Machowicz, Richard J.

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MACHOWICZ, Richard J.

PERSONAL: Male.

ADDRESSES: Home—Malibu, CA. Offıce—Bukido Institute, 1223 Wilshire Blvd., Ste. 581, Santa Monica, CA 90403; fax: 310-392-1990. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: Personal protection specialist, and martial arts trainer. Bukido Institute, Santa Monica, CA, director, chief instructor, founder of Bukido Training System. Military service: U.S. Navy; served ten years with Sea, Air, and Land Capability (SEAL) teams; became certified instructor in special warfare combat fighting.

MEMBER: Screen Actors Guild.

WRITINGS:

Unleashing the Warrior Within: Using the Seven Principles of Combat to Achieve Your Goals, Hyperion (New York, NY), 2000.

SIDELIGHTS: The word "Bukido" translates to "path of the warrior spirit," and it is the principle upon which former Navy SEAL Richard J. Machowicz has built his reputation as an instructor, trainer, and coach. Machowicz has earned multiple belts in the martial arts and applies the focus and discipline necessary to his assignments as a SEAL to help others shape their behavior and master their lives. He created the Bukido Training System and trains clients at his Bukido Institute in Santa Monica, California. He has also served as a combat instructor to other SEALs.

Sumner Jones reviewed Machowicz's workout program for Joe Weider's Muscle & Fitness. He noted Machowicz's "telltale cut triceps, biceps, and wide lat spread, and the six-pack abs. . . . His muscles are conditioned for stealth, power, and endurance, which are exactly the kind of attributes the job of Navy SEALs demands. His body has been molded into the tool most appropriate to get the job done, which is the essence of Bukido." Machowicz teaches that in choosing a weapon, or training technique, one must first consider one's target goal. That target might be a bodybuilder's physique, or it may be a goal of general fitness. He teaches through a method he calls the "Training Pyramid," in which skills are learned level upon level, with advancement occurring only when the previous levels are fully learned and developed. He teaches five basics that include fundamentals, concentration, consistency, accuracy, and speed, with the last referring to the time it takes for results to be seen, not how fast one moves.

Machowicz explained his eighty-percent rule to Jones: "People will tell you to give it your all or go 110 percent, but it's impossible to put 110 percent into anything. You only have 100 percent, and the closer you push toward 100 percent, the closer you are to shutting your body down. Similarly, you can run your car at top speed for a few seconds, but after that it starts to shake and ultimately breaks apart. Instead, aim to work at eighty percent of your maximum effort in whatever you do. At eighty percent, you're able to think and your body is able to stay in balance, to flow rather than force."

Machowicz wrote Unleashing the Warrior Within: Using the Seven Principles of Combat to Achieve Your Goals to explain the lessons he teaches in his classes to a wider audience. Beth Sonnenburg reviewed the book and interviewed Machowicz for Muscle & Fitness/Hers, posing the question of how to translate the term "combat" for people who never have and never will experience actual combat. Machowicz suggested substituting other words for combat. "Call it stress and pressure—you can call it pain, you can call it competition. Rarely, if ever, will most people be in combat, but the principles that make for effectiveness in battle are just as relevant to the daily challenges we face. Basically, this is all about learning to focus." Machowicz teaches focus "through the metaphor of combat. The principles of combat work against an opposing force—a side that does not want you to achieve your goals. Who is the battle against here? The biggest battle on earth is not with somebody else. It's with yourself and who you're capable of being. I think you do more to damage your own capabilities than anybody exterior, whether that's buying into the idea that you're not thin enough, or sexy enough, or smart enough, or that it's this person's world or that person's world. This kind of thinking keeps you from becoming what you're capable of being."

A Publishers Weekly contributor reviewed Machowicz's recommendations for taking charge of one's life, saying that those who have unsuccessfully tried to accomplish their goals "may find that his potent prose and no-nonsense approach will motivate them to begin to behave differently."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Joe Weider's Muscle & Fitness, November, 2000, Sumner Jones, "Direct Hit," p. 134.

Muscle & Fitness/Hers, June, 2002, Beth Sonnenburg, "Finding Your Inner Xena: Here's How to Empower Yourself to Demolish the Barriers Blocking Your Road to Success," p. 105.

Publishers Weekly, January 24, 2000, review of Unleashing the Warrior Within: Using the Seven Principles of Combat to Achieve Your Goals, p. 305.