn’t exist”, “it’s made up”, etc. I for one can tell you that I have seen it with my own eyes many times growing up. Currently leading the charge is my good friend Ken “Shadow” Goodman of 52VTK Combat Concepts. Over the last few years Ken has become to “go to” subject matter expert for all things 52. Recently, Ken released 52 Blocks: From the Fruit to the Root which takes the reader through the birth of 52 as told to the author by his teachers and older practitioners. If you even have the slightest interest in 52 Blocks, I highly recommend it as the article is truly an interesting read and will cause you to question “what if” a few times. Ken also has an informative YouTube channel that I also recommend. That can be found here, 52VTK.

Lastly, just to have some fun with the “it was just made up” crowd, here is the full article from the July 1974 copy of Black Belt magazine. Note that the article even states that the codification of a “style” started as early as 1948 (post-WWII). Without any further ado…

Here you are.