Malachi Mutakabbir: I am reach-
ing out to you about the June/
July cover of Black Belt. I want
to express how happy I am to see
that you guys recognize 52 Hand
Blocks as a true martial art. I have
been training in it most of my life.
Sensei Mo is like an uncle to me. I
am the son of Abdul Mutakabbir,
an undefeated kickboxing cham-
pion. I have several black belts in
various martial arts. However, I
always revert to 52 Blocks when
things go bad. This art connects to
the streets.
It is legendary because a lot of
the older cats practiced the art
back in the day and would pass it
on to the youngsters — such as it
was passed to me. A lot of practi-
tioners have done time, and that is
where the art was believed to origi-
nate from. It didn’t. It was certainly
put to the test and perfected in
the prison system but not created
there. From the prisons, the guys
would come home with this new
fighting style and share it with the
neighborhood or anyone willing to
practice it.
I am a Hollywood stuntman that
is an up-and-coming fight coordi-nator because of my extensive
background in martial arts. I
incorporated 52 Blocks in a lot
of my choreography, and it will
be featured in several films I’m
working on in the near future.
Stay tuned!
Respect to Black Belt maga-
zine and what you guys do for
all the martial arts.Acie Mitchell: I have been a prac-
titioner of 52 Blocks for most of
my life. I’d like to thank you for
maintaining the art’s integrity in
that it is indeed an art of Africa.
As you clearly indicated, its sup-
posed link to the prison system is
misinformation and conjecture.
Indeed, your iconic presentation of
Mahaliel Bethea, aka Professor Mo,
on the cover and in the interview
provided accurate information on
the art’s origin. I really appreciate
how on Page 36, the phrase “art
of incarceration” is X’d out in red,
and [the comment in the interview
about] how this African martial art
is stored within our (black people/
Africans in America) DNA with
the comparison to break dancing
and capoeira.Furthermore, celebrities such
as Larenz Tate and Ludacris have
done movies to expose the art, but
it’s early practitioners like Profes-
sor Mo and Wesley Snipes who
are the true masters and pioneers,
making this complete African
martial art a global sensation.
Again, thank you for presenting
our martial art on your presti-
gious platform.Master Phoenix Le Grand: I
would like to say that the 52
Blocks story was an incredible
read! It laid down the foundation
and information of African arts. It
was well-needed in society today
to show the different cultures
and origins of the unknown arts.
Thank you so much for putting
out such information. How do I
get more of it?On Our 52 Blocks Cover Story
On an Old Pic We Posted
BLACK BELT: Can you decipher the action in this photo from a 1969 issue of Black Belt?Josh Horne: Right-side roundhouse
kick. Left side with a leg sweep counter.Stefan Stoica: The guy on the left
tried a ushiro-ura-mawashi, and the
other dude used a stopping kick to
the support leg ...Køy Nåtahäñyel Sörianø: Spinning
back kick counter to a side or front
kick attack.Mike Allen: Notice ... No pads!!!Ron Irwin: Sweeping the leg in a
counter to the round kick. Actually
quite devastating.Prentice Martin Southwell: One
thing is for sure. Everybody WAS
Kung-Fu Fighting.20 BLACKBELTMAG.COM OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2019COM
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ITY