Zanshin 残心 - the art of Effortless Vigilance

The Pen and Sword Journal - Vol 29

“After victory, tighten your helmet cords!”

- Samurai maxim (some attribute it to Ieyasu Tokugawa)

Remember those movie moments where a character achieves success, celebrates loudly, and then faces sudden danger or harm? It's often portrayed humorously or as a scare tactic in Hollywood. While movies may exaggerate, there's some truth in this behavior. I've had personal experiences and learned about historical events that make me think exactly about this.

A few years ago, while playing paintball, a friend of mine would get overtly excited after taking out one of our teammates. At that moment, I took advantage of his distraction and eliminated him. The same thing happened to him twice that day.

In sparring sessions, I've seen many instances where people would get excited and too confident after landing a body shot or a high kick, only to be knocked down seconds after their celebration began.

I laso recall the case of a friend of mine who began a small food delivery service, being very carefu…