Richard Strozzi-Heckler (born 1944) is an American author, coach, and psychologist who integrates somatics and aikido into leadership development. He is the founder of the Strozzi InstituteLeider, R., Shapiro, D. Claiming Your Place at the Fire: Living the Second Half of Your Life on Purpose. Berrett-Koehler Publishers (2004) p. 15 and holds a seventh-degree black belt in aikido.
Biography
Early life and education Strozzi-Heckler spent his early life in a military family, periodically moving to different naval bases. In early adolescence, he began studying martial arts,Marshall, L. Speak the Truth and Point to Hope: The Leader's Guide to Maturity. Kendall Hunt (2004) p. 53 beginning with judo, then karate, and jiujitsu. He excelled in athletics while in high school and was awarded a scholarship to San Diego State College in San Diego, California, where he was named All-American in track and field.
After a Marine Corps tour of duty in the mid-1960s, Strozzi-Heckler traveled throughout Asia studying yoga and meditation. He returned to the United States, eventually earning a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Saybrook University with an emphasis on the mind-body connection.Stone, J.; Meyer, R. Aikido in America. North Atlantic Books (1995) p. 240Morgan, H. The Art and Practice of Leadership Coaching. Wiley and Sons (2004) p. 115
Aikido training Strozzi-Heckler studied aikido under Robert Nadeau Shihan.Bell, T. et al. Aikido: The Art of Transformation: The Life and Teachings of Robert Nadeau. Park Street Press (2024) He holds a seventh-degree black belt in aikido.Warneka, T. Leading People the Black Belt Way: Conquering the Five Core Problems Facing Leaders Today. Asogomi Publishing International (2006) p. 30 In January 2020, he was awarded Shihan by the International Aikido Headquarters in Tokyo, Japan.
Career Strozzi-Heckler co-founded the Lomi School in 1970 with Robert K. Hall, Alyssa Hall, and Catherine Flaxman, integrating aikido and bodywork principles into a body-oriented psychotherapy called Lomi Work.Frost, B. "Lomi Therapy" Yoga Journal, November–December 1993 His early thinking on the relationship between aikido, somatics, and human potential is reflected in his edited collection Aikido and the New Warrior.
In 1976, Strozzi-Heckler, together with George Leonard and Wendy Palmer, established the Aikido of Tamalpais dojo in Mill Valley, California.
In 1985, he was invited to contribute to a US Army Special Forces project designed to test the effectiveness of integrating various practices into its training program. During the six-month program, he taught aikido and meditation techniques to a group of Green Berets, an experience he later chronicled in In Search of the Warrior Spirit.Helgesen, S. "The Dance of Power" Strategy+Business, Winter 2007/Issue 49
In 1986, he moved to rural Sonoma County, California outside of Petaluma, and developed the Strozzi Somatics methodology, aimed at applying principles from the Army project to individuals and civilian organizations.
Strozzi-Heckler helped design and implement the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program. Jaffe, G., A Few Good Men Try the Marine. Martial Art, and Take on 2 Gurus. The Wall Street Journal, October 9, 2000
Philosophy Strozzi-Heckler argues that a person's thoughts and mood are reflected in observable physical attributes such as posture, facial expression, and tone of voice,McLeod, L.E. The Triangle of Truth: The Surprisingly Simple Secret to Resolving Conflicts Large and Small. Penguin (2010) and that congruency between these elements and a person's words is a primary characteristic of effective leadership. He holds that this congruency can be practiced and developed systematically, in the same way as skill in a martial art or musical instrument.
The Strozzi Somatics methodology involves identifying an individual or organization's core values and introducing practices that combine conceptual understanding with physical activity to develop behavioral traits aligned with those values. Many of these practices draw on aikido movements or principles. Strozzi- Heckler describes the body as the primary site of transformation, arguing that sustainable change in behavior requires dissolving habituated patterns held at the level of the musculature, organs, and nervous system — an approach he details in The Art of Somatic Coaching. The methodology has been applied in corporate and military leadership contexts as well as law enforcement, corrections, athletics, education, politics, social justice, and health.
Books
References
External links Strozzi Institute Website Two Rock Aikido Dojo