By Clarke Illmatical

Black Belt Magazine recently recognized 52 Hand Blocks as a legitimate martial art form. Now let’s talk about the 52 Hand Blocks master, who hasn’t been able to share his full story — until now.

Rahmel is one of the few 52 Hand Block masters with an actual fight, where you can see blocks used. His legendary scrap went viral on Youtube nearly a decade ago. His unique style of movement has been mimicked by most people claiming to be 52 practitioners.

There is a backstory and it goes like this… 

MAN UP, STAND UP AND THE 52 BLOCK WARS

You may have missed it, but the last decade has been integral to New York City’s martial arts history. Traditional martial artists, from various disciplines, competed in a full-contact martial arts tournament, hosted by The Black Taoist, aka Novell Bell, called MAN UP STAND UP. The tournament gained national attention and was even featured on a television segment. 

Around this time, in the parks, and the streets, several camps were involved in an ongoing battle to claim mastery of 52 Hand Blocks. One of the most noticeable teams was Constellation, lead by Daniel Marks, who was featured in the New York Times article IN TIGHT, A NEW(OLD) MARTIAL ART GAINS FOLLOWERS.  

What many don’t know, is that there was beef between Constellation, and 52 Blocks master Lyte Burly, who was also featured in the Times article. 

Lyte reached out to his teacher, Rahmel, for assistance. This is how Rahmel got involved in the 52 wars and had the fight with Big K. 

Fresh out of prison, Rahmel remembers what happened, he said “When I came home in 07, Faris Daniels (Constellation), they were stepping to Lyte. Big K and all of them. So when he came looking for me, I stepped right to them in their school. I had Lyte with me… I ran those dudes out of Dyckman.”

Speaking of his legitimacy in 52 Blocks, Rahmel said “It’s funny, I been home since 07 till now, I accumulated so much history. Me going against Big K and Constellation, that solidifies my shit. Knocking Lyte out with 2 fingers, that’s another thing.”

Although Lyte has established himself as a credible 52 Blocks master and gone his own direction with the art, there is bad blood between Rahmel and Lyte ‘till this day.’ 

“I knocked Lyte out with two fingers and that is why he is so salty” explained Rahmel. “You come to me and to learn 52 Blocks and I’m supposed to be a master, but I got knocked out by two fingers.”

Show and Prove

We all show and prove. There is a culture associated with 52 Hand Blocks, and Lord Rahmel has been lurking in the shadows for too long. With Red Glow flow, he will drop science in his upcoming book, sharing his entire journey, putting an end to all of the biting.

Lord Rahmel’s Book Available November 2019

~Illmatical 無敵將軍

Clarke Illmatical (@masternever) is a writer from Queens, NY. He is the creator of the martial arts fantasy story, MASTERNEVER AND THE FLOW OF DEATH.  His writing has appeared in The Amsterdam News, The Norwood News, Harlem Community News, and Queens Politics in New York City. In Asia, his work has been featured in The South China Morning Post, China Global Daily, TimeOut Hong Kong, The Phnom Penh Post, and E-China Cities.

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