Caveat: this post is my interpretation of readings from Meditations on Violence therefore errors and omissions are mine and mine alone. It is highly recommended one read his book for clarity. My effort here is self-clarity toward a fuller understanding of the subject matter. See the bibliography for information on the book.
Zanshin is explained in many ways by many systems and by many martial practitioners. It is actually a combination of “both awareness and experience.” In order to expand this understanding you have to expand on “awareness” and “experience.” There are a variety of awarenesses one must understand, achieve and experience to get a state of zanshin.
Example: When confronted by the monkey dance one who acts bored and thoughtful can come across as a very powerful individual. It is a matter of not questioning your own status thereby making it harder for someone to challenge you regarding your status. In the monkey dance status and respect affects your status within the tribe, tribes are about survival. This type of posturing provides the adversary with indicators that you have power, confidence and your status to be unquestionable and impeachable. Your power is demonstrated by the calm you project and its aura of confidence.
This attitude and projection of zanshin comes across as a clear signal you are not going to fall into the monkey dance trap. This aura is zanshin, this aura of awareness and experience that creates a mind of zanshin, an aura cultivated by a combination of awareness and insight into experience.
As important as experience is toward zanshin, experience without the mindfulness is not zanshin. Mindfulness toward a self-analysis and self-appraisal as the experience provides a balanced whole that is zanshin. This is one aspect of self-awareness and awareness that builds that aura of zanshin. It is this type of awareness that provides you the tools to look inward and gain insight from and into experience.
To develop this zanshin you have to remain open to experience along with all its effects. In order to gain zanshin, “YOU have to have experienced experience. It has to be allowed to become a part of you meaning you cannot hide your head in the sand and you cannot “ignore your experiences” no matter how ugly and distasteful it may feel. You have to examine it, much like professionals create and study their after action reports, and that means you have to seek to understand it completely and as thoroughly as possible. It is the lessons of experience that creates the awareness that is zanshin. This type of awareness and experience contributes greatly toward other aspects of awareness in self-defense that completes the circle that becomes zanshin.
Look to zanshin as the development of “cool and calm” that projects confidence that comes across with the aura of competence. That competence that is zanshin projecting the cool and calm that speaks to adversary’s and fundamental obstructs their ability and will to act against you.
I quote, “A self-defense expert who has read DeBecker and Christensen and MacYoung and Strong and Blauer will be able to get good information to their students - in a very real sense, they will know the words, but not the music.” - Rory Miller, Meditations on Violence
The question here is, “How many of the self-defense instructors have adequate experience along with experiences awareness that allows them to properly teach self-defense rather than merely passing along the academic knowledge?” Even the type and amount of experience will lend a level of credence with more experience building on the instructors zanshin over mere knowledge, i.e., adding music to the lyrics.
Note: My personal experiences are not adequate to provide a completed song of self-defense. I have the lyrics with a few notes of music but the entire song is not adequate to convey the entire track. It is a bit like having good sight but the peripheral vision is blurred and veiled.
This post is meant to convey another aspect of the principles of martial systems, i.e. sub-principle of zanshin under the principle of philosophy (mind, mushin, kime, non-intention, yin-yang, oneness, ZANSHIN and being, non-action, character, the empty cup).
Bibliography:
Miller, Rory Sgt. "Meditations of Violence: A Comparison of Martial Arts Training & Real World Violence" YMAA Publishing. 2008.
Bibliography (The above post are my thoughts and mine alone, the below are simply sources that influence my thoughts on this subject):
MacYoung, Marc. "In the Name of Self-Defense: What It Costs. When It’s Worth It." Marc MacYoung. 2014.
Goleman, Daniel. "Emotional Intelligence: 10th Anniversary Edition [Kindle Edition]." Bantam. January 11, 2012.
Miller, Rory. "ConCom: Conflict Communications A New Paradigm in Conscious Communication." Amazon Digital Services, Inc. 2014.
Miller, Rory and Kane, Lawrence A. "Scaling Force: Dynamic Decision-making under Threat of Violence." YMAA Publisher. New Hampshire. 2012
Miller, Rory. "Force Decisions: A Citizen's Guide." YMAA Publications. NH. 2012.
Miller, Rory Sgt. "Meditations of Violence: A Comparison of Martial Arts Training & Real World Violence" YMAA Publishing. 2008.
Miller, Rory Sgt. "Facing Violence: Preparing for the Unexpected." YMAA Publishing. 2011.
Elgin, Suzette Haden, Ph.D. "More on the Gentle Art of Verbal Self-Defense." Prentice Hall. New Jersey. 1983.
Elgin, Suzette. "The Last Word on the Gentle Art of Verbal Self-Defense" Barnes & Noble. 1995
Morris, Desmond. “Manwatching: A Field Guide to Human Behavior.” Harry N. Abrams. April 1979.
Elgin, Suzette. "The Gentle Art of Verbal Self-Defense" Barnes & Noble. 1993.
Elgin, Suzette. "The Gentle Art of Written Self-Defense" MJF Books. 1997
Maffetone, Philip Dr. “The Maffetone Method: The Holistic, Low-stress, No-Pain Way to Exceptional Fitness.” McGraw Hill, New York. 2000
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