52 Blocks in the 757
52 Blocks Norfolk VA is a not-for-profit organization promoting Black History and the global community of African and African descendants through the training and discipline of 52 Blocks. 52 Blocks Norfolk VA teaches students to sharpen their bodies, expand their minds, and embrace their heritage.
Besides our online classes, in-person classes are held all throughout the 757 including Norfolk State University, the City of Norfolk, and the City of Chesapeake, VA. Classes are primarily scheduled for groups, community centers, youth organizations, and non-profits.
Please reach out for specific information about class times and locations or to schedule classes for your group or organization.
Our Head Instructor, Professor Rob is a practitioner of both 52 Blocks and Afro-Brazilian Capoeira. Professor Rob is a certified 52 Blocks Instructor under Professor Mo’s 52 Blocks Federation, certified Jeet Kune Do Instructor, certified Kickboxing Coach, and certified USA Boxing Coach. He has fought as an amateur kickboxer and traveled all over the world training with the best.
Train with us on Zoom!
PanAfrikanism and 52 Blocks are inextricably linked. You can not learn pure 52 Blocks without an Afrikan-centered focus. Our Zoom classes are designed to educate and inform descendants of Afrikan people about not only their warrior art of 52 Blocks, but also our history and original culture.
Online learning makes it easier to review material, take notes, and practice on your own! In in-person classes, it's impossible to rewind or go back and recall everything the instructor said in class. As you advance, however, you'll want to grab a friend or partner to help! If you don't have anyone, we can help with that as well! Membership is a safe space for people of Afrikan descent to heal and grow.
We are looking for Spiritual Warriors who want to make a difference! Even if you're not an Instructor, we still want you to teach what you do know and share the art online and in your area. It does our community no good for your to have a belt, but not share your knowledge. We need everyone on the ground building and strengthening our communities. Our community is meant to be a safe space for people of Afrikan descent to heal and grow. Join us!
B1 - Unity Over Identity
Whether your ancestors were colonized in Africa, the Caribbean, Europe, South America, or the United States, they were still Afrikan. Regardless of whether you call yourself African American, African European, Haitian, Jamaican, or Nigerian, we believe we all are Afrikan still. Pan-Afrikan in our approach, Afrikan Martial Arts goes beyond kicking and punching, but is a vehicle for self development and healing from our collective trauma.
Join the 52 Blocks Federation
In addition to Zoom classes, all students are required to maintain an active membership with the 52 Blocks Federation, starting at just $5 per month. Combining Federation membership with training at 52 Blocks Norfolk VA creates the ideal foundation for growth, skill development, and long-term success.
Beginner to Advanced Techniques in 52 Blocks Afrikan Martial Arts
Historically, as Afrikan people, we have always been connected to the land. We build and plant from the ground. Likewise, our martial art builds you from the ground up with an insane focus on footwork & kicking before advancing you to punching and advanced striking. Each lesson is progressive and gives an extreme amount of detail, essential for online learning.
A Growing Online Network, Family, & Community
Learning 52 Blocks is about community and connecting with like-minded individuals on the same mission and path as you are. The 52 Blocks Federation and 52 Blocks Norfolk VA has a growing online community where you can connect with others and share ideas about the martial arts, Afrikan studies, financial literacy, business development, and more!
The Art of War - Become a student of your History and Culture
Being a student of 52 Blocks means that you must also study our own history, spiritual systems, and culture. Our greatest battle as Afrikan people is to recover what was lost through colonialism and slavery meaning our culture and history. Today, many of us think Black history began with slavery; we don't know our original language, names, religion, genealogy, or customs.
How Does It Work?
Training Solo
Like Afrikan-centered Spirituality, the Warrior Art of 52 Blocks is very much both an individual and collective journey. All lessons are designed for you to be able to train with or without a partner! Solo training can be best at the beginning until you learn the basics. There is a lot that can be accomplished without a training partner! Ideally, you want to keep your training sessions to 30 minutes to 1 hour three times a week. This is a good rhythm. Between training, feel free to watch the lesson and take notes. Taking notes is highly recommended!
Partner Training
If you find a like-minded partner or friend to train with, keep in mind that you don't have to train together all the time. Training solo is best and essential to learning martial arts, do partner training as often as you like, but you should train solo at least twice as much as with a partner.
We Need More Teachers!
Students should be teaching at all levels! That's right! We want you to start teaching and sharing what you've already learned and can apply. This is much different than what you will hear in other martial arts that want to control knowledge. We want you to share your knowledge within the community. Teaching 52 Blocks is more than blocking and punching, however. Most importantly, it means being connected to your Source, God, Creator, or Divinity as a person of Afrikan descent. You must start there. That is the foundation. Taking on the role of teacher reflects a level of mastery in character, martial arts, and the Afrikan spirit from your ancestors.
In Memory of Ruben Um Nyobè
Although Ruben Um Nyobè is not well known, he was a major figure in the African independence movement in the mid-20th century. He was born in 1913 in Song Mpeck, Kamerun which was a German colony at the time, but like much of Africa, was divided up by France and Great Britain after World War I. Although educated in Christianity and baptized, Um Nyobè denounced the Catholic Church due to its role in the proliferation of slavery and colonialism.
Um Nyobè was the first African leader to claim the independence of his nation in front of the United Nations General Assembly. During the assembly, he continuously railed against French colonial rule in Cameroon and called for the immediate and unconditional reunification of the divided French and British Cameroon.
The French responded by persecuting Um Nyobè's Cameroon People's Union (UPC), murdering many of its members, arresting others, and exiling the rest. Ruben Um Nyobè himself was murdered by the French government on September 13, 1958. If that wasn't enough, the French administration burned all of his writings and prohibited Cameroonians from even speaking his name. This prohibition remained in effect until the 1990s. Today, we remember Ruben Um Nyobè, his name, his life, his legacy.
What are Afrikan Martial Arts?
Through the centuries, our ancestors have always centered Afrikan warrior arts into the culture and spirituality of the people from the music within the drum circle to the charms carried by Dambe fighters.
The word Martial Arts comes from the Roman god of war, Mars. The Kemetic (ancient Egyptian) NTR of War, Montu, is often used to describe the Afrikan Martial Arts. The Kemetic tomb of Baqet III shows various combative positions that appear to be wrestling or grappling (see photo).
Throughout the continent of Afrika, wrestling is often considered to be our martial art or Montu. Which literally means to get your opponent on their back, belly, or side. Such an opponent has been successfully “wrestled.” These forms of wrestling include the Laamb of Senegal, Ijakadi or Gidigbo of the Yoruba, and many others.