One of the most advanced skills in the martial arts is the ability to enter zanshin. Zanshin is a Japanese word that has no direct translation into English. Roughly speaking, it means alertness, but there is much more to it than that. Zanshin is alertness distilled to its essence. Martial arts historian, Donn Draeger, called it "the ideal of alertness" (1982, p. 56). But a definition that is even more descriptive is "alertness-remaining-form."
As a student develops, he first notices the onset of zanshin during practice with a partner. Sometimes it's while practicing individual techniques, more often it's during sparring or randori, and in some rare instances, a warrior will first discover zanshin immediately following actual combat. Notice I said, "immediately following."
Usually, zanshin first occurs right after an individual has scored a perfect technique, or a series of techniques, and has brought his opponent under complete control. At that instant, if the individual has developed his abilities of kiai and mushin, a primordial instinct will kick in. The fighter will feel a sudden rush of energy and strength. He'll feel every fiber of his attention focused on his opponent, and his entire body, mind, and spirit will be set to trigger and explode back into combat if the opponent moves, or even decides to move in any way that would show he is resuming the fight.
This is absolute, focused alertness. This is total dominance. This is zanshin!
Zanshin is an instinct we all have buried within us. Warriors don't learn it, they remember it. By building our kiai and training our minds to enter mushin, we strip away the conditioning modern civilization has put upon us, impeding our access to this basic fighting instinct. Once we remove those blocks to our natural fighting skills, zanshin emerges for us to discover.
Zanshin is a core instinct in all predatory animals. You can watch a domestic house cat demonstrate it after killing a mouse. Notice how she focuses her attention on her prey and sets to pounce. She carefully prods it with her paw, then leaps back to stance again. What happens if the mouse moves?
Wolves perform a ritual that clearly demonstrates zanshin as they compete for bitches and leadership of the pack. A strong male will stake his claim only to be challenged by another, and they'll fight. Eventually, one will dominate and pin his weaker opponent on his back. With the stronger fighter astraddle his victim, teeth bared and ready to rip out the loser's throat, the vanquished animal will freeze in admission of defeat. At that point, the wolf on top is in complete zanshin. Every fiber of his being is focused on the animal beneath him. But rather than kill him, he'll begin to back off, still growling and snarling, still poised and triggered to resume battle should the opponent flinch.
Developing zanshin is more a process of discovery than learning. If you've developed kiai and mushin, then zanshin will follow naturally, on its own. But there are things you can do in your training to focus its development, that is, to make it less haphazard and erratic, thereby honing your skills more quickly.
First, start practicing alertness, and make it a habit. I'm amazed at the mental fog in which most people walk. When I walk in a crowded shopping mall, I see people completely oblivious to others around them. People walk one direction with their heads turned in another. Often, I stop dead-still to avoid collision with someone who walks past, missing me by a hair's breath while looking the other way. The individual doesn't even know I'm there.
Consciously practice sensing who is around you. Learn to pick up telltale sounds, smells, and even feelings that tell you someone is around a corner, behind you, or any other place where you can't see him (don't forget above and below). I always teach these skills to my senior students, and I once had an interesting experience with one of them.
Keith and I worked in the same building. One day, coming out of my office, I saw him heading down the hall about twenty yards away and decided to play a game. I silently fell into step behind him, maintaining the same distance between us. For a few moments I could tell he didn't know I was there. But suddenly, though he didn't move his head or change his stride, I felt his attention focus on me, and I knew he knew I was following. Even stranger, I could sense Keith knew that I knew he knew I was behind him.
We proceeded down the hall until he came to a corner. Keith turned right, but just before he disappeared, he stopped and slowly turned his head my direction. Our eyes met and he smiled.
My experience with Keith was one of alertness, sensitivity, and maybe even telepathy, but it wasn't zanshin. Zanshin is a state that goes far beyond just being sensitive to your surroundings. It's a condition in which you are entirely focused and triggered to react. The mental exercises I described above won't develop zanshin, they will just help you refine and apply it once it begins growing within you.
The way you develop zanshin is to experience it, then internalize the feeling. I know that sounds impossible-to learn how to do something by experiencing how it feels to do it-but it's really not. If you remember, zanshin begins to happen naturally, once you've developed kiai and mushin. When it does occur, you'll feel it. You'll feel the energy surge within you. You'll pounce on your opponent and snuff his every attempt to defend himself. He'll be helpless to your domination. The experience is unmistakable!
When that feeling comes, savor it. Feel it to your core. Let it sink into the deepest recesses of your spirit. As you develop your skills over time, you'll be able to call up that feeling on demand. Then, you'll be able to enter zanshin before the fight. That's when the sensory exercises you'll have been practicing will pay off.
At that point, you will learn to enter zanshin anytime you sense a threat-walking down a dark street, entering an unfamiliar place, or any other time you feel danger. You'll feel energized, focused, and poised to strike. You will be ready to seize the initiative. The samurai called this state "happo zanshin," eight-directional awareness.
When you reach this point in your training, you'll be a very formidable warrior indeed.
Forrest E. Morgan. Living the Martial Way : A Manual for the Way a Modern Warrior Should Think (pp. 129-131). Kindle Edition.
Great stuff,and thanks for the post!!
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