Jailhouse rock (JHR), also known as 52 Hand Blocks or simply 52 Blocks, is a name used to describe a collection of fighting styles that were practiced or developed within black urban communities in the 1960s and 1970s.
The many different manifestations of JHR share a commonality in blending western boxing with other stylised martial arts techniques. The basic principle of these styles is constant improvisation, blocks and effectiveness in real-life situations - Particularly, very tight spaces like a prison cell or a dark alley.
52 Hand Blocks has been referenced numerous times by contemporary media including by 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 underground martial art.
The existence of this martial art was originally somewhat debated, but mainstream media exposure has contributed towards raising the awareness of the martial art.
According to Dennis Newsome, a well-known JHR practitioner, 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.
Alternatively, it may be that JHR was not a product of penal institutions, but rather an evolution of the many African martial arts or fighting games which were practiced by slaves, with different styles evolving separately in different penal institutions. According to this theory, some people believe Jailhouse Rock may be a modern American manifestation of the many African martial arts that were disseminated throughout the African diaspora, comparable to martial arts including Afro-Brazilian Capoeira, Afro-Cuban Mani and Afro-Martinican Ladja.
It has a mythological origin story of having originated in the US penal institutions back in the 1960s and 1970s. Some have cast doubt on this origin story, as the teaching of fighting systems by inmates is generally not allowed in jails and prisons. However, others point out that the experience of any given prisoner, as well as the enforcement of the rules, varies enormously from one institution to the next, and that a great deal of prisoner life occurs in secret and necessarily in violation of the institutional rules.
Tales of the pugilistic exploits of the infamous 1970s New York prison fighter "Mother Dear," allegedly known for fighting in drag have also contributed to the extensive urban mythology surrounding this system.
The 52 Hand Blocks aspect of JHR was first featured in Black Belt Magazine in the 1970s. It was then followed by a key reference in Douglas Century's nonfiction book Street Kingdom. This book played a key role because it introduced one of 52 Blocks most senior living practitioners; Kawaun "Big K" Adon. Kawaun would unite with martial arts historian Daniel Marks and fitness innovator hassan Yasin (GIANT) to form the organisation Constellation. This organisation would motivate the authorship of essays like "Freeing the Afrikan Mind: the Role of Martial Arts in Contemporary African American Cultural Nationalism" by Professor Tom Green of Texas A&M University.
This martial art style became more accessible and public at the beginning of the 21st century.
JHR is divided into various regional styles. These include:
There are a number of notable practitioners of 52 Blocks. These include martial arts pioneer Mahaliel Bethea (aka Prof. Mo), Lyte Burly, Diallo Frazier, Ludacris, Dennis Newsome (aka Mestre Preto Velho), Miguel Piñero, Larenz Tate.