So as per this thread
rashad evans discusses the 52 blocks system
I went out and bought their dvd and watched it since I consider myself very interested in all martial arts history, since martial arts is culture and part of the story of how our societies/communities form and develop.
the question is not whether a martial art is effective or not, the question is "is what is being taught or practiced today faithful to the original context of that martial art"
The documentary is a collection of interviews with mostly older folk. It was made as an offshoot of their director's previous project about blacks in the martial arts, and urban martial culture. It pretty constantly hammers in the notion that 52 blocks is something of a bygone era ala the movie "The Warriors". About comraderie, shared sacrifice, a system of nostalgic chivalrous fighting "before the young people started getting guns and killing. Back in the day we'd all be one on one but these days everyone got guns" kind of thing. "gangs were different back in the day" "back in the days gangs were protective and not destructive" yada yada yada...
There's emphasis that 52 blocks is not a style but a mindset (that sounds kinda familar doesn't it?), that its practitioners develop their own style from fighting experience, though there are common techniques known among its practitioners.
Some 52 is demonstrated during the documentary - although the focus is mainly on storytelling. Techniques include:
- grappling using your clothing and the opponent's clothing to restrict movement and/or set up attacks.
- razor blade fighting, knife fighting
- fighting in close quarters (walls) and the use of environment (the use of impromptu weapons)
THE BIG QUESTION: would 52 blocks be effective in MMA?
Apples and oranges. Short answer: I don't think so. MMA is effective in MMA. Just like boxing is effective in boxing, and say fencing is effective in fencing. I always chuckle at UFC fight night intros where though show gladiators putting armor and picking up their gladius swords and stuff. As if MMA fighters were gladiators? Get real. I hope most sherdog'ers are experienced enough fighters to have discovered MMA's a sport just like any other sport.
52 blocks, like all martial arts, is a system of fighting developed within a historical and situational context. Like with all martial arts, as time goes on I think the context of martial arts get lost. For example we make fun of "ninjitsu" a lot. But I mean, back in the day there were historical ninjas and they really killed people, and their actual lives would have depended on the effectiveness their martial art. So, like all martial arts,
the question is not whether a martial art is effective or not, the question is "is what is being taught or practiced today faithful to the original context of that martial art"
Is 52 blocks faithful to its origins claimed as a "prison martial art"? Yes and no. It's clear many of the people interviewed in this documentary have learned 52 blocks while incarcerated and used it for fighting, even recently. However, if you or I being white collar folks (cause no one in the ghetto has internet access to go to Sherdog.com) bought some "instructional dvd" or went to a "52 blocks mcdojo"... you can see how this would not translate, how this would just get fake and diluted very quickly. So here we run into a kind of "Rule 1 of Fight Club" dilemma. I think 52 blocks is a real, legit system of fighting. But we're probably not going to see it in a ring competition any time soon.