Getting Involved In 52 Blocks AOD (Art of Defense) Training
By Pete Kautz 2016

There is a lot of interest in 52 Blocks these days, and on Lyte Burly's Facebook and in the YouTube comments I see more and more people who want to be involved in the movement.

If this describes you, then pay attention!

One popular comment I see is “Lyte Burly, open a school in (name of town).” The reality is that this isn't going to happen. Lyte doesn't go around opening schools. If you want 52 training in your area then it will be up to you to start it.

Another frequent comment is “I want to get involved and represent 52 in (name of town).” Great! Then you need to get involved and represent. You don't need Lyte's permission to have a good work ethic and train hard!

To help out, here's a video about my experience with learning the art, showcasing the full 2 minute round from the first time Lyte Burly and I had a chance to spar back in 2014!

5 + 2 = 7 Things YOU Can Do Today To Help The 52 Blocks AOD Movement

1) Get Lyte Burly's DVDs and educate yourself on the technical side of the art through those and the 500+ YouTube videos that Lyte and his group of coaches such as Dink, Cool, and myself have put up. There are other videos out there on 52 Blocks, but only Lyte and his people teach 52 AOD.

2) Develop your physical attributes and overall conditioning. This is your cardio, your pull ups, your low walking, your gymnastics and so on. Coaches should look like fighters and fighters need attributes.

3) Develop your technical skills in boxing. This means your blocks of course but also your footwork, punching, evasion, and so on. It also means learning to use all the equipment like the mitts, bags, discs, fast feet, etc. It may even include getting your passport so you can compete as an amateur or becoming certified as a USA Boxing coach.

4) Develop your sparring skills. Learn to put all the technical skills together in a freestyle format. This also includes all your wall boxing, two on one fighting, clinch fighting, using dirty moves, and so forth in addition to ring legal Boxing. Start with slow sparring and use controlled contact. There is no glory in beating up your training partners. Save your power for the equipment, the ring, or if needed the street!

5) Share the art with other people. You will need at least one good training partner to get going and no matter how small a town you live in there is undoubtedly ONE other person you can find who will be interested. From there reach out and share the positive aspects of the art in the good way with those who can benefit from them. “Each one teach one” as the saying goes.

6) Network with other like minded people. Get together and train with other open minded coaches, boxers and martial artists. This kind of free exchange makes us all stronger and spreads a good image for 52 in the larger martial art world. Let the traditional martial artists walk away thinking, “Those 52 players are good guys and very skilled at what they do." One of the nicest e-mails I've gotten lately was from a Kung Fu Sifu who told me that he'd always thought 52 was "a complete load of BS" but he had to revise his opinion after watching my video clips on YouTube; now he sees it as a legitimate martial art.

7) Host a seminar or go on a warrior quest. If you have people training then have a coach in to share more of the art, or take the trip yourself and go train with them. If you can't travel for some reason then make a demo video and send it to Lyte or one of the AOD coaches. I will watch up to 30 minutes (that's 15x 2-minute rounds!) of work if people are serious about advancing their skill and representing the art.

All my very best to you,

Pete Kautz

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