I had just wrapped up the Nakmeezy interview when I got a phone call from 52 Blocks practitioner/coach Lyte Burly. I expected to hear from him especially after publishing the Blacktaoist's interview.
A self proclaimed respecter of all martial arts, Burly informed me that he "didn't set out to challenge Baguazhang." In fact he shared with me that he much like the Blacktaoist, is a "bagua man." In addition to 52 Blocks Burly has stated that he is also a pupil of Baguazhang, Taichichuan, and Hsing-i referred to as the Big 3 in the Chinese internal martial arts.
Taking things from the top, Burly explained to me what he felt was the origins of his problems with Maoshan that eventually spilled over to include the Blacktaoist and Nakmeezy. "Maoshan attacked me first for posting a video about bagua" Burly reflects. He goes on to say that Maoshan, "didn't want me to speak on bagua" which as a student of bagua was ridiculous. The eventual outcome of this was the Burly vs Maoshan fight which Burly assured me he initially was against because he didn't feel "black men fighting was a good look." Eventually the fight took place and 45 seconds later the fight was over with Burly the disputed victor. Viewed by some as controversial, Burly's win has been identified by him as the catalyst for the Blacktaoist's ongoing desire to fight him.
"The Blacktaoist wanted others to fight me because Maoshan couldn't fight." While he elaborated on the fight with Maoshan a few things were noted:1) he accepted Maoshan's challenge, 2) he fought Maoshan on concrete, and 3) he didn't ask for money for the bout, all of which dismantle the Blacktaoist's theory about him not being a fighter. Maoshan's loss has been viewed by Burly as the "Blacktaoist's true thorn in his side" because he was under him and lost. "I never had a problem with the Blacktaoist [prior to the match]." In fact he says he gave him credit for "being a black man in the martial arts".
editor's note: the Blacktaoist has helped Maoshan prepare for fights; however, he is not the Blacktaoist's student.
Sounding something like a plot out of a 70's kung fu flick, the Blacktaoist wanted pupil after pupil to fight Burly even at one point offering to do the deed himself. Burly began requiring the Blacktaoist and company to pay a fee to spar him. The Blacktaoist wrote the fee off as Burly's way of avoiding a sparring match with him and his students. When asked why he charges for fights he quite simply stated, "my time is not free."
He adds, he "discourages brothers from fighting" because things have a tendency to escalate rapidly and lead to unnecessary violence. Reflecting on volatile times in the 52 Blocks world, he shared how he sat down with brothers from other factions of 52 Blocks, settled their differences and prevented senseless fighting. It seemed the only person unwilling to do the same is the Blacktaoist. He revealed that he presently has no interest in any dealings with the Blacktaoist because he tries to be a "martial man and ghetto at the same time" and "constantly walks that line." The Blacktaoist's "still 'gotta be a n*gga' thing" attitude gets in the way of progress.
Addressing the Blacktaoist's statement that 'Burly needs to stop calling himself a fighter', he recollects that he and Nakmeezy at one point in time were enemies but developed a mutual respect and friendship after crossing hands. That plus the fact that he fought Maoshan is proof that he is worthy to call himself a 'fighter'. It's plain to see that Burly wants the world to know that he has no qualms about fighting as he stated that he "sparred anyone who came to the park." "Why hasn't he come to the park?" he asked. In response to the Blacktaoist calling him out he responds, "a lot of stuff doesn't have to be talked about, it can [just] be done."
Turning the tides on the Blacktaoist, Burly explained that "everyone fights except the Blacktaoist!" "Blacktaoist hasn't had a fight yet." "Even Mr52 had a fight..." These days Burly is much more occupied with coaching his students these days, he informs me that his last fight was still more recent then the Blacktaoist's. "My most recent fight was with Maoshan. [2009] When was his recent fight?" he asked; to which I could provide no answer. The Blacktaoist could make the argument that he focuses more on teaching than fighting, but Burly counters with, "I'm a teacher w/ more recent fights then Blacktaoist."
"There's nothing wrong with being a teacher" Burly says. He insightfully states, "a teacher is measured by how many winning students they have." Giving thought to the fact that the Blacktaoist has been a teacher longer than him, Burly summed things up by saying "blacktaoist's students lose in their own tournaments" and points out his student "Young Burly" has gone to the Golden Gloves and won "there are records of his wins." Wondering why the Blacktaoist is so obsessed with sparring him he asked, "He pursued Lyte Burly but why not Sensei Mo?"
editor's note: the Blacktaoist was scheduled to fight a Karate instructor by the name of Sensei Mo in 2009 but the match never materialized due to cancellation.
I asked what his thoughts were on the Blacktaoist saying he's avoiding his student Hispanic Palm, and he replied, "Hispanic Palm doesn't have creditability. [He] has no fights, doesn't even fight in MUSU."
When I asked what he thought about the Blacktaoist saying the people he fought were bums and he came back with, "well I fought Maoshan." As a little laughter broke out, he did say that he didn't knock Maoshan for losing, he knocked the way he went about it. The problem as he sees it is "brothers still wanna hold on to street cred and martial arts cred" but you can't do both, nor should you try.
Towards the end of the interview Burly expressed his disapproval of the Blacktaoist being involved in the MMA Supremacy: Undisputed game as a stereotypical drug dealing black man. Burly describes him as a "drug dealer fighting to protect his heroin trade." I informed him that the character's backstory was based on true events from the Blacktaoist's past and he responded that he highly doubts the Blacktaoist really lived that type of lifestyle. He also doubted claims that he was down with the Supreme Team back in the day, stating that he's from Queens, and knew key players. "I lived that lifestyle, got the bullet holes through me to prove it. Court dates on record..." Needless to say he's learned from his past and plans on moving forward onto more positive things.
As we ended the interview he shared some accomplishments and projects and even left us with a bit of a surprise:
30,000 DVDs sold worldwide, new book coming out, seminar in the U.K., and bringing up new students including his first MMA fighter. Probably one of the most exciting surprises he has for his fans is an unlikely collaboration with another 52 Blocks practitioner on an upcoming 52 Blocks project. Keep your eyes open for that.
One thing is for certain, despite the war of words, Lyte's willing to end things on a high note: "It's definitely not a beef thing."
18 Chambers
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