Zanshin development

Interestingly, the "zan" of zanshin means "broken" in Chinese. The one character in the movie Hero is named Broken Sword. In Japanese, the characters are read Zan Ken. I wonder how it got changed to "lingering" or "remaining" when imported to Japan?

Charles

Dmitry Doronin wrote: I'm a little confused how it happened that Zanshin so commonly associated with awareness, if it has nothing to do with that?

I would like to elaborate a bit more on this. The kanji for zan is 残。 According to the Kodansha Kanji Learner's Dictionary, it has two meanings. One is REMAIN, LINGER, STAY. Examples include: zanyo - remainder, residue, remnant; zandaka - balance, remainder; zangaku - balance of an account; zangyo - overtime; zanpan - leftover food; zansetsu - lingering snow.

The second definition for this kanji is RUTHLESS, CRUEL, BRUTAL. I think we can all agree that having good zanshin doesn't mean tearing off uke's arm.

As for the second kanji, shin 心, the dictionary lists HEART, MIND, SPIRIT, FEELINGS, EMOTIONS, and THOUGHTS. Examples for shin include: shinpai - anxiety, concern, worry; shinri - mental state, mentality, psychology; shinjo - one's heart, feelings; ryoshin - conscience.

I usually shy away from using chinese definitions. I am aware that kanji originated in China, however, kanji in the Japanese language has it's own cultural connotations and meanings. Sometimes they are the same as the Chinese, and sometimes they are not.

Now, back to the original question; "How did this term come to be known as awareness". My first answer would be that there is no exact translation into English for the word zanshin, and "awareness" is perhaps the closest. Secondly, it is difficult to explain because we usually don't say in english that we are using our heart, spirit, feelings, emotions and thoughts when doing a technique. Perhaps I was wrong to say that it has NOTHING to do with awareness, and for that I apologize.

I'm sure we have all seen the movie where the good guy kills the bad guy at the end of the movie, turns around, smiles, and guess what happens? Yup, the bad guy isn't dead. He gets up smacks the good guy and goes another couple of rounds with him. The good guy lost his fighting spirit, his mental attitude, his feelings, emotions and everything changed when he smiled because he thought he had killed the bad guy. In this sense, one might say that he lost his sense of awareness. Keeping your SHIN at the end of a technique is staying focused, staying aware, and this is symbolized by a good posture at the end. Keep in mind though, that a "good, strong, posture" without the correct heart and mindset is NOT zanshin.

So, some have taken this type of awareness (for lack of a better word) and attached it to every other situation where we might talk about awareness. The important point is that zanshin awareness is only done at the end/beginning of a technique. It is what connects 1 to 2, 2 to 3, etc. Being aware of other people while I am doing a technique is not zanshin, but being aware immediately after all movement has stopped after the first technique is.

It is surprising for me to hear that that someone described zanshin as "leaving nothing behind", because it has everything to do with leaving something behind.

Try it out on the mat and think about it some more.

John Matsushima wrote: I would like to elaborate a bit more on this. The kanji for zan is 残。 ... , it has two meanings. One is REMAIN, LINGER, STAY. .... The second definition for this kanji is RUTHLESS, CRUEL, BRUTAL. I usually shy away from using chinese definitions. I am aware that kanji originated in China, however, kanji in the Japanese language has it's own cultural connotations and meanings. Sometimes they are the same as the Chinese, and sometimes they are not.

I agree that Chinese etymology must be applied with caution to kanji, especially when the same character has a both Sinic and a native spoken expression; an excellent example is 心 - shin/kokoro.
Chinese etymology is more useful when deconstructing kanji into component radicals. Even in Chinese, however, this can sometimes render a false, but intriguingly suggestive, etymology.
The same caution is true, I find, in looking for English words to express often ineffable Chinese or Japanese terms. I have found that using negative construction often captures more of the connotative meaning for the English speaker than straight ahead literal translation.

"Zanshin" with BOTH of the connotative meanings John has given may be better translated as

"Unrelenting spirit"

FWIW,

Cordially,
Erick Mead

Charles Hill wrote: Interestingly, the "zan" of zanshin means "broken" in Chinese. The one character in the movie Hero is named Broken Sword. In Japanese, the characters are read Zan Ken. I wonder how it got changed to "lingering" or "remaining" when imported to Japan? Charles

In Chinese, it doesn't exactly mean "broken", but rather "to break, destroy, ruin". Originally (at least, according to the Kanjigen dictionary), it referred to cutting something down with a blade. Eventually it also came to refer to the remains themselves, particularly in Japanese after it was assigned to the native Japanese words nokoru "remain" and nokosu "to leave behind". But the "remaining, remainder" meaning is also present in Chinese, cp cán yú "remnants" and "cán zhū" "stubble".

Forgive my ignorance, but with all the different explainations I've heard, I must ask what is Zanshin? Does it have more than one meaning? What's the general thought on it?

Burt Masem wrote: Forgive my ignorance, but with all the different explainations I've heard, I must ask what is Zanshin? Does it have more than one meaning? What's the general thought on it?

John Matsushima's post #27 in this thread nailed it perfectly, IMO.

It is surprising for me to hear that that someone described zanshin as "leaving nothing behind", because it has everything to do with leaving something behind. Try it out on the mat and think about it some more.

Tried it plenty, thanks (and again this weekend, especially with a mind to the meaning given by Kondo Sensei). From what I saw at the seminar, and my own exploration, I'd say that leaving something behind and leaving nothing behind are sometimes two sides of the same coin. When you put everything you have into a waza, there is nothing left behind. When you put everything you have into a waza, your focus at the 'end' is as strong as the 'beginning' and 'middle'.

Personally, when a Mekyo Kaiden holder suggests something, I try not to brush it off so easily. But that's just me.

Best,
Ron

Ron Tisdale wrote: Personally, when a Mekyo Kaiden holder suggests something, I try not to brush it off so easily. But that's just me.

Ha!

LOL.

Hey Don,

It would help if I spelled it correctly, wouldn't it...

Best,
Ron

Ron Tisdale wrote: Hey Don, It would help if I spelled it correctly, wouldn't it... Best, Ron

Hadn't eben moticed htat.

Jonathan Swann wrote: I was wondering if you can help me by giving me any ideas/advice on how to develop my Zanshin, as when I do a technique, I am so focused on the movement/technique I am doing, that my peripheral vision is non-existant and i bump into someone or something. Any Advice and ideas greatly welcome

I think everything in aikido can be developed thru constant practice, and so as Zanshin. You can develop it to yourself by keep on practicing, realizing how it works and internalize it into your subconscious mind so that it may become a
habit....so I think "habit" is the key word.

My shihan describes zanshin like thus, First you must have mind and body unified, then if you imagine a gong that is struck it is visably motionless but is vibrating and producing sound waves or (energy in our case) if you apply this to your limbs, I found it works wonders esspecially in the ki tests. Helped me anyways!

After doing some studying, and practice I believe I have made a mistake in some of the things I have said regarding zanshin.

I have come to the realization that perhaps it does have something to do with awareness after all, and with "leaving nothing behind".

What I believe now is that the mind is like the moon which shines on everything, everywhere all at once. When you look at it though, it remains unchanged. The moon that remains and lingers and leaves not a trace after it has touched everything is what I find to be zanshin.

I am sorry for my errors and my own misunderstandings.

Sincerely,

John

Hey John, I've found that given enough time, everything changes. Nothing to be sorry for...it just happens {shrug}. Glad to hear you are still training, and I really like the way you referred to the moon in your post. Reminded of some poems about suigetsu...

Best,
Ron

I've seen zanshin spelt two different ways: zan is the same ( 残 ) but shin is either heart ( 心 ) or body ( 身 ). The discussion up until now has mainly beeen on the former. However, given that aikido is physical, and the "heart" is conttrolling the expression of body skills, the zanshin refers also directly and specifically to a maintainance of the body tensions (centering if you like) that you used to achieve the power of your technique. That is to say, the maximum power, and it would be spread throughout the body, not concentrated in any one point of contact with uke. The same is true of uke also, it is not a matter of whether you are standing or lying on the ground. I want to point out that zanshin is not present in a pinning technique: it is present in the moments after the pin is released and the partners are separated again. Since the body and "heart" are so related, and some amount of "listening" to one's own body is required to keep the physical connections, it seems to me that "awareness" is also not incorrect as a partial explanation of the term, although it is easy to misunderstand the meaning as applied to zanshin. I am quite happy with Jon Matsushima's explanations but I feel it is important to point out that for all the mental aspects, there must be a direct physical aspect also.

Joshua Reyer wrote: John Matsushima's post #27 in this thread nailed it perfectly, IMO.

If you don't have bodyskill, that's not a bad explanation.

But you guys are overcomplicating the issue. IMO.

If you have bodyskill, this means you automatically have awareness of the sixdirections, your balance, etc etc. You're "harmonizing" your body to any incoming force, 24/7 365 days a year.

I guess what I'm trying to say is, zanshin is a given, if you have the kokyu/jin skills. It's just another way to describe the difference in the bodies state of being when you're in that "mode" of movement.

Hi Rob! Agreed, I was trying to explain it as an admonition to not let go of the "mode" after having used it. As you point out, it should be there 24/7.

Mathew McDowell wrote: My shihan describes zanshin like thus, First you must have mind and body unified, then if you imagine a gong that is struck it is visably motionless but is vibrating and producing sound waves or (energy in our case) if you apply this to your limbs, I found it works wonders esspecially in the ki tests. Helped me anyways!

It's an interesting comment. The descriptions is a cute visualization to get you into what is known as "condensing". However, without knowing how to set up the "mind and body unified" and without having done it enough to build up the "suit" or "tension network", it's probably not going to be all that helpful for most people.

FWIW

Mike Sigman

Robert John wrote: If you don't have bodyskill, that's not a bad explanation. But you guys are overcomplicating the issue. IMO. If you have bodyskill, this means you automatically have awareness of the sixdirections, your balance, etc etc. You're "harmonizing" your body to any incoming force, 24/7 365 days a year. I guess what I'm trying to say is, zanshin is a given, if you have the kokyu/jin skills. It's just another way to describe the difference in the bodies state of being when you're in that "mode" of movement.

You have awareness in six directions all the time? Does this mean you are never surprised? What about when you sleep? Or are you only never surprised by physical contact? Do "bodyskills" allow you to sense what is behind you before it contacts you? Do they allow you to win at chess, too? Is it like some sort of spider sense? Perhaps this sense is via some connection with "the ki of the universe."

As far as I'm aware, the stuff that you guys are talking about is only related to what comes in physical contact with you or what comes very close to you. Either that, or universal ki is not bunk - and suddenly we should be looking for force fields emnating from people and things like that.

Regardless, I think that when you isolate zanshin to physical sensation, you are missing something more general, in terms of awareness and being mentally clever and awake. And that's only part of it...

Matushima's post is talking about that, I think. When I see discussions about zanshin, I look at zen, which is what Matsushima alludes to in his sentences that are paraphases of things said elsewhere in the literature.

I could repeat sentences I've read elsewhere, of course, or add sentences of my own that are poetic or clever, but what does it matter what I say..? If it matters at all, it matters whether or not I do it.

Rob

Robert Rumpf wrote: You have awareness in six directions all the time? Does this mean you are never surprised? What about when you sleep? Or are you only never surprised by physical contact? Do "bodyskills" allow you to sense what is behind you before it contacts you? Do they allow you to win at chess, too?

No, you would have to have awareness in eight directions to win at chess.

John Matsushima wrote: No, you would have to have awareness in eight directions to win at chess.

Hehe... so now I know why I always lose..

Mike Sigman wrote: It's an interesting comment. The descriptions is a cute visualization to get you into what is known as "condensing". However, without knowing how to set up the "mind and body unified" and without having done it enough to build up the "suit" or "tension network", it's probably not going to be all that helpful for most people.

Hi Mike,

Just caught up reading here: Kinoshita, Abe sensei's dojo-cho uses analogy of a camera shutter freezing the action for one instant as the breath is stopped. The result is a kind of impulse (which then leaves over a vibration). Is this similar, i.e., also a visualization of what you call "condensing" (I don't know what this term means but I'll be happy if I can recognize similar analogies).

Gernot Hassenpflug wrote: Kinoshita, Abe sensei's dojo-cho uses analogy of a camera shutter freezing the action for one instant as the breath is stopped. The result is a kind of impulse (which then leaves over a vibration). Is this similar, i.e., also a visualization of what you call "condensing" (I don't know what this term means but I'll be happy if I can recognize similar analogies).

No... I *think* I know what he is saying and it's an interesting perspective, but I think it's a little short of the mark, if it's what I think he's trying to say. The "condensing" is something a little more prolonged. In fact, the ideal is to be able to continue that "vibration" for a very long time, sort of like the ability to engage a muscle that is not a muscle for the duration of an engagement.

Regards,

Mike

Robert Rumpf wrote: You have awareness in six directions all the time? Does this mean you are never surprised? What about when you sleep? Or are you only never surprised by physical contact? Do "bodyskills" allow you to sense what is behind you before it contacts you? Do they allow you to win at chess, too? Is it like some sort of spider sense? Perhaps this sense is via some connection with "the ki of the universe." As far as I'm aware, the stuff that you guys are talking about is only related to what comes in physical contact with you or what comes very close to you. Either that, or universal ki is not bunk - and suddenly we should be looking for force fields emnating from people and things like that.

You raised an interesting point Rob.
But at its base level (or where I'm at anyways), six directions refers to a physical pushpull relationship at all points on your body.
Disturbing this relationship elicits a desire to "correct" whatever it is that is disturbing it, and you start to develop things like effortless kuzushi.

Taking this one step further, now that your body is more atune to these pushpull relationships, you become more aware of your spatial surroundings in those same directions. This probably (and this is only a guess) links to the auditory and visual senses as well giving your brain a different way to process the info being recieved from them.

I was wondering why timing my strikes during sparring was becoming ridiculously easy after a couple years into this training...anyways just some ramblings on my part.

John Matsushima wrote: I have come to the realization that perhaps it does have something to do with awareness after all, and with "leaving nothing behind". What I believe now is that the mind is like the moon which shines on everything, everywhere all at once. When you look at it though, it remains unchanged. The moon that remains and lingers and leaves not a trace after it has touched everything is what I find to be zanshin.

I've done a little more study into the kanji etymology of zanshin 残心 , which may add some more to the discussion.

It is onyomi. The Chinese 残 心 is read can^3 xin^1. It is not a phrase of any currency in Chinese, however, so the meaning of 残 zan/can^3 predominates, and a more classical reading of the Chinese characters is appropriate.

The modern character 残 zan/can^3 is simplified. It originally was in the form 殘.

In Chinese 殘 can^3 means 1. destroy, spoil, ruin, injure; 2. cruel; oppressive; savage; 3. incomplete, disabled; 4. wreckage, remains, ruins

If decomposed into its components 殘 results in
歹 dai^3 bad, evil, wicked
戔 jian^1 narrow, small

Consistent with the sense of 殘 can^3, the decomposed characters suggest an evil or wicked reduction or diminishment, or if read more ambiguously -- reduction or diminishment of (or by) evil

Interestingly, the character 戔 is a duplication of the character 戈 ge^1 meaning spear or lance (also forms part of "bu" as in budo). Ordinarily, if the decomposed characters were read as an expression such as 戈戈 ge^1ge^1 the duplication would be a means of being emphatic, indicating a degree of extremity in the premise -- in this case spears (or weapons as a general case).

I earlier extended the connotations from the secondary meaning of zan 殘 of "cruel or brutal" as zanshin 残心 "unrelenting spirit" in the mode of budo.

Given this further examination of the kanji etymology, another extended sense of zanshin 残心 [心する- the sense of attentive, mindful]. This would be "contemplation of ruin" as part of the sensitivity to the impoverishment or desolation [侘 wabi] inherent in all destructive acts.

Certainly, this type of contemplation is consistent with O-Sensei's views:

O-Sensei wrote: Budo 武道 has been misunderstood as a means to kill and destroy others. Those who seek competition are making a grave mistake. To smash, injure, or destroy is the worst sin a human being can commit. The real Way of a Warrior is to prevent slaughter - it is the Art of Peace, the power of love.

FWIW