Is jailhouse rock real?

[Monkey Turned Wolf]

No, I'm not talking about the song. I've come across the 'style' a couple of times, and decided to look into it the other day, but wasn't able to find much to legitimately verify it..most of it was just speculation. If it is real, what type of art is it? When I looked into that, all I could find was that its actually called 52 or 52 blocks, and that there are regional differences, which would make me think that it's really just people in jail working out and fighting, but never having gone to jail, I don't actually know, and my curiosity does not forgo my desire to avoid going to jail. Any insight on this would be greatly appreciated.

 

[punisher73]

Short answer on the history. I don't think so, I do NOT believe that it is an art passed down through the centuries by slaves and practiced in secret in prisons/jails.

I do however believe that during the martial arts explosion in the 60/70's that there were many local brands of boxing mixed with martial arts and were practiced/taught to people and some of them may have shared it with people in jails/prisons. Having seen clips on youtube of it, to me that seems to make the most sense.

 

[blindsage]

I believe there is a style of fighting within the Black community in the U.S. that has changed and evolved over many years that is today referred to by a number of names including Jailhouse Rock and 52 Blocks. It could have ties that go back a long way, but I don't think it's a specific method that was taught systematically from slave times. There are people that a making claims today that I think are mostly BS about it's history and methods, but I do think there is some basic movement style and aesthetic that could have some history going back a number of decades.

 

[elder999]

I believe there is a style of fighting within the Black community in the U.S. that has changed and evolved over many years that is today referred to by a number of names including Jailhouse Rock and 52 Blocks. It could have ties that go back a long way, but I don't think it's a specific method that was taught systematically from slave times. There are people that a making claims today that I think are mostly BS about it's history and methods, but I do think there is some basic movement style and aesthetic that could have some history going back a number of decades.

Short version: "52" is a way of cataloging and training various boxing and blade techniques with a deck of cards. It specializes in close space technique-like in a jail cell- and ways of weathering a beating-it's essentially "dirty boxing" with some prison knife technique thrown in....sometimes, you might hear a black boxing trainer ( or a trainer who was trained by a black boxing trainer) shout out numbers calling for combinations from his fighter-those numbers might come from a form of "52."

"Jailhouse rock," was a catalog of techniques developed in prison by two-time losers that specifically targeted arresting police officers-if a guy was up for the second time, when he got out he might rather kill a cop, or at least evade arrest, than go back to prison. Donny Newsome collected a bunch of these techniques, and was going to publish them in a book with Ohara publications-law enforcement squashed that, and what Donny says about Jailhouse Rock and 52 is largely untrue, and tainted by Afrocentrism. He did do some of the fight choreography on Lethal Weapon, though, along with Rorion Gracie, and that bit where Gary Busey slips the cuffs at the end and gets the arresting officer's firearm? THat's "Jailhouse Rock." Most of what I've seen of it required the desperation of a two-time loser, and has been negated by improved arresting techniques over the last 25-30 years....

So it pretty much doesn't exist anymore-"52," though? Street fight boxing, pure and simple, with some shankin', and a focus on fighting in closed spaces....or fighting out of them.

 

[lklawson]

No, I'm not talking about the song. I've come across the 'style' a couple of times, and decided to look into it the other day, but wasn't able to find much to legitimately verify it..most of it was just speculation. If it is real, what type of art is it? When I looked into that, all I could find was that its actually called 52 or 52 blocks, and that there are regional differences, which would make me think that it's really just people in jail working out and fighting, but never having gone to jail, I don't actually know, and my curiosity does not forgo my desire to avoid going to jail. Any insight on this would be greatly appreciated.

My buddy, fellow Judoka, and Correctional Officer says, basically, "no."

According to him, some convicts come in with varying levels of martial arts training, some are taught a handful of tips as part of their outside-the-walls culture, and some just picked up a few things that "work" by being violent people with poor impulse control. But, according to him, there is no identifiable "prison system." However, inmates have pretty much nothing but time on their hands in which they can work out and practice (as sneakily as possible) certain high-percentage attacks, as well as investing vast quantities of time into trying to beat the system (such as smuggling in contraband or learning/deducing details about C.O.s that they should not be able to know).

I once knew a Silat expert who got tossed in the clink. Apparently he got "tried out" a few times and then left alone because he largely kept to himself and was generally well respected. Certain C.O.s would, so I'm told, come to him mediate low-level problems among inmates or to pass on various "keep your nose clean" requests.

Peace favor your sword,
Kirk

 

[Kusa333]

As a Martial Art's enthusiast. I really hope so. I think it would be very cool for something like that but I am not sure if JHR or 52 Blocks is a myth just made up to take advantage of people just like the neo ninja masters.

 

[Monkey Turned Wolf]

Thanks guys, this really clears it up, glad i asked here.