I first saw Richie Barathy on a TV show in the 1980s demonstrating various breaking techniques. The most spectacular was when he broke 15 1 1/4 inch granite slabs with a single stroke of his fist.
Most recently I again became interested in him when I learned that he was initially inspired by Earle Liederman who was a well known authority in instructing Jiu Jitsu and wrestling in addition to bodybuilding and weight lifting.
Barathy ran a gym in the New York area where he trained many martial artists in his specialty of American Combat Karate. He was also well known as a trainer of athletes during the 1980s in cluding Freeman McNeal and Mark Gastineau of the New York Jets and Heavyweight boxing contender Gerry Cooney. He developed a system that he referred to as " Mind Body Weight Training" which was concerned more with the mind than the body. The system used relatively light weights to develop power, movement and control. It emphasized strict control by the mind over the body during the exercises. His favorite type of equipment to achieve the desired training results was pulley weights of the type you would find on a universal gym.
In many ways his training philosophy reminds me of Maxick's "Muscle Control" or or Lionel Strongfort's light dumbell routines.
His training techiniques are outlined in a book "The Body You Want" by Mark Gastineau and George Goldsmith. It is out of print,but obtainable through various used book sellers.
Apparently Richie Barathy died about 10 years ago of a debilitating disease,but his contribution lives on in continuing programs that have adapted his techniques.
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