Colin Reeve was born in August 1945 in Newcastle. He started practising Karate-do at Chowa Karate Academy, North Shields, in June 1965, at the age of 19.

“I first got into practising when a friend of mine suggested it .We usually went to a coffee shop on a Sunday morning but on this particular day it was raining and the shop was closed. Jim suggested we visit a friend of his who had started a karate club. We ended up practising that day – afterwards I could not walk down the steps to the exit as my legs were so stiff. I just kept going back after that. It was a ‘happy accident’. It was called Shotokan then and my instructor was a yellow belt.”

It would be usual for Colin to have practised up to 6 days a week, often twice a day in his early years. This would have included attending around 25 weekend courses plus Summer, Spring and Autumn camps.

“We would do kihon on the beach in freezing cold weather. We would be doing kihon as we entered the water. One day the water reached my neck and the instructor had not said ‘turn’ . I kept going. I used to travel one hour and thirty minutes to get to practice.”

His teacher and inspiration for the first 23 years of his practice was Harada Mitsusuke, often to referred to as Harada Sensei, who has direct lineage via Shigeru Egami to Gichin Funakoshi (the father of modern karate). Colin served as Technical Director and Chairman of Harada's organisation Karate-Do Shotokai (KDS). This lineage and experience created an in depth appreciation of the ideas and practice methods of the classical art of karate-do. These insights, together with his own unique understanding and ability to develop leading edge teaching and practice methods, make him a hugely influential and respected leader of the Shotokai College.

His reputation has spread throughout the world, and led to him being asked to teach all over the UK and further afield, including Finland, Portugal, France, Germany, Monte Carlo, U.S.A, Belgium and Greece.

The Shotokai College

Colin founded the Shotokai College in 1995. He practices daily and teaches at the College headquarters in Ascot, and leads local and national courses and camps throughout the year.

He embodies the spirit of the College in his pioneering approach to teaching and learning. This is evident in the way he creates an evocative blend of classical contemporary thinking and practice that results in a community committed to the Practice of Possibility and the Art of Living. College members are constantly engaged in the quest to lead a more fulfilling life through the adventure that Colin inspires.

Transmission

Traditionally, within the martial arts, the master transmitted his learning to one or two trusted students through the students living with and serving the master in every respect. This involved the student copying everything that the master demonstrated, at a conscious and, ultimately sub-conscious, level.

This process is commonly known as modelling and is a powerful tool, which, when used skilfully, leads to rapid learning. The College uses this approach with its students to fully utilise the experience and skills of the more senior members and transmit the learning quickly and effectively. It allows new members access to personal excellence and a belief that learning is easy, available to all and joyful.

Mastery programmes – intense courses of learning have been developed by Colin to tap into participants' potential and greatly enhance the learning experience and potential progress – at an intellectual, emotional and physical level. These programmes are typically run bi-annually and last around 6 months. Their impact is significant for the practitioners, and in keeping with the spirit of the Shotokai College, the effects are felt and have real impact in all aspects of the individual’s life.

Most recently Colin devised a Teacher Leader programme, the purpose of which was to awaken participants to their leadership potential and develop teachers and leaders for the future.

Upon completing the programme, Colin awarded, for the first time in the College's history, Certificates of Transmission to his trusted students. Click here to read about Transmission within the Shotokai College

Learning Contexts

Colin applies and develops his experience as a global leadership consultant in the organisation he founded over 20 years ago, R & A Consultancy and Training. Working with the top talent and leaders from many top 100 FTSE companies, he helps them maximise energy, potential and leadership. He is credited with helping develop vibrant cultures that result in inspired people and exceptional performance. He is a world class coach, helping business leaders and sports professionals greatly improve performance, and become leaders in their field.

As a business speaker, Colin uses his wisdom to help leaders, teams and organisations tap into the motivation, passion, and inspiration of their people.

Colin is an NLP master trainer and master coach, and a fellow of the CIPD.

As an author he has written the Way of Artistry and Grace which is a distillation of a lifetime of sports and business coaching and expertise. He is currently in the process of writing his next book.