Zanshin literally means 'the heart that lingers' and is a concept taught explicitly in many Japanese sword arts. A simple explanation - even after finishing a technique you are still aware of your opponent (position, intention) and you are in a position to act or react. At all times one is in training, whether in warm up, meditation, sparring, bowing, one should aim for this state of awareness and physically also be in a position to act. 1. Does your MA explicitly teach this concept (even if by another name)? 2. Do you think that one should have a level of trust in the dojo that does not require this state of awareness as everyone is there to train together? 3. Any other thoughts (eg. zanshin vs. being paranoid...).
i have always thought to be a great warrior you should be aware of everything going on around you at all times. you must be able to react in the appropriate manner to anything that should surface, because a danger is not always just in front of you waiting for someone to say "hajime"
Interesting topic Lilly, i'll stop lurking for the time being and answer the best I can . I practice two arts at my dojo Bujinkan and recently Iaido (sorry I don't know the full name of it yet ). In the Bujinkan emphisis on "zanshin" isn't pounded into our brains but we are taught to keep watch and be in control even when your opponent is down. The Iaido school (as you can imagine) the literal zanshin is constantly stressed in our kata's and whatnot. But then again if you have any knowledge of either arts they are polar opposites. The Iaido being the strict "military-esque" art and the other which flows freely and can be used in millions of ways. Just me no cents *goes back to lurking*
Hi. Not only the sword arts... And there are many translations of the 'shin' (kokoro) including heart, mind and spirit. Sometimes this can be confusing in translation. If we want to express unity of being in the west we often use 'mind, body and spirit', whereas in Japan they don't have this equivalent, and in martial terms they have 'shin-gi-tai' which translates as mind/heart/spirit, technique, and body/physicality... so it includes a little more. The western translation of 'mind' seems closest for kokoro IMO. For zanshin I prefer the translations 'remaining spirit' or 'leftover mind'. Don't forget that in the sword arts, when you finished a tech your opponent was supposed to be dead. At its simplest zanshin is just confirming this... your spirit remains alert and ready in case the enemy has one last attempt. In kendo kata (the only remotely lethal element left in the sport) there is always a move at the end to signify zanshin, which is a slow final cutting move. Then zanshin should also be present in chiburi (the flicking of the blood off the sword) and sheathing it. The chiburi is carefully designed to flick blood off in such a way that if your enemy should suddenly twitch, at any point you can cut him again. This is zanshin. But, the translation 'leftover mind' can also be useful. 'Leftover' is not necessarily a living image, and 'mind' implies some thought process - too much zanshin is not a good thing. At some point in the chiburi, your spirit should be reverting to 'mushin' - 'no-mindedness'. Otherwise you are lingering too long on your vanquished and this will cause your mind to stray to your victory, which will overfocus on one finished thing and on ego as opposed to the many other dangers that may surround you. Therefore keeping or returning to mushin with good timing is also important for your all-round awareness and aliveness. With respect, I disagree. Zanshin is specifically after the event, but shouldn't last long enough to become retrospectiveness or introspectiveness. The state of general awareness needed for the examples you've stated above is mushin. Of course, my aikido, kendo and koryu teachers ahve all stressed zanshin and mushin. In my CMA (mostly wing chun) it has always been stressed to us that you should always be ready but never focus on the 'good hit' you just got in, as that leads you into a slow self-congratulatory thought process. I don't think it's important TBH! In my shooto (sports MMA) dojo as long as you show respect and take care of your sparring partner anything goes! If you don't nobody will spar with you! I'm assuming you're talking about a level of awareness needed to make sure your surrounding training bros and sisters can train in safety in a confined space? So, the basic politeness of being awake when you're training should generate the respect for your surroundings necessary! I don't think it's connected to zanshin, though certainly to mushin in a broader sense. Of course it's important to always be aware of your surroundings from a SD PoV, but again, I don't think this is connected to zanshin. Zanshin is always after the event so it will not help you in avoiding a dodgy situation unless you are talking specifically after decking one of multiple attackers. Always being aware, being careful of where you sit, of every situation you're in could indeed lead to paranoia, and I know I've certainly been there! However, if you train with the concept of mushin, the whole point is that it's no-mindedness - the training of your subconscious to naturally abosrb your plavce on the planet so if you are getting paranoid, you're not doing it right!
Zanshin is one of the key elements of Daito-ryu Aiki Jujutsu. It is in my understanding - a way of constant awareness and not assuming anything about your opponent. It is key that one develops Zanshin - if you do not train with it in the dojo you will not develop it for the outside world. There is no switch that flips it on and off... it has to be a constant way of being. Yes, you train in the dojo under an implicit trust and respect not only from your sensei and your fellow practitioners - but that doesn't mean that you shouldn't strive to develop Zanshin in every part of your life.
Thanks Mr Punch, love the explanation. Yes you're right, I was using zanshin as an all-encompassing concept which it isn't I wanted to take it out of its kendo/sword art context and see what other MA'ists thought of it. Again, yes to the 'one cut one kill' idea in kendo but this is not always the case in an empty-hands MA. I just find that in my jj practice there are people who don't finish off techniques properly nor do they maintain a strong position/awareness after execution of technique. The concept of 'no-mindedness' is also not explicitly spoken of and I sometimes wish it would be! So also wondering if they are modern elements of MA... I like to interchange heart and spirit in my definition of zanshin. Oh yes, the paranoia bit was for the people who are on edge in and out of the dojo! I've got to run now but there's more that can be said. Thanks for your input
Sure you don't switch it on and off - it should be natural, but I disagree that it should be a constant, for reasons I've stated above to do with mushin. Of course, another aspect of zanshin comes from respect for the enemy you've killed and the knowledge that it could happen to you at any time too: a deeper respect for your place in the cosmos. This aspect would be lingering, as in permanent. But don't forget there would have also been a historical aspect to the concept of zanshin. Samurai classes followed Confucian ideals until the Tokugawa period and beyond, and these would have had an influence on the respect for the passing aspects, whereas in the later Tokugawa, Zen became more prevalent which would have stressed getting rid of your baggage of existance, and not bringing any fixed attitudes with you. Largely, especially with arts like daito-ryu which are supposedly old but certainly went through a revival in the increasing intellectualism and Imperial expansionism in the Meiji and Taisho periods, concepts of Zanshin would have changed and codified. Nowadays I guess it's more like whatever your teacher tells you! My post above comes from just that, from my aiki, koryu and kendo teachers.
Not always, but then again in a lot of karate it was directly ikken hisatsu (one strike one kill) too. I certainly agree that it's simplest manifestation in a modern dojo is making sure your final stance isn't static or lazy, and further than that, in my jujutsu (where I haven't heard it much anyway since it's a sport form) and aiki-based arts you should never finish a move! There is no final posture until you've made sure they're down and stood up and backed off... and of course in a modern context made sure they're OK! You're welcome Interesting topic.
Hi Lily I think Mr Punch and the others who have posted have given an excellent explanation of zanshin the point of my post is to address similar aspects. In martial arts I have found that observation (zanshin) is perhaps the most important element in training. In my early training I was told to seek out the "sicknesses of the mind" swordsman terminology although I train in traditional aikido. These being anger, fear, uncertainty, confusion, timidity in fact any unbalance in the mind. Having through much training eliminated them (as much as they can be) I then should have a strong kokoro kamae that is "posture of the (heart) mind. "This allows one to be relaxed and "unconcerened" while totally aware before during and after an encounter.It is when one is concerned or exhibiting any of the "sicknesses" of the mind that one may be paranoic. There is also a principle of suki which means to be able to see these imbalances in an attacker and use them against them. At a recent demonstration attended by many high grade martial artists from numerous arts I saw a perfect demonstration of the principles discussed above. It was by a Japanese lady demonstrating traditional Japanese dance!! In the audience were many lifelong practisiioners of martial arts. This lady received a standing ovation. Many of the concepts you have mentioned are being discussed in the martial art of aikido threads. We would be most interested in your comments. Regards Koyo
I've encountered Zanshin over the years, but a more modern approach that has stuck with me is the RBSD idea of color-coded readiness levels*: White-switched off (unaware of the environment) Yellow-guarded (raised awareness) Red-keyed up, ready to go (realizing that something bad is about to go down) I'm not sure if that's true Zanshin or not, but it makes more sense to me. Anyway, the idea is that most of the time you're supposed to be at Yellow. I'll admit that when I'm at home, I'm usually at White. And I consider myself a pretty paranoid mo-fo. I guess it's one of those things about knowing your environment. As for after an opponent has fallen... well, if there's anything Hollywood has taught us, it's that the bad guy always comes back one last time! In all seriousness, I feel that if you've dispatched an opponent long enough for them to appear "out", it's time to leave the scene. I don't care if they "come back" or not, 'cause I won't be there! *I predict someone will make a joke about the US's National Readiness Levels before the end of this thread...
