Shihan Collins 40 years of experience and thoughts about teaching Kyokushin Karate around the world.

- of Focus and Concentration
In order to be constructive you must be in the right frame of mind and relaxed.

1. Learn to breathe and relax.
2. Discipline.
3. Zanshin.

For most of you Zanshin is meaningless, Zanshin is a Japanese word meaning awareness, to be alert to pay attention to what is going on around you. It could be described as a sixth sense. In the days of the samurai it was imperative to develop Zanshin, in some cases it was a matter of life or death. In today's society it is just as important to know what is going on around you. At work it is important to pay attention and be alert, especially while operating machinery. I suppose you could consider Zanshin as the key bringing everything together.

Learn to breathe
There are many ways to breath and there are many people with their own ideas I only offer the following as a guide. Sit or stand comfortably with your back straight and relax, how? Start be visualizing your body and telling it to relax, starting at the feet and gradually working up to the head. Once your feet are relaxed move on to the legs and so on. Having completed the journey through your body its time to breathe.

Take a slow deep breath through your nose, concentrating on filling your stomach not your chest, as you normally would. Exhale slowly, out through your mouth, trying to feel and picture your breath entering and leaving your body. In oriental philosophy the stomach is the center of balance and energy and breathing plays an important role.

As you breathe imagine the sea as it ebbs and flows. Think about the seashore, close your eyes and make yourself one with the sea. Breathe in and out with the tide, tranquil in both body and mind. In order to feel the effect of this exercise, place the palms of your hands on your stomach. As you breathe you feel the effect of the deep breathing, your stomach swells with the intake of air. Having filled the stomach slowly expel the air through your mouth. As you do this you feel the stomach deflate. This movement of the stomach helps relax you and build your energy. In the beginning you will have to think about how you breathe, but in time it will become a natural movement.

To be completely at ease with yourself and others is the ultimate goal of breathing to obtain those moments where you are at peace and harmony with your surroundings.

Discipline
Discipline, perhaps is not so easy, especially self discipline, imposed discipline is quite straight forward, you do as you are told, but when you have to make the decisions you get a little lazy. Start by making yourself do those small things you dislike, clean the car, take care of your correspondence and so on. In fact anything that you consider hard work, this way you will build your self-discipline and the more you have the stronger you will become. Try to make a daily list of those small things you have achieved through self-discipline. This in itself is training making a list of what you have done.

Zanshin
Zanshin, a difficult concept to grasp, to be aware of what is going on around you. At work the office in fact anywhere. How many times have you lost your car keys? When in fact you have mislaid them, a lack of awareness a lack of Zanshin. Zanshin in the workplace is also important knowing what is going on around you. Be aware of your working environment and of those people you work with. Back up