For the Elvis Presley film, see Jailhouse Rock.

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Jailhouse rock is the name of a martial art which was developed in prisons. The style is also known as 52 Blocks or Jailhouse Boxing and has many other names which are specific to different prisons. Often, these names refer to substyles of the art that pop up in various prisons. For a long time, the existence of this martial art was debated, but a lot of near-mainstream media exposure, such as a magazine article available in scanned form at Stickgrappler.com, have gone a long way towards verifying the veracity of Jailhouse rock.

It is said to be an indigenous African American fighting art that was started in the 19th Century when slaves were first institutionalized and needed to defend themselves. It evolved secretly within the U.S. penal system, with regional styles reflecting the physical realities in specific institutions, e.g., Comstock style, San Quentin style, and others.

External links

• Group discussion of the martial art Also contains the previously mentioned scan of the magazine article about the martial art.
• Jail-House-Rock, the martial art